Tulum (city)
| Tulum | ||
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Coordinates: 20 ° 12 ′ N , 87 ° 28 ′ W Tulum on the map of Mexico
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| Basic data | ||
| Country | Mexico | |
| State | Quintana Roo | |
| Residents | 18,233 (2010) | |
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| Detailed data | ||
| surface | 6.64 km 2 | |
| Population density | 2.746 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| height | 5 m | |
| Post Code | 77780 | |
| prefix | 984 | |
| Time zone | UTC -5 | |
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Tulum is a coastal city with approx. 20,000 inhabitants and the capital of a municipality ( Municipio Tulum ) with approx. 30,000 inhabitants in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo on the Yucatán peninsula . The city has been one of the pueblos mágicos since 2015 . Akumal and Cobá also belong to the municipality .
geography
The city of Tulum is divided into two parts. The former fishing village of Tulum is located on the Cancun - Chetumal highway , about 2 km from the beach as the crow flies. This is where the administration, post office, banks, shops, schools, bus station and taxi ranks are located, i.e. almost the entire communal infrastructure. A 7 km long Zona Hotelera has been created directly along the coast , which is constantly expanding to the south. It is dominated by hotel and holiday complexes as well as the first souvenir and supply shops. The two parts are connected by a wide access road which, as an extension, is the trunk road connection to Valladolid .
The climate of Tulum is tropical with an annual average temperature of 26 ° C. The location on the Yucatec limestone plateau, into which the frequent rainfall seeps in immediately and does not form surface water, results in a steppe-like landscape with dry forests ( selva ). An exception are the cenotes , washouts of the limestone plate, where the ceiling has collapsed and has left a water hole that is filled all year round. These lakes have their own microclimate with humid tropical vegetation.
Right off Tulum's coast is the Caribbean reef , a coral reef that stretches from the northern tip of the Yucatán to Belize . It protects the beach from high waves. The Caribbean coast is a gateway for hurricanes . The word hurricane probably has its origin in the Mayan language and means "god of wind". Tulum is in the direct hazard area.
population
Tulum was a Mayan place. Because of the increasing tourism, many Americans and Europeans have settled in addition to Mexicans from all parts of the country since the 1970s. They mostly run hotels, restaurants and craft businesses.
At the census in 2005, the city had 14,790 inhabitants; in 2010 there were 18,233 and today there are probably around 25,000.
history
The Caribbean coast has likely been continuously inhabited since the Mayan times due to its natural resources and coastal trade. The historic Tulum , at that time probably a kind of new housing estate of the north lying Tankah , had a fixed place in the coastal trade network, which stretched from El Meco via El Rey , Cozumel , Xel Há , Xcaret , Tankah / Tulum via Muyil to Belize and Honduras . After the arrival of the Spaniards, the Mayan sites were abandoned and the coastline sank into insignificance. There was still a scattered settlement by fishermen and subsistence farmers, as Spanish sources show. Since the decision of the Mexican government in 1969 to found the Cancun tourist center, the then existing fishing village of Tulum has slowly moved into tourist and regional planning attention. The seaside resort recorded a steadily growing population. Due to the economic development of recent history, Tulum experienced a rapid increase in importance, so that the city has been the center of the newly founded administrative district of the same name ( Municipio Tulum ) since 2008 . An international airport is under construction.
Culture and sights
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With its fine beaches of glistening white coral sand that slope gently into the sea and the offshore reef that weakens the surf, the Zona Hotelera of Tulum offers good opportunities for relaxation and swimming. Snorkeling and diving trips on the reef are popular. You can go on deep sea tours for sport fishing . The formerly widespread accommodation of tourists in simple huts (cabañas, palapas, equipped with hammocks) made of wood or woven mats has been almost completely replaced by hotels and holiday resorts.
There are several cenotes in and around Tulum where you can swim and dive. One of them, the Grand Cenote , is about 8 km northwest of the city on the road to Valladolid.
The Mayan ruins of Tulum east of the city on the highway to Cancun are an important tourist attraction. The ritual center of Zamá is located at the northern end of the Zona Hotelera and, being built on a cliff, is clearly visible from the beach from afar.
Local providers organize day or half-day tours to the surrounding sights and leisure activities, such as the Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve south of Tulum, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987 . A wide variety of habitats with a rich flora and fauna can be found on an area of 5,280 km². The reserve extends over the mainland, freshwater and saltwater lagoons as well as coastal and marine areas, including the offshore reef .
The non-governmental organization CeSiaK maintains an information center in the north of the protected area and organizes lectures and educational measures on ecosystems and species protection. Environmental education projects are aimed primarily at primary school students in Tulum; the educational program is financed from the tourism income of the information center.
There are also excursions to the Akumal lagoon or the Mayan ruins of Cobá and Muyil.
Economy and Infrastructure
The city is located directly on the 4-lane Carretera federal 307 running to Tulum on the coast , which connects the northern tourist centers of Cancún and Playa del Carmen with Chetumal, the capital of Quintana Roo in the south.
Tulum is connected to the Yucatec capital Mérida by long-distance buses via Valladolid . The trunk road is already partially expanded to 4 lanes.
An international airport is under construction to further develop tourism and infrastructure. An area north of the connecting road to Valladolid is planned as the site for this. The areas for the runways are already delimited and can be seen in the satellite view. The airport will be about halfway to Cobá approx. 20 km north-northwest of Tulum. It is scheduled to start operating in November 2010.
Overall, there are individual efforts to implement urban and regional development that is more geared towards sustainable tourism , especially since tourism expansion is limited by the biosphere reserve in the south. New language schools for Spanish, especially geared towards European tourism, have emerged in recent years.
Web links
- Official website of the Município de Tulum (Spanish)
- Município de Tulum - map, photos + info (Spanish)
- Municipio Tulum - villages etc. (Spanish)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tulum - Census 2010
- ↑ Tulum - climate tables
- ↑ Gobierno del Estado Quintana Roo: Retornan a la normalidad actividades en los municipios de la zona norte, July 21, 2008 ( Memento of the original of December 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Press release from the government of Quintana Roo with details of the hurricane-related evacuation of coastal residents, accessed January 11, 2010 (Spanish).
- ↑ CeSiaK website (Centro ecológico de Sian Ka'an) , accessed on September 6, 2009 (English / Spanish).
- ↑ Press release by the Governor of Quintana Roo on the development of the city and region of Tulum ( Memento of the original from December 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed January 11, 2010, Spanish.
- ^ Language School , accessed on September 11, 2014.
