Here’s our monthly gallery showcasing some of the region’s many natural and historical attractions. How many have you visited? Which ones would you like to explore on future visits to Cancun and the Riviera Maya?

Contoy

A true desert island offering a glimpse of the untouched Caribbean, Contoy is an important bird sanctuary, home to 150 species of seabirds, waders and even songbirds, that are year-round residents or winter migrants. Palm-lined beaches give way to dunes and mangrove forest that echo with bird calls from nesting colonies of frigate birds, pelicans, cormorants, herons and ibis.

Visitors on eco trips to the island can spend their time relaxing on the sand on the leeward shore, swimming with stingrays in the bay or walk the coast path on the windward side where the surf is stronger.

Yalku

Take the coast road north from Akumal Bay in the Riviera Maya to this beautiful caleta or inlet. A popular spot for snorkeling in cool, clear turquoise waters bubbling up from underground rivers, cenotes and ojos de agua or springs in the lagoon. Get there early for the best views of the many colorful reef fish that gather there to feed and breed.

Zaci Cenote

If you visit the colonial town of Valladolid, don’t miss Zaci Cenote on Calle 36. Surrounded by ceiba, cedar, palm, wild fig and breadnut trees, this is a massive 80-meter-deep sinkhole similar to the Sacred Well in Chichen Itza, with a winding stone staircase leading down into the cave. Steep walls festooned with jungle vines and tree roots tumble down into the turquoise depths of a clear pool and swallows circle endlessly, skimming the surface of the water to catch insects.

Hacienda Sotuta de Peon

For a glimpse of the history of henequen production in the Yucatan, visit Hacienda Sotuta de Peon, a working henequen estate 28 miles (35 kilometers) south of Merida in the Tecoh district (take the turn off after the village of Itzincab) along the Convent Route.

Tours are available to the hacienda and include a ride out to the fields in a traditional horse-drawn wagon or “truck” to see how henequen is planted and harvested and processed in the machine house. Visitors also tour the restored estate house, see a traditional Mayan home and swim in the crystalline waters of the Dzul-Há Cenote.

Thomas More Travel can help you arrange tours to these locations and many more throughout the Yucatan Peninsula.