Tulum is in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo and from a geographically point of view it lies in the Yucatan Peninsula along with the other Mexican states of Campeche and Yucatán.
Tulum lies on the coast some 37 Km (22 Miles) south of Playa del Carmen inside the bio reserve of Sian Ka’an, (that in Mayan means birthplace of the sky), a protected area declared World Heritage Centre by the Unesco in 1987 where apart from protected species you can also find white sandy beaches, mangles and small bays.
History
The Maya created their first settlements in what is now Guatemala as early as 2400 BC. Over the centuries, the expansion of Maya civilization moved northward and by AD 550 great Maya city-states were established in southern Yucatán.
In the 10th century, with the invasion of the bellicose Toltecs from Central Mexico, the great cities of southern Yucatán slowly dissolved, as attention shifted northward to new power centers like Chichén Itzá.
The last of the great Maya capitals, Mayapán started to collapse around 1440, when the Xiú Maya and the Cocom Maya began a violent struggle for power. In 1540, Spanish conquistador Francisco de Montejo the Younger utilized the tensions between the two Maya sects to conquer the area. The Spaniards allied themselves with the Xiú against the Cocom, defeating the latter and gaining the former as converts to Christianity.
Within a few years most of the Yucatán peninsula was under the Spanish rule dividing up the Maya lands into large estates where the natives were put to work as servants.
When Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, the new Mexican government used the Yucatecan territory to create huge plantations for the cultivation of tobacco, sugarcane and henequén (agave rope fiber) where the Maya, although legally free, were enslaved in debt peonage to the rich landowners.
In 1847 after being oppressed for nearly 300 years by the Spanish and their descendants, the Maya rose up in a massive revolt known as the War of the Castes. It was some 80 years later when the territory of Quintana Roo came under official government control and still these days the Maya do not recognize this state.
Economy
In the late historic and early modern eras, the Yucatán Peninsula was largely a cattle ranching, logging, chicle and henequen production area. Since the 1970s (and the fall of the world henequen and chicle markets due to the advent of synthetic substitutes), the Yucatán Peninsula has reoriented its economy towards tourism, especially in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. Once a small fishing village, Cancún in the northeast of the peninsula has grown into a thriving city. The Riviera Maya, which stretches along the east coast of the peninsula between Cancún and Tulum, houses over 50,000 beds and is visited by millions of tourists every year. The best-known locations are the former fishing town of Playa del Carmen, the ecological parks Xcaret and Xel-Há and the Mayan ruins of Tulum and Cobá.
Currency
The Mexican official currency is the Peso (MXP or $ signs) that has an approximate conversion rate to the USD of 12 to 1. However, in the touristic destinations of the Yucatan peninsula dollars are widely accepted. Ask for the exchange rate before you make your payment in dollars.
There are ATMs (HSBC, Santander, Bancomer and others) that allow you to withdraw both currencies.
You will also find plenty of currency exchange booths whose conversion rate may vary.
Traveler’s checks are not too spread and you may found problems to pay with them.
Most best-known international credit cards are widely accepted.
Time
The Yucatan Peninsula is on Hora del Centro the same as US Central Time, that is GMT minus six hours in winder, and GMT minus five hours during daylight saving. Please, consider this when you book your excursions or show at the meeting point.
Daylight saving time runs from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October. Clocks go forward one hour in April and back one hour in October.
Languages
Spanish Mexican is the official language spoken by the majority of the population. However, in Yucatán there are still alive over 20 varieties of Mayan.
In all touristic destinations both Spanish and English are spoken practically everywhere.
Climate
The Yucatán Peninsula lies within the Atlantic Hurricane Belt. Hurricane season extends from June to November.
All year round the climate of the peninsula is mostly hot and humid with two different seasons. The rainy season runs from mid-August to mid-October, when there’s afternoon showers almost every day.
The drier season runs November through March with slightly cooler temperatures.
The Yucatán Peninsula has a yearly median temperature between 24 to 28°C (75.2 to 82.4 °F). Temperatures here remain high throughout the year, with only a 5 °C (9 °F) difference between winter and summer median temperatures.