The archaeological zone at Tulum is perhaps one of the most beautiful places on the Riviera Maya, combining the mystery of the ancient civilization which inhabited this zone with the singular beauty of the Caribbean sea which bathes its shores. The city of Tulum is the only known archaeological site located by the sea, and belongs to the region known as Tankah-Tulum which comprises the zones of Tankah, Tulum and Xel-Ha. It was constructed atop a cliff facing the blue sea and has an underwater coral reef that is the world's second-largest. The site was renamed Tulum ("wall") after the Spanish conquest, referring to the stone construction which surrounds it on three sides; the sea is located to the West. Presumably, its original name was Zamá which means "sunrise" in Maya, referring to the spectacular sunrise on the turquoise sea which was the city's main source of commercial and fishing activity from the time it was founded, around 300 B.C.

The majority of the constructions date from the mid post-classic period (1200 - 1500 A.D.) although some architectural elements still remain from previous periods, revealing the site's antiquity. The principal constructions that can be accessed beyond the magnificent stone wall with its five entrances, are the Castle which faces West and is dedicated to Venus (Kukulcan) and the Temple of the Descending God, adorned with bas-reliefs. Here one can inspect the exquisite frescoes which remain to this day, decorated in blue, orange, red, white and black.

After seeing the numerous edifications of Tulum, one can understand the amazement of the first Spanish navigators who compared its beauty to that of their distant Seville, because of Tulum's beauty and splendor when it was the fortress-sentinel of the Caribbean sea, serving as a lighthouse for Maya ships in pre-Hispanic times. The distinct spatial orientation, in keeping with the four cardinal points on the compass, and the geometric location of its buildings in relation to the sunrise provide singular proof of the ancient Mayan knowledge of mathematics and astronomy, as depicted in their architecture and pictorial art.

One of the most powerful and moving manifestations of Maya culture, the millenary city of Tulum, facing the Caribbean, looks eternally out to sea as the sun rises in the East.