"Mahahual" new tourism destination in Yucatan Peninsula

There is a new discovery on tourism sites, a hidden place called Mahahual is set along a once mostly deserted stretch of the Yucatán Peninsula, and is becoming one of the most visited, tourist regions in the nation. So now the once tiny fishing village of Mahahual had exploded. The region begins about 80 miles south of Cancun and stretches from the vast Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve almost to the Belize border. It encompasses huge swaths of protected jungle, a number of lesser-known Maya archaeological sites, indigenous villages, pristine lagoons and top-notch diving. Plans call for low-rise, low-density development emphasizing small, eco-friendly hotels that cater to adventure seekers and cultural travelers.
Actually, Mahahual is two towns. One is a quiet Mexican seaside village. The other emerges when the cruise ships are in port and its seaside malecón fills with souvenir vendors, beachfront massage therapists, hair braiders and menu-waving waiters. Sunburned cruise passengers quaff beers at 10 a.m., and Madonna blares from a seafront hotel where desk manager Elisa Poot assures an overnight guest.

Of course there are the usual places which are no less attractive but not that new. At the South of Tulum, there is a lengthy stretch of almost uninterrupted resort development that comes to an abrupt halt at the northern edge of the Sian Ka'an Reserve. The UNESCO World Heritage site is a 1.3-million-acre haven of tropical forest and wetlands. It's alive with more than 300 bird species, pig-like peccaries, monkeys, puma and jaguar. It harbors turquoise lagoons where orchids and bromeliads cling to mangroves whose spiny roots grasp the earth like gnarled fingers.
Save for a few fishing lodges, Sian Ka'an isn't set up for overnight visitors. But day trips are organized by a number of tour operators, including Community Tours of Sian Ka'an, a cooperative formed in an attempt to keep profits — and residents — in the small Maya town of Muyil. The town lies across Highway 307 from Sian Ka'an and the Muyil Archeological Zone, where hills thick with overgrowth conceal the vestiges of old Maya temples. Antonio Caamal, 29, who sports the short, muscular build and angled profile of his Maya ancestors, leads visitors up the narrow steps of the 800-year-old Pink Palace and chats about life in his tiny village.
"Most tourists who stay in the big hotels don't know there's a Maya community here," he says. "They think the Maya disappeared. They didn't. Lots of people speak Maya. You just don't hear it in the hotels and offices."
Indeed, tours to Maya villages, which dot the southern Yucatán, have become more popular in recent years with the boom in so-called cultural tourism.