The nomination for the Mayan archaeological site and biosphere has been made official.

On June 21, during the meeting in Doha, Quatar, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee published the latest entries into the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites for 2014, including the ancient Mayan site in Calakmul and the surrounding biosphere.

Calakmul was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002 because of its importance in the Mayan Empire. It is also a particularly well-preserved example of Mayan culture. Now the area protected by UNESCO has been expanded and includes the surrounding tropical rainforests with a size of over 3,000 hectares. These tropical rainforests include a large variety of exotic flora, including plants that are endemic  to Mexico. Since the World Heritage Site now contains a natural component, it has been converted into a “mixed site”.

The ancient Mayan site of Calakmul is located in the middle of the biosphere reserve of the same name in the state of Campeche in southeast Mexico. Calakmul was only discovered in 1931 and is one of the largest Mayan ruins ever explored. Between 400 BC AD and 900 AD the city was an important center of the Mayan Empire. Since the city was an important trading center, there was also continuous rivalry with surrounding sites, especially Tikal in Guatemala.

For more information on trips to Campeche and Calakmul, contact us at: info@buenos-dias-mexico.de