Cobá: Our Final Maya Site

Found about forty minutes inland from Tulum, the Maya city of Cobá has become popular with tour buses departing from Cancún. Luckily, the ruins are spread out across such a wide swath of jungle, that the crowds never become overwhelming. This would be the final archaeological zone of our 91 days in the Yucatán, and we greeted it with both sadness and a little relief.

Cobá was established at some point between 100 BC and 100 AD. At its zenith, around 800, it was among the most powerful cities i...