Palenque: in the heart of the forest
By dorian on Tuesday 18 November 2008, 14:03 - RTW2-Mexico - Permalink
Within the Chiapas state, on the land of the Zapatist Revolutionary Army (EZLN) with the subcommandante Marcos in the front line, we went and got a jungle-nestled Mayan site. We emancipate from the Yucatan peninsula for a couple of days at the edge of the Guatemalan border. From the pleasant town of Palenque we reach the eponymous archaeological site. The city differs from the previous ones as for the style and with the harmonious invasion of the nature. Because, except the core of the ancient Mayan capital, basking in the glow of nice stone buildings, the jungle is everywhere. The trees take roots into the foundations of the edifices driving to a symbiosis between the nature and the archaeological remnants. A visit which is worth misdemeanour, hundreds of kilometers from Cancun.
In the surroundings of Palenque, two other highlights see their car parks filling up during the day. The first one is the Misol-Ha waterfall, a thin curtain of water, encircled by the same greenery that sheltered the Mayan site and the second one, an amassing of limestone basins which pour into one another. Each point of view looking out onto these short waterfalls invites to a break. Down below, the sun, within its struggle with the clouds, makes shimmer the river when its rays reach the water surface.