Description

Within the Mayan zone but still in the state of Quintana Roo we will arrive at Coba, an important place in the mystical Mayan culture. Enjoy the greatness of this place, walk inside the jungle enjoying the song of the birds and enjoying the beautiful architecture, until you can enjoy the highest pyramid discovered in the area; will leave you breathless. Later, get ready for a refreshing freshwater bath in the cenotes that we will visit, one of them 20 meters below the ground, an unmissable place.

Some hieroglyphic inscriptions found on stelae and panels from the site allow us to affirm that Cobá was the original name of the city. One of the possible meanings and the most plausible, given its proximity to the lagoons, is that of "chopped water".

cultural significance
The city of Cobá developed near five lakes that were a fundamental factor for its development and subsistence. With an extension of approximately 70 km2, the city was connected by extensive roads made of stone, known in the Mayan language as sacbé (white road), of variable length and width. The longest of them, with 100 km., reaches the site of Yaxuná, very close to Chichén Itzá. The inhabitants of Cobá who did not belong to the powerful class, resided in the surroundings of the nucleus of the city, in houses very similar to those of the modern Mayas. Evidence for the earliest recorded human settlement is between 100 B.C. and 300 AD, when we think that it consisted of a series of villages located near the lakes, whose economy was based on agriculture and hunting. Already between 300 and 600 d. C., Cobá developed by centralizing economic and political power, controlling several nearby towns. The internal communication routes and to other towns and regions, made up of more than 50 roads, were built between 600 AD. and 800 AD, the time when most of the stelae at the site are also erected.