The gentlest adventure on the coast: a Maya ruin in the forest, a boardwalk to a turquoise lagoon, and a lazy drift on the current down an ancient canal through the mangroves, lying back in a life jacket with herons overhead.
Sian Ka'an, a UNESCO World Heritage biosphere reserve, protects more than 5,000 square kilometres of forest, mangrove, lagoon and reef south of Tulum. Its western edge is the quietest way in.
Start at the Muyil ruins, a small Maya city south of Tulum, and follow a boardwalk through the jungle to a lagoon. A community boat crosses the lagoon to a canal the ancient Maya cut through the mangroves to reach the sea. There you put on a life jacket and float the canal feet first for about 40 minutes on the gentle current, passing herons and the occasional crocodile, to a second lagoon, then return by boat.
The boats are community-run, so bring cash, bug repellent and nothing that cannot get wet. The gentlest adventure on the coast.
A gentle loop; the float does the work.
Walk among the temples of Muyil, with the Castillo rising above the forest.
Follow the boardwalk through forest and wetland to the shore of Muyil lagoon.
Board the community boat across the lagoon, past small Maya shrines on the shore, to the mouth of the canal.
Slip into the clear water and drift feet first with the current between walls of mangrove.
Climb out at the second lagoon and ride the boat back to Muyil.
Muyil is on Highway 307 south of Tulum; colectivos towards Felipe Carrillo Puerto stop at the entrance.
Pay the ruins entry, then the biosphere fee and the community boat at the lagoon, all in cash.
Arrive in the morning, before the tour buses from Tulum and the afternoon heat.
Playa del Carmen practical notes →Wikimedia Commons photographs are used under their licences; Pexels photographs under the Pexels licence.
.jpg?width=960)