LR
Travel Report
Exhilarating Xel-Há An Incredible Tulum Experience ©Sue Campbell
T
he ancient Mayan ruins in Tulum might be a big draw for visitors to this region, but there’s another spot there worth visiting called “Xel-Há” (pronounced shell-ha). At first glance, I thought it was a commercial family amusement park – not really our thing. But, because I trust AMStar for information on the best tours and activities, and always depend on them for first-rate transfers whenever I travel to Mexico, when they said we MUST go there, I listened. And I’m so glad I did. It’s incredible. Xel-Há is Mayan for “where the water was born”. This massive eco-park covers 84-acres of lush rain forests that are threaded with the longest underground water system in the world. They surface in freshwater cenotes, pools and streams that seamlessly blend with the aqua green saltwater and finally roll on to the sea. In fact, this is one of the few places in the world where you can snorkel with both saltwater and freshwater fish at the same time. And snorkel we did!
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All food and drinks are included, and there are many interesting exhibits, like organic gardens, beekeeping spots, and even an entire park of nothing but hammocks! We hardly even scratched the surface given our little time to spend, however we did find time to try a unique new activity we’d never seen before: zip-lining on a bike! As much as it sounds like a daredevil sport, it’s not. You go at your own pace and stop wherever you want to take photos – and the photo opportunities are endless! You pedal along 30 feet above the ground in the tops of the trees, overlooking spectacular natural scenes and the river where the tubing takes place. You also go down into an ancient cave pierced with stunning natural skylights. Our time went too fast though; you really need more than half a day to fully experience Xelha. Dolphin, manatee and stingray encounters (extra cost), cenote rope climbs, guided Mayan cleaning ceremonies… there is so much more to do and see you really need two days. We’ll have to return! Visit: www.Xelha.com SUSAN CAMPBELL Twitter: @suectravel