PALENQUE, MX
Palenque is a jungle paradise located in the center of the state of Chiapas. It's one of the hottest places that I have ever been. It's hot and muggy all year round. Temperatures can top out above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, or 40 degrees Celsius. That's before you factor in humidity. So it can be pretty overwhelming. Its also really wet during the rainy season so you might want to also prepare for some rain. Especially during the rainy season from May to October. With all that being said, you are properly in the middle of the jungle here. With that kind of weather, and mugginess, you get beautiful and sprawling jungle. Thats what I would say Palenque, is. It's the jungle. Palenque is famous for its ruins. Along with some stunning waterfalls and other natural attractions. If it weren't for these things, I don't know if anyone would really come here. It's too hot, too hard to get to, and really just smack dab in the middle of the country. But the things to see here are beautiful. The town of Palenque itself, pretty average though. I came here to check out the truly wonderful touristy things to see. Other than that, I can say you can pretty safely move on. A few days here. A trip to the ruins, a trip to the waterfalls. That's pretty much what you need here. Palenque is specifically home to some of Mexico's most impressive Mayan ruins. It has been deemed a UNESCO world heritage sight even. So it's pretty amazing. People come from all over the world just to see them. Additionally, the area surrounding Palenque has the stunning Agua Azul and Mizol-Ha. These are two different spots that you can do in a tour with a beautiful waterfall (Mizol-Ha) and pretty mind-blowing white waterfalls above crystalline blue pools below (Agua Azul). It doesn't really look real when you are there. All of the things I mentioned above can be done in the area in a few days. A long day even. If you don't have a car, getting to Palenque can be difficult. Getting around will require you being on a tour for the most part. So when you are here, be prepared to pretty much be a tourist. There's very little, if anything, that can be done strictly from walking here. With all that being said, Palenque is home to some of the best natural wonders Mexico has to offer. There's so many diverse things in such a small little part of the country that it's certainly worth a visit. Especially if you dig waterfalls and ruins.
Palenque is located way down in Southern Mexico. Very near to the border of Guatemala. Only about 30 miles from the actual borderline. It's in the state of Chiapas, which you probably already know by being on this page but still. This is the location section so whatever. It's in the central part of the state. Deep in the jungle.
Palenque itself is a city, but it's also the name of the archaeological site that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town itself sits along MX 199, and then the archaeological site is only about 3 miles outside of town off a small road. It's very easy to find your way to the Archaeological site once you are in town. The town is pretty big. One of the biggest in the area. With a big grocery store, even some fast food chains. When you are here, you won't want to be spending your time in town — it's pretty unmemorable.
It's not the easiest place to get to though. There's a tiny international airport in Palenque I guess, but flights in are expensive. If you are going to be flying into Palenque then I guess you are coming specifically to see the ruins, and that will be in your budget. Otherwise, I am going to assume that you will be coming from somewhere already in Mexico. In that case you will either be driving or taking a bus.
Below are the ways to get here by either bus or car.
1. BY BUS - You can take buses here from anywhere in the area. By area, I mean anywhere that is within like 12 hours. People come over from the Yucatan, down from San Cris — even down from Mexico City. The way to do that is to just get an ADO bus. Their website will have all of their routes and times on it. It's the best and biggest bus company in the country as well. So just so you know if you are going anywhere, you'll probably use ADO. No this is not an ad. The bus will drop you off at the station in Palenque. Take a colectivo to the ruins. They go straight from ADO, and they will cost 20 pesos. They have a sign that says "Ruinas". Easy enough.
2. BY CAR - By car is the easiest way by car. As always. To get into Palenque, no matter where you are coming from you will have to find MX 199. Palenque is located right on it, and the highway runs through it. Some drive-time examples are:
- From San Cris - ~6 hours.
- From Cancun - ~11 hours.
- From Campeche - ~5 hours
The ruins are not located in town. So when you pull into town, use the ADO station as a landmark. From the ADO station you need to take the 199 south out of town towards Ocosingo. At the first roundabout take the first exit onto Carr. Zona Arqueológica Palenque
If you are around, Palenque is not all that hard to get to. If you are just coming to see Palenque from wherever you are coming from, it may be a journey.
