A Maya city scattered through the forest, linked by white stone causeways you can ride on a rented bike, and before it, at a lake run by a Maya village, spider monkeys swinging through the canopy as the sun comes up.
Cobá was one of the great Classic Maya cities, linked to its neighbours by more than fifty sacbé, raised white causeways through the forest. Much of it is still under the trees.
The ruins are spread through jungle along those causeways, and you can rent a bicycle at the gate to ride between the groups: the Nohoch Mul pyramid, 42 metres high, the ball courts with their stone rings, and the carved stelae sheltered under thatch. Bicitaxis carry those who would rather not pedal.
About twenty minutes north, Punta Laguna is a reserve run by the Maya community of Najil Tucha. Its spider monkeys gather in the canopy over the lake in the early morning and late afternoon, and a cenote to end in. Go to Punta Laguna first, at opening when the monkeys are active, then reach Cobá before the heat.
Leave Playa before dawn to be at the lake when it opens.
Meet a Najil Tucha guide at the entrance and walk the forest trails to the trees where the troop sleeps.
Watch the monkeys swing and feed in the canopy above the lake, then cool off in the reserve's cenote.
Drive twenty minutes south to Cobá, buy your ticket and rent a bike or a bicitaxi at the gate.
Ride the shaded sacbé to the ball courts and the carved stelae of the Macanxoc group.
Finish at Nohoch Mul, the tallest pyramid on the peninsula, rising above the forest, then ride back to the gate.
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A rental car is easiest; buses from Playa and Tulum reach Cobá village, but not Punta Laguna at dawn.
Pay site entry at Cobá's gate; bikes and bicitaxis are hired separately. Punta Laguna's fee includes a community guide.
Cobá village has simple restaurants on the lake, where you may spot a crocodile from your table.
Playa del Carmen practical notes →Wikimedia Commons photographs are used under their licences; Pexels photographs under the Pexels licence.
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