Palenque, Mexico Summary

Set in thick jungle screeching with insects, Palenque is for many people the most extraordinary of the major Maya sites. It’s not large – you can see everything in a morning – but it is hauntingly beautiful, strongly linked to the lost cities of Guatemala while keeping its own distinctive style. The site, in a beautiful national park 9km from the town of Palenque, occupies the top of an escarpment marking the northern limit of the Chiapas highlands. The town itself (officially Santo Domingo de Palenque) is of little intrinsic interest and is best viewed simply as a base for exploring the ruins and the waterfalls in the nearby hills. And, since there are a number of new camping and cabaña places near the ruins, you may prefer not to stay in town at all.