Izamal, Yucatan

One of those places that have so much color that make you smile and consequently brighten up your day instantly. 

"Called the City of Hills and located right in the middle of the Yucatan Peninsula, Izamal may be the oldest city in Yucatan. Izamal was conquered by the Spaniards, and the monks in their eagerness to convert the Indians to Catholicism gave the city its religious distinction. To this day, Izamal's people are very devoted to the Immaculate Virgin." (Source) 

Getting there from Merida 

By BUS. 
ADO company has a 2nd class bus company called Oriente. This bus is cheaper and stops in a lot of places to pick up people. What they mean with 2nd class here is that it does not have a toilette. the reality is that it is a far worse bus than the ADO buses, but the drives are professional and we encountered no problem getting from A to B and back. You have a few buses a day, so plan well. Below you can find the return schedule from Izamal to Merida. 

Price (Jan 2020) was 33 Mexican pesos per direction, and we got the bus from the terminal Merida 50x65 (was not very easy to find) 

By Collectivo
Colectivos, are smaller vans that you can stop along the way. So this could take very long 

By Private transport
The drive form Merida should be about 45 min. I am not sure it's worth to get a private transport just for this trip, but it would amke sense if you combine it to Valladolid and maybe even be dropped in Tulum. We got a price for 3000 Mexican pesos. 
By your own rented car
time wise as above 

Things to do and see in Izamal

With properly seeing the city & lunch you would need about 3h, so consider this when you book your bus back. A nice gift of the city is that both the convent and the Pyramids are free of charge 

1. Monastery of St. Anthony of Padua

Built in 1561 on top of an existing ancient Mayan worship center, making it one of the oldest (active) churches in the Americas. 

2. Itzamna Park

Izamal Letters 

The letters are perfectly placed so that you get an amazing photo with them and the convent in teh background. 

Decorated Horse Carriage 

Whether you decide to take a carriage ride around the city or simply admire the decorated horses, here a glimpse of how cute they look.

3. Piramide De Itzamatul

I could not really take a proper picture of this as there was not enough room, but just as an idea as there is a information board when you enter (in English!) saying that this is a huge pyramid in which 3 stages of constructions have been identified. The first and oldest dating 400-600 AC while the last stage was during 950-1100 AC. From this last stage the only thing that was preserved was the great pedestal which is more that 100 m side-wise with a staircase on it's side. 

It seems that this pyramid was dedicated to god Zamna. 

4. Kinich Kakmo Pyramid

This is a funny one :P. Not that it's built in a funny way, but you can climb it aaaand when you reached the top and thing this is it....it is not, there is another pyramid to climb which you you can't see from the beginning. Funny guys this Maya :)

Also for this Pyramid you have some board with info and so as a summary for you they mention that this is one of the most important structures of Mesoamerica. It's base measure 200 m by 180 m and the height of the upper temple is of 34 m. It was build around 400-600 AD and it's thought to have covered other older buildings. 

Ok, now what they say that is the outstanding part are the large stones which were used, especially those shaping the staircase. The building was still well preserved in the middle of the 16th century

5. Streets of Izamal

There are a lot of places/ things you can take pictures of so it will be a pleasure to walk around (there are some stray dogs walking around but they seemed rather clam)

6. Crafts Museum

For a fee of 25 pesos you can visit this museum which shows some very nice crafts from around Mexico. I liked a lot that it looked new and that they have put passion and thought into arranging it. I believe that it's worth the money :)

7. Souvenirs 

I read in a lot of posts that you can buy nice things at Hecho a Mano which is in the main square, so I entered the place and was disappointed by the offer, quality and prices. So instead decided to look further around and on Calle 30 I found some places selling nicer things, would not say unique or something, but better presents to bring home. 

8. Kinich Restaurant

This seems to be the one and only recommended restaurant in Izamal and all tourists go there. The place is super nice decorated &  I also loved that the waiters (mainly women) were wearing Mexican traditional clothes.   

When it come to the food, I was not that much impressed. It was good for sure, but i don't see it as a must try. (Tip: the tortillas that come with the appetizer - by default - were the best i tried in Mexico) 

What I did love a lot, was that you can watch old ladies making the tortillas, and even if you can see it in other places as well, it had a nice charm.