Adventures at the Mayan Ruins of Coba

On the road between Tulum and Merida in the Yucatan peninsula, you will find the old Mayan city of Coba. This ancient Mayan city is home to one of the grand Mayan pyramids and is one of the few remaining archeological sites in Mexico where climbing the main pyramid is still allowed. You are no longer allowed to do that in Chichen Itza or Tulum and some parts of Teotihuacan. I visited last December and it was my 2nd time trip to this fascinating town. Most of Coba is still covered in thick dense jungle and there are plenty of archeological ruins to explore.

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I found this tree growing behind the Mayan ballgame court. The Mayans practiced a sport that can best be described as “hip-ball”. It was a type of racquetball or volleyball, but the ball was passed back and forth using the hips. They took their sport very seriously. The loser didn’t just get booed of the court, they were usually put to death. Yikes!

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This is the front view of the grand pyramid of Coba: Nohoch Mul.  If you zoom in to the photo, you can see my friend, Marcia Kirby (Marcia the Explorer) from Akumal Direct. She sat to rest and was contemplating wether to continue climbing. You can do it Marcia!

Every day, tourists climb 42m for a total of 120 steps to get to the top of Nohoch Mul (the large hill). This is the tallest Mayan pyramid in all of the Yucatan peninsuala, taller even than the more popular Chichen-Itza.

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This is the second tallest pyramid in Coba, “La Iglesia”. Oddly enough, you are not allowed to climb this pyramid. I witnessed some tourists find that out the hard way. They began climbing to get a view from atop and were half-way up when they were busted and almost got thrown out. Poor tourists. Ever hear a Mayan swear? I have.

Click photo for a big surprise

And when you finally make it to the top of the Nohoch Mul pyramid, you are rewarded with this majestic view of the Yucatan jungle. This is the same view the Mayans enjoyed so many centuries ago. Now, everyone can enjoy it too.

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