Tulum Mayan Ruins: Self-Guided Walking Audio Tour Experience

Your tour of this incredible archaeological site kicks off right next to the parking lot, where the path to the ruins begins. From here, you'll simply follow this path to discover an ancient, fascinating ruin.

NOTE: The tour is over 1.5 miles long, with more than 28 audio stories, and takes about 1-2 hours to complete.

Buy once, use for one year! Ideal for extended visits and return trips over the next 12 months.

The first major landmark you'll encounter is the Casa Cenote. You'll step through the entrance and find yourself in another world entirely.

To our left stands the Platforma Funeraria, where the ancient Mayans conducted their funeral rites. Before a body was buried or cremated, the Mayans would place maize in their mouth. This served as food for their journey to the next world, but also represented life and rebirth.

It's impossible to miss the next stop, El Castillo. Standing at 40 feet, The Castle was built to honor the Mayan God Kukulkan and stands at the highest elevation in Tulum, making the already imposing structure even more striking.

As you keep walking, you'll see the Temple of Frescoes, renowned for its detailed paintings of various Mayan deities.

Then you'll visit the Temple of the Wind, one of the most interesting structures in Tulum. The Temple sits atop a cliff and was built to serve as a warning of approaching storms.

The round platforms seen here indicate that this is a temple to the Wind God.

The genius of Mayan architecture is epitomized in this building, The House of Chultun. Here, rainwater harvesting ensured that the people in Tulum had enough fresh water for all their needs. The building is structured in a manner so that rainwater would drain into the reservoir.

If you look closely you can see that there is an intricate web of holes in the temple. When hurricane force winds blow from the Caribbean, the holes start to whistle loudly and function as an efficient warning system.

Now continue past the platform and stop in front of the ruins of a house on the right. This is Casa del Noreste, or the Northwest House. This house would have been home to important members of Mayan society.

There are niched figurines of the Maya ‘Descending God’ or Venus which finds prominence across the main facade of the temple reflecting the work of artisans of Mayan era. The “Descending God” is manifested as a stucco figure on the western wall in the temple situated in central precinct of the site, giving the temple its name as the “Temple of the Descending God”.