HOSTELS, CAMPING, AND HOTELS (IF ANY)
Hostel located in the center of town. It's a nice place, a few stories, and recently renovated it seems. They also have this like weird pool thing that's underneath a recreation of a pyramid. It's pretty funny actually. A dorm will run you like 300 pesos. Breakfast not included. Town location is convenient for all your daily life necessities.
You're not going to have too many options here for housing. If you are traveling by car, there's lots of places that you can probably park and call it a home for the night. However, it is hot as fuck here so I elected not to do that.
There's a few hostels though. So you'll have a place to stay while you are planning your trips to see the sights in Palenque. It's not that expensive and the accommodation is nice. It's like weirdly nice. The hostels have pools, and look and feel kind of like hotels. Below are a few options for housing.
Probably the best option from a housing perspective here. It's a hostel located at the entrance of the archaeological zone, with a bunch of cabanas. So you are going to be really close to the ruins. But you'll be far away from town. Not that there is that much going on in town, but this means you are very isolated nonetheless. The place is really nice though. With a new pool, and hammocks and you're surrounded by jungle and all that. A little bit more expensive at about 350 pesos for a dorm bed, but worth the extra money.
EATS
Eating here is pretty limited also. There are going to be local options and stuff all around in town but if you are out by the ruins it's going to be slim-pickins. There's just a few recommendations below. To be honest you are not coming to Palenque for the food.
Food Options
Really the only place that was recommended to me when I was coming into town. It's a really big, and pretty cool restaurant out in the jungle in the national park. It's huge, and they have pretty good food, if not pretty overpriced. But it's a cool space, you can get some drinks and they frequently have live music and stuff. The only real semblance of nightlife.
Good and cheap and easy spot in town. Great burgers and tortas and other things. It's nice cheap food and if you are staying in town, a nice option.
The street burgers in Mexico just hit differently. They really do. This guy is set up every night in a little cart, and will serve you a memorable burger for 50 pesos. Worth a stop if you're hungry for something at night and are staying in town.
NIGHTLIFE
Nothing at all here in Palenque
SIGHTS
The reason why people come here. A spectacular set of ruins. The ruins were populated from 226 BC to around 799 AD, and the UNESCO World Heritage site with over 1,400 documented buildings. There's a lot of temples here like The Temple of the Cross, Temple of the Sun, and Temple of the Foliated Cross. So there's lots to see. To enter you have to pay about 200 MXP total in fees. If you are here you are just going to do it, but yes I agree it's a bit expensive. There is a museum located at the foot of the ruins, around 1.5 km from the Palenque ruins main entrance. You pay 105 MXP for the National Park entrance fee, then a second 90 MXP for an archaeological fee up top. You have to walk the 1.5 kms into the park, which is kind of a drag — especially in the heat.
I actually didn't even go and see them in Palenque. Probably the only person ever to come to Palenque and not see the ruins. I got in a car accident at the entry gate of the ruins. So I waited at the gate for 5 hours for insurance adjusters to show up. At that point I had run out of daylight to make it to the Yucatan. Well, whatever. They are supposed to be absolutely amazing.
This is realistically why anyone is here in Palenque. The things to see here are so cool and world renowned. Well at least if you are traveling in Mexico, almost everyone will have heard of or is thinking about coming to Palenque to see the amazing things they have to offer. A lot of this stuff, if not all of it will be something that you are going to have to do through a tour. Unless you are with your own car, then you can do it all on your own. But I know the majority of people will just be on foot so the tours will be the way to go.
This is the most famous waterfall in the area. The one that most people go to. It's usually done on a tour in conjunction with Agua Azul. It's a pretty beautiful waterfall and swimming-hole inside. You can even swim to the other side and get under the waterfall, which is pretty cool to do. Also is just so lovely to get in and cool off.
My favorite thing to do in the area was this. It's just such a unique thing and I had never seen anything like it. These waterfalls leading to turquoise standing water pools. It's just amazing to look at. The locals are the only ones allowed to ride down the waterfalls, and they do it like experts. I tried to do it myself, and one of the local lifeguards chased after me. It gets pretty crowded here though. The whole community uses the tourism as their means of survival. So there's food options, places to buy drinks and lots of souvenirs. You will come here on a tour. Usually with the waterfall included. Figure out info about the tours from your hostel or from a google search.
You in the jungle baby, you already know there's nothing going on up here.
SURFING