Planning to explore Uxmal and the Puuc Route in southern Yucatan? If you are a chocolate lover you may want to call in at a new museum called the Eco Museo del Cacao, which documents the history of chocolate, the origin of the cacao tree and its importance in the Maya World where the ancient inhabitants prepared a drink as an ceremonial offering to the gods and the beans as currency.
In a beautiful natural setting in the Puuc Hills, the museum is located between the archaeological sites of Labna and Xlapak, to the south of Uxmal. It is next to a cacao plantation and consists of several “galleries” on cacao cultivation, the history of chocolate and Mayan society in traditional thatched Mayan cottages. A winding trail through a botanical garden stocked with herbs, fruit trees and native trees and shrubs used by the Maya connects the exhibit areas.
The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and has a small restaurant and chocolate shop.
You can organize private guided tours with Thomas More Travel to visit Uxmal, the Puuc Route sites and the Eco Museo del Cacao and whenever you want to go off the beaten track.
For more information read the article published in 2011 on the Royal Resorts blog: Sweet Beginnings, Yucatan’s New Cacao Museum
