Ek Balam Ruins

Ek Balam arguably is the better of the two sites, but it's fairly small. This location consists of a former small settlement of the Mayas with a high pyramid you can climb.

While a smaller place to visit, the buildings here are better preserved and of a nicer build style.

Coba Ruins

The Coda Ruins are more spread out, you can rent a bicycle cart with a driver to shuttle you around if you prefer. We initially didn't, but halfway through we changed our mind because everything is quite a hike apart.

The Coba site is spread out throughout the forests of Quintana Roo and has many pyramids, smaller buildings and statues to investigate.

Route files

Download: cancun_ekbalam_coba.zip
File: zip file / Size: 45 KB / Uploaded: November 21 2025

The route follows smaller rural roads, or carretera as they're called, and avoids Toll roads. We spent a few hours on each archeological site and did both in one day. Not sure how to use GPX files? Read this article!