Mexico, Central & South America > Mexico > The Yucatan > Yucatan > Articles > The Hacienda Trail

A snake slithers across the road, a dog snoozes at the shady end of a village tope (one of Mexico's car-destroying speed-bumps) and a huddle of diminutive Mayan women in embroidered white dresses are trundled past on a tricycle platform. In the background stands a hacienda, one of hundreds that dot the western side of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. Tropical vegetation drapes the leprous stones and, beyond, mile after mile of scrub and low-lying forest shroud endless Mayan ruins. We are in the heart of the great Mayan civilisation that held sway for some 2000 years and that - miraculously - survives, despite being absorbed into the next layer of history, that of the Spanish hacienda-owners.

Today, three to four centuries after their magnificient colonial estates were set up, you can experience a rare combination of the two cultures by staying in a hacienda hotel. As each one adjoins a Mayan village, most of the staff are locals, giving authenticity and incredible warmth to your stay. Light-years and some 400km away from the hedonistic beaches of Cancun on the other side of the peninsula, this is the real thing where conversations switch between Spanish and Mayan (peppered with k’s, ch’s and x’s) and where a gentle swing in a hammock on a hacienda veranda does wonders to your sense of history - as well as to your soul. Life advances in slow-motion, horses seem to outnumber cars and the sun burns faithfully - occasionally interrupted by dramatic tropical showers.

The regional launch-pad is Mérida, an engaging town where tourist harassment peaks in the form of peripatetic hammock-sellers. Ornately stuccoed façades and unexpected European features characterise the buildings as the more elaborate ones once belonged to wealthy hacienda-owners. Their visible prosperity originated in the massive profits on sisal (named after the local port from where it was exported) which by the mid-19th century had become the main plantation crop for the haciendas. Today, despite Merida’s great cultural and gastronomic diversions, the sticky heat and belching buses take their toll.

This is when to head south on the Camino Real towards Campeche to discover Mayan life, its enigmatic past and to enter the sleepy life of the haciendas. Monopolised by arches and verandas painted in saffron yellow, clear blue and red ochres, these rambling structures have only recently been saved from ruin. 17th century Yaxcopoil, half an hour south on Highway 261, is one of the Yucatan’s major examples and although not a hotel, is open to the public. Peeling rooms and worn furniture, neo-classical archways and columns, grazing horses, overgrown gardens, a sisal shredding plant and towering chimney - this is faded splendour in all its glory. A few kilometres further, the 400-year old Hacienda Ochil offers a different take, as it has been partly remodelled to integrate craft workshops, a sisal museum and an excellent outdoor restaurant - all designed with typical Mexican panache.

In the same evocative style, though dating from the early 20th century, the nearby Hacienda Santa Rosa is one of the most charming hacienda-hotels. Here, cobalt-blue walls overlook an original swimming-pool that disappears under arches. Huge rooms with private gardens and the veranda restaurant offer a daily performance of lizards and iguanas but it is the deafening night chorus of cicadas which is memorable. Surrounding the grounds is the village where Mayan houses have barely changed in centuries: tiny women go about their business with voluminous shopping-bags and children fool around with footballs and bikes. It makes a magical place to say with the extra bonus of Uxmal’s spectacular magician’s pyramid just over the horizon.

Roughly 200km south on the former Camino Real lies the seductive walled town and port of Campeche where narrow streets are lined with 17th century houses painted in a vivid palette of colours. It exudes atmosphere, from the small market to some friendly little restaurants, the city walls and the brilliant liquorice allsort facades. To help bat off marauding pirates, the Spaniards also built outlying forts, one of which, the Fuerte de San Miguel, now houses an outstanding Archaeological Museum. Best of all though, is a stay at Hacienda Uayamon, about half an hour’s drive from the centre. Uayamon started life as a cattle farm, eventually diversifying into sisal production. At its zenith, it even boasted its own railway to transport produce to the port of Campeche. Decline followed, like most of the haciendas, after the Mexican Revolution in the 1920-30s. Yet the wheel of fortune turned again and since 1999 Uayamon has been a sumptuous retreat smack in the middle of the jungle, its main avenue lined with towering ceiba trees, sacred to the Mayas, and a swimming-pool rimmed by original stone columns. Rooms are actually separate casitas which were once the homes of hacienda employees. Now completely revamped, each one is backed by a state-of-the-art bathroom. Outside, a canopied day-bed surrounded by lush vegetation is perfect for whiling away the hottest part of the day.

Edzna, Campeche's nearest Mayan site, is a short drive away. There, in the sultry tropical heat, stands an impressive quadrangle of temples, each one a steep climbi offering fantastic views over the endless green canopy. At the base of the largest structure is a series of carved glyphs, among which one etched Mayan profile looks distinctly familiar... Wasn’t that the waiter who served us last night at the hacienda? History somehow feels very alive.

WHAT TO SEE
Uxmal. Dating from 600AD, this striking Mayan sites is an absolute must-see. Outstanding structures include the elliptical Pyramid of the Magician and the detailed stonework of the Nuns' Quadrangle.

Edzna. 60km southeast of Campeche and far less visited, this contemporary of Uxmal offers dramatic views over the jungle from the summit of its largest pyramid, a tiered structure with rooms at each level.

Calakmul. This Mayan site gains increasing importance as spectacular finds continue to be unearthed, some of which are displayed at Campeche's museum. Well worth the trip off the beaten track.

Articles

• More from Fiona Dunlop