Set in muggy rainforest 50km northwest of Tulum, the ancient city of Cobá (daily 7am–6pm) is a fascinating and increasingly popular site. The clusters of buildings are spread out over several kilometres, so the area can absorb lots of visitors without feeling crowded, and you can ramble through the forest in peace, looking out for toucans, egrets, coatis and myriad tropical butterflies, including the giant iridescent blue morpho. A visit here requires at least a couple of hours; renting a bicycle just inside the site entrance is highly recommended. Although the ruins aren’t as well restored as those at Tulum, their scale is much more impressive, and the dense greenery and wildlife make a good counterpoint to the coast. Ceramic studies indicate that the city was occupied from about 100 AD up until the advent of the Spaniards the site is even mentioned in the Chilam Balam of Chumayel, a book of Maya prophecy and lore written down in the eighteenth century, well after the city had been abandoned. The city’s zenith was in the Late Classic period, around 800 AD, when most of the larger pyramids were built and its wealth grew from links with the cities of Petén, in lowland Mexico and Guatemala. These cities influenced Cobá’s architecture and use of stelae, typically seen only in the southern Maya regions. Cobá also prospered later through its connections with coastal cities like Tulum, and several structures reflect the style found at those sites.

The centrepiece of the site is the giant pyramid Nohoch Mul, taller than El Castillo at Chichén Itzá and, in its narrow and precipitous stairway, resembling the pyramid at Tikal in Guatemala; at the top, a small temple, similar to structures at Tulum, dates from around 1200. The view takes in nearby lakes, as well as the jungle stretching uninterrupted to the horizon. If you’re feeling intrepid, head 1km down a shady sacbé to Grupo Macanxoc, a cluster of some twenty stelae, most carved during the seventh century AD. Stele 1 shows part of the Maya creation myth and the oldest date recorded in the Maya Long Count calendar system, which tracks the days since the moment of creation. Other stelae depict a high number of women, suggesting that Cobá may have had female rulers. Clambering between the carvings, you’re crossing not natural hills, but unreconstructed buildings; in a way, these offer a more palpable sense of the civilization that thrived here than some of the more immaculately rebuilt structures. Eleven buses a day run to Cobá from Tulum. The first one leaves Tulum at 7.15am (arriving at 8.15am), and the next one, which continues to Chichén Itzá after stopping in Valladolid, arrives in Cobá at 10.10am you could therefore theoretically cover both sites via public transport from Tulum, though you would be very rushed. Two first-class buses run back to Tulum from Cobá, at 1.30pm and 3.30pm. A taxi from Tulum to Cobá available each way. The village of Cobá, where the bus stops, is little more than a cluster of houses and cabañas a few hundred metres from the site entrance, which fronts a small lake filled with crocodiles. Hotels are few, are quite comfortable, overlooking the lake, complete with a swimming pool and an archeological library. There’s a decent restaurant in front of the lake, La Pirámide, which serves Yucatecan specialities. After visiting the ruins, you can make a trip to a group of cenotes north of town; buy tickets and arrange a taxi (round trip) at the entrance to the site parking area. Outside Cobá, back at the traffic circle on the main highway, if you follow signs for Nuevo X-Can, after 18km kilometres you reach the Reserva de Monos Arañas de Punta Laguna, which protects one of the northernmost populations of spider monkeys. From the reserve’s entrance kiosk, you’re required to hike with a guide (person, plus for a guide for a group of up to ten people) to where the monkeys usually congregate there’s no guarantee you’ll see them, but they’re at their liveliest in the early morning (guides are around from 6am or so) and after about 3.30am. You can also rent canoes at the lake here.

The Maya built many intriguing cities in the Yucatán, but few as grand as Cobá. Much of the 67-sq.-km (26-sq.-mile) site remains unexcavated. Scholars believe Cobá was an important trade link between the Caribbean coast and inland cities. A 100km (62-mile) sacbé (raised road) through the jungle linked it to Yaxuná, once an important Maya center 50km (31 miles) south of Chichén Itzá. This is the Maya’s longest-known sacbé, and at least 50 shorter ones lead from here. An important city-state, Cobá flourished from a.d. 632 (the oldest carved date found here) until after the rise of Chichén Itzá, around 800. Then Cobá faded in importance and population until it was finally abandoned. Branching off from every labeled path, you’ll see unofficial narrow paths into the jungle, used as shortcuts by locals. These are good for birding, but be careful to remember the way back.

