{"id":68274,"date":"2023-12-05T22:09:25","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T22:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/?p=68274"},"modified":"2023-12-12T22:09:56","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T22:09:56","slug":"izamal-a-city-of-gold-in-the-yucatan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/december-2023\/izamal-a-city-of-gold-in-the-yucatan\/","title":{"rendered":"Izamal, a city of gold in the Yucatan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-lpsw4dlm-b374b4863556b64e3916a0fc37c99d4b\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-lpsw4dlm-b374b4863556b64e3916a0fc37c99d4b{\npadding-bottom:10px;\ncolor:#00467f;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-lpsw4dlm-b374b4863556b64e3916a0fc37c99d4b .special-heading-inner-border{\nborder-color:#00467f;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-lpsw4dlm-b374b4863556b64e3916a0fc37c99d4b av-special-heading-h1 custom-color-heading blockquote modern-quote modern-centered  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-first  '><h1 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Izamal, a city of gold in the Yucatan<\/h1><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border'><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-68225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/izamal.jpg\" alt=\"Izamal\" width=\"845\" height=\"567\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/izamal.jpg 845w, https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/izamal-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/izamal-768x515.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/izamal-705x473.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 845px) 100vw, 845px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If you like to go somewhere different each time you visit Royal Resorts, how about a trip to Izamal, the Yucatan&#8217;s very own &#8220;city of gold?&#8221; Famous for its huge convent and bright yellow buildings, this peaceful little town is often called the \u201ccity of three cultures,\u201d a reference to its pre-Hispanic and Spanish heritage and the traditions of today\u2019s Mayan inhabitants.<\/p>\n<p>Izamal is one of Yucatan\u2019s\u00a0<em>Pueblo M\u00e1gicos<\/em>, (Magical Towns), a distinction it shares with Valladolid, Mani, Sisal, Tekax and Motul<em>.<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0The Mexico Tourism Board created the Pueblos M\u00e1gicos program to promote lesser-known Mexican villages and towns that have their own charm and magic due to their handicrafts, cuisine, colorful fiestas, pre-Hispanic or colonial architecture or outstanding natural beauty.<\/p>\n<h3>Home to an ancient god<\/h3>\n<p>Izamal has been inhabited since the days of the ancient Maya, in fact the earliest traces of human occupation date back to the third century B.C., making the site older than Uxmal and Chich\u00e9n Itz\u00e1.<\/p>\n<p>Izamal\u00a0became a sacred site for the Maya, attracting pilgrims from all over the Yucat\u00e1n, who worshipped Itzamn\u00e1 or Zamna, the chief god, inventor of writing, medicine and agriculture.<\/p>\n<p>Over 20 major Mayan buildings have been found in and around Izamal, along with a network of <em>sacbes<\/em> or ceremonial roads, house mounds and tombs. The Mayan sun god, Kinich Kakmo was also venerated here, and the pyramid erected in his honor still dominates the skyline. Standing 35 meters high,\u00a0it is\u00a0the third largest building in Mesoamerica in terms of volume.<\/p>\n<h3>The coming of the Spaniards<\/h3>\n<p>After the Conquest, Spanish friars\u00a0took advantage of Izamal&#8217;s religious importance by building a huge Franciscan mission on top of the Pap-Hol-Chac temple. The San Antonio de Padua mission was founded in 1549 and\u00a0completed in 1618. Home to the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, the patron saint of the Yucat\u00e1n since 1648,\u00a0it is one of Mexico&#8217;s ten most important shrines.\u00a0The fortress-like building\u00a0is also\u00a0said to have the largest closed atrium in Mexico and one of the largest in the world, with no fewer than 75 arches.<\/p>\n<p>Wherever you turn in Izamal you\u2019ll see cheerful yellow paint and a white trim, this tradition dates from the Colonial Period and started with the convent. Nowadays, most of the historic houses, arches, churches and civic buildings in town sport the Izamal colors.<\/p>\n<p>Explore the streets and squares surrounding the convent on foot or hire a horse-drawn carriage or <em>victoria<\/em>. Apart from the convent and\u00a0the\u00a0Mayan pyramids, other local landmarks include the Town Hall, the Community Museum in Calle 31, the colonial churches of San Ildefonso, Los Remedios, Carmen and Santa Cruz and a number of restored houses that now operate as restaurants and boutique hotels.<\/p>\n<p>Call in at the tourism office in the main square for maps showing the craft workshop trails in different parts of town. Watch local artisans at work as they produce embroidered cotton dresses, hammocks, wood carvings, henequen and seed jewelry and papier m\u00e2ch\u00e9 butterflies and birds.<\/p>\n<p>Folk art can be purchased in the plaza, at several craft shops and galleries and at the Izamal Cultural Center. Managed by a cooperative of enterprising young <em>Izamale<\/em><em>\u00f1os<\/em>, it has an exhibition of fine handicrafts from all over the country, an informative display on the history of henequen, a caf\u00e9 and a mini spa.<\/p>\n<p>Be sure to have lunch at Kinich Kakmo, the palapa restaurant in the shadow of the pyramid. This popular spot is renowned for its Yucatecan cuisine. Try famous pork dishes such as cochinita pibil and poc chuc served with freshly made warm tortillas and habanero chili salsa or opt for the flavorful chicken and lime broth sopa de lima and a plate of panuchos and salbutes.<\/p>\n<p>The landscape around Izamal is dotted with henequen haciendas and the fields of the sage-green plant that played such an important role in the Yucatecan economy in the late 19th century. Most are abandoned but small-scale henequen cultivation still continues at Chichih\u00fa. Haciendas Tzalancab and San Jos\u00e9 Tecoh are open to the public from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and offer bird watching trails. Guides are available at the Tourist Information booth in Izamal Town Hall.<\/p>\n<p>If you would like to visit Izamal, plan a private trip with Thomas More Travel. If you decide to rent a car and explore at your own pace, Izamal is 158 miles from Canc\u00fan and 43 miles from M\u00e9rida, take the turnoffs signposted on the toll road or Highway 180.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you like to go somewhere different each time you visit Royal Resorts, how about a trip to Izamal, the Yucatan&#8217;s very own &#8220;city of gold?&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":68225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[690],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-december-2023"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.3.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Izamal, a city of gold in the Yucatan - 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