Which Maya city stands on cliffs overlooking the Caribbean Sea in Quintana Roo? The answer is Tulum.
Tulum is a walled Maya city on Mexico's Caribbean coast in the state of Quintana Roo. Its ruins occupy cliffs about 12 metres high above the sea, giving the site a striking defensive position and a direct view toward the east. The settlement was one of the last major cities built and inhabited by the Maya.
Tulum flourished especially between the 13th and 15th centuries, when it served as an important port connected with the inland city of Cobá. Coastal and overland routes converged there, and archaeological finds show trade links reaching across the Yucatán, Central Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
The site may originally have been called Zamá, often interpreted as “City of Dawn,” because it faces the sunrise. The name Tulum is associated with a Maya word for a wall, fence, or trench. Visitors sometimes confuse the ancient city with the modern resort town, but the archaeological zone is the preserved walled settlement on the coastal bluff.