Cathedrals and mansions overlooking a city square, a golden convent and sturdy mission churches in every village, discover the Yucatán’s colonial monuments.
The Spaniards first discovered the Yucatán Peninsula in 1517, returning in 1518 and 1519, when an expedition led by Hernán Cortes set sail for the west, lured on by tales of Aztec emperor Moctezuma’s treasuries. After the fall of the Aztec empire in 1521, the Spaniards returned to the Yucatán where it took them years to subdue the Maya. Once victorious, they founded Mérida in 1542 and Valladolid in 1543. Mayan lands were seized and given to Spanish soldiers, many of whom settled down to raise cattle, grow corn, cotton and tobacco on estates called haciendas.

Here are the Yucatán’s most important colonial sites and don’t miss the port of Campeche in the neighboring state of the same name.

Founded in 1543 by Francisco de Montejo the younger,the state’s second largest city is steeped in history. During the Colonial Period, it was the commercial center of the eastern Yucatán and played an important role in the Caste War when it was besieged and overrun by Mayan rebels. In 1910, Valladolid also witnessed “la chispa” or the first spark of the Mexican Revolution, when a group of Mayan chiefs and army officers led a short-lived revolt against social injustice and President Porfirio Diaz’s regime.  

 Nowadays, the tranquil central square is a wonderful place to people watch or buy local crafts. Sites of interest in the city include San Bernardino Church and the adjoining Sisal Convent (1552-1588), the seventeenth century San Servasio Cathedral and San Roque Museum. Valladolid has seven neighborhoods, each one with its own colonial church, and some of the streets leading off the main square have been restored to their colonial splendor. Valladolid is 160 km to the east of Mérida and is accessible via the toll road and Hwy 180.

The charming city of Izamal is a blend of pre-Hispanic and Spanish architecture and the traditions of the Yucatán.

As the birthplace of the legendary Zamná or Itzamná, the principal god in the Mayan pantheon, Izamal was an important shrine in the pre-Hispanic period and five Mayan pyramids are still visible on the outskirts of the town

The town’s pride is the dazzling yellow San Antonio de Padua Convent, which was completed in 1618. It has the second largest atrium in the world, after St. Peter’s in Rome, and is the shrine of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, the patron saint of the Yucatán.

Time stands still in Izamal and you explore the convent, the town square and the surrounding streets. The Mayan women in the market and the horse-drawn carriages or victorias complete the illusion of days gone by.

Izamal is located 72 km from Mérida via the Tixcobob road.

If you like combining your history with a look at the local culture then a day exploring the Convent Route is definitely for you.

The Convent Route or Ruta de los Conventos in Spanish is the name given to a string of villages along Highway 18, all of which have sixteenth or seventeenth century churches, and a lot more besides.

The route starts at Acanceh, where a colonial church, Mayan pyramid and a modern chapel compete for attention on the village square and another archaeological site lies a short walk away. Tecoh has an interesting church built on the base of a Mayan temple and the Tzabnah caves and cenotes. Telchaquillo has a church and cenote and is also the point where you take the short detour to visit Mayapán, the last city of the ancient Maya. Tekit, Mama, Chumayel, Teabo and Tipikal follow in quick succession and the final village on the route is Maní, site of a Franciscan church and convent with a small museum. In 1562, Maní witnessed a famous auto da fe during which Friar Diego de Landa ordered the burning of thousands of statues and Mayan codices or bark paper books. With this act, the history of a people, their beliefs and knowledge of astronomy and science went up in smoke. 

Oxkutzcab
This small town in the southern Yucatán comes alive on market day. Every Thursday, farmers from outlying villages flock to Oxcutzcab to sell vegetables, citrus and tropical fruit. 

The church, ruined convent, chapel and walled cemetery on the main square date from the seventeenth century. Like other Yucatecan churches, the church is simple and somewhat austere, lacking the ornate stone carving found in central Mexico. The baroque altarpiece is another story though and may have been the work of a local artist.  

Ticul
The largest town in southern Yucatán, 100 km from Mérida, Ticul is a leather and pottery center. It has a handsome seventeenth century Franciscan mission church and convent and is the site of the original Los Almendros restaurant, a must for Yucatecan cuisine fans.

Ticul pottery workshops are family affairs - some families have been making pottery for 200 years and the area’s ceramic tradition stretches back to the days of the Maya. Potters use local clay, which is dried in the sun for four days and then mixed with sand, to make planters, urns, jugs and plates. The pottery is left to dry for three to six days and then fired in a wood-burning kiln for about eight hours. Once it has cooled it can be painted, if so desired. A handful of potters specialize in reproductions of ancient Mayan art, crafting figurines, plates and incense burners and painting them with the original colors.

Campeche
The city of Campeche is the third UNESCO World Heritage Site within a two-hour radius of Merida and is worth a visit. Capital of the state of the same name, Campeche was an important port during the Colonial Period and soon attracted the unwelcome attentions of pirates the likes of Henry Morgan and Laurent der Graf. After repeated attacks the authorities decided to fortify the city. The massive wall, forts and guard towers they erected still encircle the colonial heart of Campeche to this day.

The city’s museums offer an interesting introduction to area history and the age of the buccaneers. Other attractions include the Cathedral and several smaller colonial churches and the streets lined by elegant houses in the area around the main square.

To reach Campeche, take Highway 180 from Merida, via Uman and Maxcanu. En route you can stop off in the village of Becal and watch local craftswomen at work in caves, weaving Panama hats, bags and even mats from the leaves of the jipi palm.