Quintana Roo – Mexico

After scaling the very steep, almost ladder-like steps of the three-story tower, I was granted 360-degree views of lush jungle laying across the flat peninsula, stretching to the horizons in every direction. After taking in the view, our guide hooked me into the zip line, I unhooked the carabineer that clipped me into the safety line for the climb up the tower, and I ran off the platform into open air. I flew across the zip line for almost 200 meters, flying high over the lipid blue waters of a cenote, hollering the entire (exhilarating) way down.

Adventures abound in Quintana Roo, the Mexican state on the eastern shore of the Yucatan peninsula, where cenotes (sink holes created by underground river systems), zip lines, ocean and flat-water kayaking, rappelling, hiking, and cultural encounters with the Mayan people abound.

Cenotes:
The Yucatan peninsula is a flat limestone slab that allows surface water to seep through the stone to carve subterranean caverns below the earth. (Because of this, there are no visible rivers in the Yucatan, as all the water flows underground.) When the ceilings of these caverns are breached, their crystal blue, fresh waters are revealed to adventurers for swimming, snorkeling, and SCUBA diving.

Thousands of cenotes lie throughout the Yucatan, many of which are linked via the world’s three longest underground cave systems. Others access the ocean itself, allowing cave divers to submerge into a freshwater cenote and later emerge into the ocean.

While considered sacred grounds by the Mayans, some cenotes now are built up (both with physical improvements but some also in hype) as tourist attractions. Others though, like the Cristalino, Xunaan, and Cenote Escondido are still relatively unknown, except to locals. Many cenotes, both well known and hidden away are all are accessible from highway 307.

Alltournative‘s Rio Secreto is a particularly impressive Cenote tour. While many operators include a visit to a cenote as part of a multi-sport adventure, Rio Secreto is a dedicated hour and a half walk/swim along a spectacular 600 meter cenote.

Zip Lines:
The Yucatan is rife with zip lines with operators congregating in particular around Cancun and Playa del Carmen.

Operators like Alltournative, Selvatica, and Hidden Worlds offer zip lines as part of multi-sport day adventures while Discovery Jungle Tours is a zip line destination onto itself, offering numerous zip lines along with rope course activities.

All operators stress the safety of their zip lines and my experience with Alltournative was certainly reassuring. Guides provided safety briefings before the event and the harnesses, helmets, carabineers, webbing, and other gear were all new, clean, and in great condition. They even provided a crude, yet effective, ‘braking’ (‘slowing’ would be more appropriate) system: a Y-shaped stick allows the participant to slow their descent whenever they feel they are going too fast.

After our guides provided us with the necessary gear and instructions, everyone in my groups had a great time flying through (and sometimes over) the jungle canopy.

Kayaking:
With 1,176 km of coastline, the region offers numerous opportunities for sea kayaking. Journey Mexico offers kayaking in the Sian Kaan mangroves to explore this incredible biosphere reserve (the largest in Mesoamerica) and experience the vibrant flora and fauna of this unique protected area.

Living Adventure is a U.S. based-operator that offers sea-kayaking excursions with side activities like snorkeling, swimming, excursions to ruins and local markets, and even yoga built into the itinerary. Some of their trips even integrate adventures with artistic instruction, intermingling lessons on ceramics, photography, cooking or writing. For a change of pace, Ecotourismo Yucatan offers trips through canals and mangroves.

Culture:
With the growing trend in ecotourism, many more operators are embracing strong environmental ethics while also integrating their operations with local cultures. Many of the operators noted above host tours that visit community medicinal plant gardens, markets, villages, or even local bee keepers.

On my tours with Alltournative, the operator did an outstanding job of working with the local populace and respecting their culture. The operator trains modern Mayan peoples as trip photographers, hires Mayan women to cook (an absolutely delicious) lunch, encourages clients to peruse local handicrafts, and even has Mayan shamans bless the clients in the traditional manner.

Journey Mexico, has tours that focus specifically on local culture and include visits with local artisans (especially those that make the famous hand-woven Yucatan Hammocks), locally guided visits to the amazing archeological sites of Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Palenque, and Tulum, exploration of small Mayan villages and marketplaces where Maya is still the native language, and bike rides on the Ruta Puuc to seldom visited ruins, cenotes and centuries old haciendas to learn about the historic Henequen empire that thrived during the colonial era.

Isla Mujeres:
For a nice blend of all that the region has to offer, take a ferry to Isla Mujeres (“The Island of Women”), just eight miles off shore from Cancun.

Escape the tourist hussle of the immediate ‘downtown’ area around the ferry terminal by renting a moped, bike, or golf cart to get around the island, which is only five miles long and a half-mile wide. Powdery-white sand beaches ring the island, such as Playa Norte on the northern tip of the island, where you can rent kayaks and boogie boards. On the southern, more isolated, tip of the island, enjoy an excellent open-air lunch by the lighthouse near an old Mayan temple and modern sculpture garden.

Water sports options on the island include windsurfing over the calm warm Caribbean waters, snorkeling the coral landscapes of El Garrafón National Park, or diving into the Manchones and Islaché reefs or even – the cave of the sleeping sharks.

Take a side tour to the neighboring Isla Contoy, which boasts more than 60 different bird species, as well as a great diversity of flora and fauna.

Getting There:
Fly to Cancun International Airport, then take a shuttle or rent a car to proceed down route 307 toward Playa del Carmen. A number of adventure operators, hotels, and resorts abound in this area.

To get to Isla Mujeres, take an airport van/taxi to Puerto Juárez or Gran Puerto Cancun, 15 minutes north of downtown Cancun. Ferries leave every half hour and the crossing takes about 15 minutes.

Hotels:
The region is absolutely rife with hotels in every price range and with (or without) any convenience. From the rustic, to boutique, to all-inclusive resorts, the options are numerous.

Adventure Operators:
For a more inclusive list of operators in Quintana Roo (or anywhere else in Mexico), search the website of the Mexican Association of Adventure Tourism and Ecotourism, where you can search by state or activity.

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