While hitchhiking from Belize to Palenque in the Mexican state Chiapas. The most direct route went through Campeche and also the ruins in Xpujil.
Where are they located?
They are located in the East of the state Campeche in a national reservoir and around 120 kilometers from the coastal city Chetumal.
Chetumal is also the biggest city, which is close to it. There are little towns, which you need to cross, until you are making it there. They are also quite hidden, but accessible from the main street.
How much does it cost?
It just cost 50 pesos, so around 2,44 Euros.
The people working there were letting me into the ruins for free. I didn’t have cash on me and they seemed to be really nice, this was also something the ranger, who was driving me there, was telling me, that getting in for free is not a problem.
What is important to know?
I visited it in the raining season, maybe during other times it is different, but when I was there, the forest was covered in masses of mosquitoes. Before getting to the actual ruins, it is necessary to walk a little way in the forest. The walk itself was quite nice, with many nice looking trees, but fully covered in Mosquitoes. After the ruins, I had around 20 mosquito bites as a souvenir.
Before entering the ruins, the backpack needed to be left in the entrance of the ruins. They probably didn’t want drones in there. It is one of those ruins, where it should not be a problem flying the drone though, because the workers are not really at the ruins.
While I visited these ruins, nobody else was there. Around 30 min after, the first person came to visit. That means, it is possible to have the whole ruins for yourself, which feels special. The Xpujil ruins are not as big, so exploring everything is not going to entertain you for the whole day, maybe 30 to 90 minutes.
How is it compared to other ruins in Mexico?
Chizen Itza, close to Merida in Yucatan and Teotihuacan close to Mexico city, or the ruins of Palenque are all having the same things in common, it is quite big and is being crowded. The Xpujil ruins have neither of that not. They are quite small and are not crowded at all, especially the second point, which was a really good one for me.
It was after Teotihuacan the second one, I visited Mexico and liked the Xpujil ruins, when being honest, more. This was due to the fact that I had no expectations of the Xpujil ruins. Also, because Teotihuacan was crowded and also cost quite a bit of money, there is for free of course better.
It felt also in the Xpujil ruins really authentic and really clean without people wanting to sell you souvenirs. You can be at peace, just can’t spend much time, at least not spending a lot of time and seeing new things. Still comparing is not that possible, because they are all totally different and everyone is valuing things differently.
My ranking
When needing to rank these ruins, there are many things, which you need to think of. On the one hand, the Xpujil ruins were for me for free, and also the normal price was not much.
Tourists were not taking over the place, mosquitoes did. It is not as big, so just coming for these, is something you can do, but it makes more sense to combine it with another place. Otherwise you are driving two hours there, seeing it for an hour and driving back, when being located in Chetumal for example. I don’t know if it would be worth it, but I enjoyed everything.
When talking about being authentic and enjoyable, I can say that it was for sure that.
To give it 5 stars there were factors, which were not able to overview, the location and mosquitoes for example. Also when thinking of not many tourists, then of course because there is nothing else to do and it is too small to take such a long way. On the other hand, it is perfect to visit when driving through the town. Perfect for a little stop, to explore and continue with what you were planning on doing.
Can I recommend it?
I would say so, like mentioned above, when you are driving through this town anyway, then for sure check it out.
From all the ruins, which I saw, it was also kind of my favorite, even though it was small and not much time was spent there. The other ruins had their special tough as well, but it is always a question, if the money was worth the experience. Of course when buying a Ferrari, you should get more, then if you would buy a 20 years old Polo, it always needs to be put in comparison.
For example Chichen Itza was more than just overrated, especially due to the price not worth the hype, in my opinion. The same things, other ruins can give you. Of course when you are only going to see one ruin, don’t have much time and don’t mind spending more money, then it could be something for you.
Back to the Xpujil ruins, they are nice and you should see them when you are around, otherwise it is not necessary to visit. Just nice being away from the crowds of tourists.
My experience
Most of it was mentioned above. It was not planned to visit the sights. A ranger, who was working there, took me in his car, while hitchhiking. He was recommending it, and also mentioned that it would have been for free.
Nothing to lose, besides a bit of time. The hitchhiking didn’t go well anyway, due to a not that busy road. Walking around the ruins, enjoying the peace and taking many pictures as well. Pictures without people you don’t know are always good.
It was possible to really look for details in the ruins, without the stress, which can be caused by too many people or tours. That was something, which I enjoyed a lot.
After less than an hour, I didn’t feel like spending more time, also due to the mosquitoes, they were a big problem for me. The entrance was located right next to the highway, so hitchhiking continued right away.
Summary
The Xpujil ruins, a small ruin in the middle of nowhere. They are not big and without tourists. During the rainy season it is covered with mosquitoes and no workers around. Exploring the ruins is possible just by yourself and having actual time for yourself. At historical ruins is not really the case in Mexico.
They are out of the way, when just staying in one city, For passing through, they should be an option. They are not as impressive as others, but it just felt really authentic visiting this place and that made it even better.
It is for sure a hidden gem, but it is really hidden and there are reasons why not too many people visit this place every day. This is also unlikely to change, for this there is not too much space and no bigger city, really nearby.
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