The Grupo Cobá holds an impressive pyramid, La Iglesia (the Church). Take the path bearing right after the entrance. Resist the urge to climb the temple; the view is better from El Castillo in the Nohoch Mul group farther back. Return to the main path and turn right, passing a sign pointing to the restored juego de pelota (ball court). Continuing for 5 to 10 minutes, you’ll come to a fork in the road, where you’ll notice jungle-covered, unexcavated pyramids to the left and right. At one point, a raised portion of the sacbé to Yaxuná is visible as it crosses the pathway. Throughout the area, carved stelae stand by pathways or lie forlornly in the underbrush. Although protected by crude thatched roofs, most are weatherworn enough to be indiscernible. The left fork leads to the Nohoch Mul Group, which contains El Castillo. Except for Structure 2 in Calakmul, this is the tallest pyramid in the Yucatán, outreaching El Castillo at Chichén Itzá and the Pyramid of the Magician at Uxmal. From the top, you can see unexcavated, jungle-cloaked pyramids poking through the forest canopy all around. The right fork (more or less straight on) goes to the Conjunto Las Pinturas, whose main attraction is the Pyramid of the Painted Lintel, a small structure with traces of its original bright colors above the door. You can climb up for a close look. Visit Cobá in the morning or after the heat of the day has passed. Bicycles are available for rent at a stand just past the entrance. You can also hire a triciclo with driver to carry you around the site, triciclo drivers also park at Nohuch Mul to carry hot, tired passengers back to the entrance.

Cobá flourished in the Classical period that came to dominate a vast region. Between 200 and 800 AD, Coba was one of the largest metropolis of the Maya world until his great rival, Chichén Itzá, extended its rule. Its name translates as "water with moss" or "water moisture", although some authors suggest that means "muddy water", by proximity to a small lake with a very murky color. Other raise more ancient Mayan language translations, among which may be mentioned "water chachalacas"; "Gopher tooth" which also come from the Mayan words or "abundant water". The Mayan archaeological site of Coba is located about ninety kilometers east of Chichen Itza and forty northwest of Tulum, has an area of just over 70 square kilometers and a network of 45 roads (or sacbes) communicating to the various Site sets, and other smaller communities who may depend on their domain. The first descriptions of the archaeological site of the famous travelers John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood be. In 1881 Teobert Maler took the first known photograph of Cobá.

Most of the city was built with Petén style monumental architecture corresponding to the Classic period, and the eastern coast style, belonging to the Postclassic period of the Yucatán peninsula. The settlement consists of more than 6,500 structures, but the excavated area is still very small. Three groups of buildings are visited. Cobá group, next to the entrance of the site, stands a pyramid known locally as "The Church", which locals considered a sanctuary, building nearly 25 meters high, belonging to the Early Classic. The road or sacbé 9, the broadest of the site, Macanxoc leads the group of religious, where you can visit a collection of 8 sculpted stelae, altars and shrines. The other major group of buildings is almost two kilometers north where it is located one of the tallest buildings in the Mayan area, called Nohoch Mul, with its 42 meters high, dominates and crowns the Yucatan landscape. The ascent to the summit holds an unforgettable view of the jungle. Southwest of Nohoch Mul is the Paintings Group, a group of buildings constructed during the Late Post Classic. Its name comes from the fragments of wall paintings are preserved inside the small main temple group, although of modest dimensions, is relevant because it is the later construction of Coba, built with blocks of buildings and building materials more old.

Cobá is characterized by its excellent road network. Between 200 and 600 A.D. It determined the development of agricultural and hydraulic areas, as well as following a route of inter- and intra-regional trade, which may have included control of some major ports, such as Xel Ha. Coba started one of the most important sacbé: 100 kilometers Yaxuná reached within walking distance from Chichén Itza. These roads were white stucco, were not simple routes, and built on retaining walls in some places reached up to 20 meters wide and 6 high. The 35 roads that have been documented in this area prove that Cobá maintained close contact with the great cities of Guatemala and southern Campeche and Quintana Roo, as Tikal, Dzibanché, Kohunlich, Muyil, Oxtankah, Tankah, Xel-Ha or Calakmul, reaching relate to central Mexico and the metropolis of Teotihuacan, as evidenced by a platform of Paints Group documented in early 1999. After the seventh century, the strengthening of the cities of the Yucatan Puuc and the later appearance of Chichén Itzá in the sociopolitical landscape of the peninsula, meant the beginning of the decline of Cobá. From the year 900 or 1000, Coba decides to confront Chichén Itzá to determine which city would be the hegemonic and after losing Yaxuná enclave, must assume its allegiance to the new dominant power in the region. After year 1000, Cobá lost political relevance, although it seems to have retained its symbolic and ritual importance, which allowed him to regain some position between 1200 and 1500, when many buildings were built in the East Coast style. At the time of the Spanish conquest, Cobá was completely uninhabited.