Native Trails MyTrails 2025 243 Quintana Roo international pharmaceutical companies are very active here to better understand the traditional ways of treatment and integrate them into modern medicine. 41 City Tour Huay Max Duration: 01:00 h · Level: Easy Like many small Mayan villages, Huay-Max is characterized by an abundance of plants – every building seems to be surrounded by a tree-covered garden many times as large. A conspicuous feature of the place, which dates back to pre-Hispanic times, is the high proportion of traditional Mayan huts. When you come to the central village square, you see the Maria Immaculata church, which was built in the viceregal epoch. Its plain façade is flanked by two bell-gables with three openings each. As in the other central Yucatan villages that greatly suffered during the Caste War, the strong will to preserve Mayan culture is intensely felt. 42 City Tour Sabán Duration: 01:00 h · Level: Easy Sabán is a village with a very regular layout. Founded in the 18th century, it was abandoned at the beginning of the Caste War and repopulated only some 80 years later. On our walk through the village, we see traditional Mayan huts, stone houses with roofs of straw as are typical of such huts, and stone houses with flat roofs; the stone walls are partly painted with tasteful patterns. The well-kept central square is dominated by San Pedro, one of the largest colonial churches in the region. Fortified to a certain extent at the beginning of the Caste War, the church was never finished, but part of it serves its original purpose today. 43 Visit of the caves of Kantemó Duration: 02:00 h · Level: Medium The cave of “hanging snakes” is the home of countless Mexican rat snakes (Pseudelaphe flavirufa), reptiles that grow up to 2 m (7 ft.) long. Hanging from the ceiling, they hunt for bats entering or leaving the cavern. Visit the protected habitat of the snakes with the Beej Ka'ax Ha cooperative of Kantemó; it is part of the RITA (Red Indígena de Turismo de México, A.C.) network that was founded by the indigenous people of Mexico. The bottom of the cavern, strictly speaking a cenote, is filled with crystal clear water, and numerous fossils recall the times when the region was covered by the sea. 44 Visit of the Mayan village of Tixcacal Guardia Duration: 01:00 h · Level: Easy Tour of Tixcacal Guardia, a village of the Cruzoob Maya. The place, where Yucatec Maya is still spoken, is considered the religious center of the Maya living in the area. The Cruzoob recognized Mexico only in 1935, when they concluded a peace treaty, but they have succeeded in preserving their cultural independence in many fields until today. The “Talking Cross,” an oracle, represents the tree of life with the four cardinal points and transmits God’s instructions to the guardian of the cross (the spiritual and temporal authority of the community). 45 Learn more about the Mayan agriculture Duration: 03:00 h · Level: Medium The “Milpa” is the basic element of the Mayan system of agricultural cultivation and has determined the life of the people in Mesoamerica for many centuries. Maize, beans and squash, the so-called three sisters, are grown together in one field and thus yield a better harvest. This symbiosis, part of the Cosmovisión Maya, is accentuated by religious rites during sowing, tilling, and harvesting; maize is an essential element of Mayan culture – according to the Mayan creation myth, the first men were made from maize dough. 46 Meeting with students of the Maya University Duration: 03:00 h · Level: Easy The Universidad Intercultural Maya was founded in 2006 by the federal government of Mexico, the state of Quintana Roo and the municipality of José María Morelos. Its mission is to promote the study, development and strengthening of Mayan languages and Mayan culture on the Yucatán peninsula. The university presently offers graduations in, e.g., public health, Mayan languages and culture, and alternative tourism. Another very interesting subject is the exploration of Mayan methods of agricultural cultivation where students graduate as agricultural engineers. During your visit, you will get to know the university as well as one of its departments.
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