Passage to Palenque

The road from Campeche to Palenque (roughly 6 hours) is pretty flat up until the last 20 minutes when countryside becomes more tropical and hilly and road becomes more bendy.  You'll be staying in a hotel with pool in lush tropical surroundings, close to the bus station and within walking distance of Palenque village. It's very peaceful here with the exception of tropical birds and the occasional howler monkeys making their presence known in the canopy overhead.

Palenque village is 7km from the ruins and as it's frequented mainly by tourists it's a good place to check your email, do some laundry or send some postcards. It's very hot and humid here though so unless you love saunas we suggest you find an air-conditioned restaurant for dinner, for example Las Tinajas.  

At 8 am you'll be picked up at the hotel for the short drive to the most awe-inspiring Mayan ruins of Palenque. Make sure you bring plenty of water as you'll be sweating buckets. It can get very hot even this early in the morning! 

The passage to Palenque ruins lies deep in the heart of the jungle. It is one of the few Mayan cities which gave discoverers an insight into the history of the Mayans thanks to the amazingly well-preserved hieroglyphs that were found here. Wandering among the temples and houses of this city you will learn about dynasties, conquests, wealth and destruction. You'll also come across one of the most sensational discoveries of the Mayan world: the tomb of King Pacal. After about four hours exploring the complex you'll be ready to escape the heat of Palenque ruins and seek the cool comfort of the air-conditioned minibus waiting for you at the entrance.

An hour after the passage to Palenque ruins you'll find yourself standing waist deep in the cool waters of the Agua Azul waterfall. The river drops about 1000m over a distance of 2 km in a number of 'steps', causing several small waterfalls. In rainy season (July - October) the waterfalls swell and come crashing down, though they do lose their beautiful turquoise colour. You'll have about 3 hours to splash around or perhaps take the path that leads up along the waterfalls. It's hot, but the views over the waterfalls are amazing.

At 4pm you'll board the minibus back at the entrance for the drive back to your hotel in Palenque.

You'll have some spare time to relax at the hotel pool before pack your bags to catch the 8pm overnight bus to the coast. You'll arrive in Tulum late in the morning where you can start the module Palm trees and palapas.

Should you want to include Belize on your trip then alight (early morning) at the border at Chetumal, where you can start your Belize module.

If you want to see more of the jungle and don't mind the heat, then stay in Palenque and the next morning head Mayan jungle exploration.