Our village, Ek Balam is a small Mayan mestizo village settled in the eastern region of the state of Yucatan. We are generally engaged in agricultural activities but we also earn income by providing work services in the closest cities such as Tulum, Cancun and Merida.
We have organized and now we have a site of rural tourism and ecotourism called Uh Najil, which since 2001 we offer all the travelers from all over the world the opportunity to live for several days with us in our community. The people who live in Ek Balam are very cheerful, although it can be the beginning of most events before the presence of travelers; We are very proud of our customs and we like to show off our gastronomy, arts, vision and knowledge about flora and fauna.
All the profits generated by the visit and the stay of the travelers are used to improve the quality of life of all the inhabitants who live in Ek Balam
Mayan village Ek Balam Uhnajil
Uh Najil are within our community and offer travelers the opportunity to stay in their 12 cabins traditionally made with wood and palm of huano. Each cabin has enough beds and hammocks for up to 4 people and also in particular they contain bathroom with all amenities including hot water.
On site, in addition to lodging, travelers can have breakfast, lunch and dinner pure traditional Mayan and also Yucatecan dishes, all prepared by our people.
During the day the traveler can rent a bicycle and walk the town, surely more than one family will invite you to enter their terraces to learn a little more about the warp or fabric of hammocks. Outside the town there are many trails and breaches that reach the milpas (area where we cultivate) and also from any of them can be reached the millenarian archaeological city of Ek Balam. In the afternoons it is essential to refresh and have fun and for this the traveler can choose to visit any of the nearby cenotes for swimming.
The archaeological site of Ek Balam is very close to our Uh Najil huts, from the viewpoint you can see the largest building built by the ancient Mayan settlers and buried the remains of a great ruler who led this important city more than 2000 years.
Ek Balam stands out from many Mayan archaeological cities for conserving many details made of stucco and that stand out in every existing building. Just where the mortuary chamber is, there are huge jaguars in the high relief and decorated with soldiers adorned with wings and other zoomorphic figures that together represent the entrance to the kingdom of Xibalba or the kingdom of darkness.
The site is still in the process of exploration, research and restoration, but is open to the public. All the guides of the archaeological site are inhabitants of the community of Ek Balam.
