Today is a visit to another of the Mexico’s treasures – Izamal, Yucatan’s Yellow City! We had heard a lot about Izamal’s pueblo magico town & its yellow buildings so were quite excited to view it in person. If you love color, your eyes will be dancing with happiness as you drive pass the many colored casas toward city center. Let’s get started!
Why is the Yucatan’s Yellow City called a Pueblo Magico?
Why is Izamal yellow?
It really depends on who you talk to or what you read as to the answer of why is Izamal yellow? I’ve read that it was painted the bright golden yellow for the arrival of Pope John Paul II’s visit in August of 1993. Others will say the town has always been the golden yellow, etc.. The tale I would be prepared to believe is the Mayans considered this site to be a celebration of the Sun God & that it has always been this beautiful gold color. My story & I’ll stick to that one.
Between the variations of pale to bold colors of homes as you near the town center, it is nothing to that of seeing the burst of gold as you enter the square! Along with the cobbled streets, colored pony carts & the many colors of casas & stores, it really delights with a magical feeling!
Tour guides use horse carts up & down the streets. You really feel as if you may have stepped back in time. We traveled during the week so traffic was minimal & not overcrowded with tourists.
As a side note, yes all the adorable ponies wore hats to match their carriage! I’m sure it was cosmetic as well as photographic as I know for a fact that horses can get sunburned noses!
The colonial town was the first to be named a Pueblos Mágicos around 2001 by a government program based on maintaining Mexican locations that had special cultural history. The town itself was founded in the 1500s & built on remains of a Mayan city! Based on the three cultures found here it is easy to see how the Yucatan’s Yellow City was selected & given this important designation.
Is a Guide Needed for your tour of The Yucatan’s Yellow City?
The tour guides are available for a price & a nice 45 minute cart ride around the immediate surrounding streets of the Convent. With the cart ride, you will see a couple more views of ruins & the carts are beautiful. Having said that, if you have never been on a cart ride, you will enjoy it but we could easily have done without. Unlike our tour guide in Chichen Itza, this pony cart guide disappointed. I’m not sure how the drivers are assigned to ‘tourists’ so you may luck out & get a chatty little driver who will fill you in on Izamal, the history, etc…We just did not have that given to us so I feel we wasted the $500 pesos we paid for the ride. [Note: I am normally a fan of a tour guide especially for something like this but…] Go eat lunch or buy something from the locals. Even if our driver had not been with us, a lot of the info signs were in Spanish & English like this one.
When we returned to the drop off point, then our history lesson began with Rodney, our driver to Izamal that morning. We hit the ground walking with Rodney who walked the entire surrounding of the Convent with us! He was well versed in the history, read plaques that we could not & generally just educated us on Izamal’s Mayan history & the grounds. Back to Izamal…
The Yellow City’s Convent de San Antonio de Padau
The Yellow City’s Convent is no doubt the highlight of Izamal The Convent de San Antonio de Padua has a very full history albeit sad as well! For an interesting read on the history of this Convent check this out.
Once you walk the pebbled walkway, it opens up to the enclosed atrium. The Convent was originally built to convert the Mayans to Christianity in the mid 1500s.
During our walk, it was stressed to us the importance of this cross. It was built specifically so the Mayans’ conversion to Christianity would be easier? But all was not smooth in the cross over from Mayan gods to the Catholic beliefs. This is where Bishop Landa comes in.
Bishop Diego de Landa
Although Bishop Landa was one of its founders, in 1562 he was also responsible for the destruction of over forty books & 20,000 images that were important to the Mayan religion. Besides the fact that he was of the Church, he went far beyond his role in converting the Mayans to Christianity. To ‘insure’ Mayans would not leave Christianity, the Bishop was also instrumental in having Mayans tortured to get information. He was referred to us as a “bad man” when we saw this statute & after reading more about him here, I understand the feeling. At some point, the Church of Spain called him back to explain his actions…. Only a very few Mayan books were saved from this destruction.
“Probably the most fascinating story linked to the monastery relates to Fray Diego de Landa, one of its founders. Having been responsible for the burning of the indigenous Mayan scripts, he was so overcome with remorse for this act of cultural barbarism that he spent much of the rest of his life putting in writing all that he could of Mayan ways and traditions.”
https://www.beyondtheordinary.co.uk/features/convento-de-san-antonio-de-padua-izamal/
Although Izamal was Christianized in the 16th century, the Mayan religion is still seen in the traditions carried on by the Mayans in today’s world. This city has such a rich history, I could easily continue this post for pages & pages but I’ll leave that to you to follow up if you deem to do so.
Back to Convent de San Antonio de Padau
The Convent itself was built in mid 1550’s on top of the buried Mayan temple Pap-Hol-Chac! Although at one time this Convent was home to around fifty friars that number has dwindled down to a few but the Church is still active.
Since the main entry was closed on the day we traveled to Izamal we were not allowed to view any of the interior which was disappointing but it is what it is. A huge draw is being able to view the chair where Pope sat during his visit in 1993.
We were told when the Pope visited in 1993 that the entire Convent, atrium & surrounding streets were full of people to see the Pope. This statute was put up in his honor.
While the monastery is the main reason that tourist are attracted to Izamal, the town has also been recognized for its three cultures; the history of the Mayans as well as its Spanish history & today’s people. The Convent is truly a must see.
The Yellow City’s Kinich Kakmo Pyramid
Kinich Kakmo Pyramid means ‘the fire macaw with the sun face’ & sits steps from Izamal town center’s North side. With a base covering two acres, this is the largest of the pyramids in this Yellow City. There is no fee & is totally open to those who dare walk up the steps. The steps about 3/4 of the way up are doable but then it gets a little rough but if you dare to to to the top the views are said to be remarkable.
It is believed that temple was built around 400-600 CE & was used daily for sacrifices to the solar diety who would pick up the sacrifices in the shape of a macaw? It is said the ‘offerings’ would be done in the heat of the day. This is just one of the five pyramids in Izamal which has been called The City of Hills which have been partially covered due to the over growth over the pyramids through the years.
Miscellaneous Shots of the Yucatan’s Yellow City
Izamal, City of Hills, The Yucatan’s Yellow City -whatever you want to call it – this town is a must see when you are in the Yucatan area! The pyramids are of course something to see but not as stunning as Chichen Itza or Uxmal – to me. The Yellow City did not disappoint in its beauty – but – if you have a knowledgeable tour guide, you will walk away wanting to know more about the Mayan history in this beautiful Yucatan.
Where is Mexico’s Yellow City located?
From Merida, head towards Cancun. I think it took about an hour & fifteen minutes to get to Izamal by car. Bus routes are easily found online. Taxis & Ubers are also a choice. Depending on your comfort & budget, you do you. We did the private driver & were ecstatic with the education he gave us once we arrived at Izamal.
The only fee we paid was for the pony ride so Izamal is one of those trips that even the seniors on a budget can easily do. If you drive, it cost gas & maybe a lunch or souvenir – or just hire a driver as we did & sit back to enjoy good conversation & sights along the way.
I hope you enjoy The Yellow City as much as we did. “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” unk
