There are many amazing places to explore in the Tulum area, but ask around and the locals will agree – Sian Ka’an is worth visiting if you have the time and a desire to adventure in the jungle!
We found Sian Ka’an while looking for locations to have our wedding ceremony, during our Tulum elopement in November 2018.
The Biosphere is located just south of the hotel strip when driving down the coast of the Caribbean Sea past all the local shops and restaurants. It was a beautiful drive cruising through the jungle in our rented Jeep – just watch out for the BUMPY (understated) road conditions!
Our Experience at Sian Ka’an
When we first arrived at Sian Ka’an when we drove through a massive arched gate that the road passes under. This gateway into the Biosphere near Tulum was built by hand by the local Mayan craftsmen out of hard woods from the jungle, and reminded us of the very first Jurassic Park!
We were then greeted by a gatekeeper with an enormous leather bound, hand written visitor ledger. The book was close to the same size as the table it sat upon and it held the names and place of origin of 100s of people whom had visited Sian Ka’an before us (not many are brave enough to make it this far!), written in their own handwriting.
The names “Dylan and Kate Yarter” now have a place written in Mayan history! 😉
A few kilometers up the jungle path we arrived at a beautiful two story visitor center, built of handmade adobe walls and a thatch jungle hut roof made from long, thin timber and palm leaves.
The entire building was open, perfectly kept and had many charming features to explore.
We had a really fun time taking pictures of the building materials, the artfully created windows, and of course the jungle canopy overhead.
Every where we looked was a perfect photo op!
The Sian Ka’an Treehouse
One of the most breathtaking parts of our visit to Tulum was the Sian Ka’an’s towering treehouse platform attached into the building!
Attached to the second level of the building was a long wooden bridge which extended to a tall, circular staircase leading to a treehouse platform 100 feet off the ground. The wind was blowing hard off the ocean that day so the walk up the steep, swaying stairs into the jungle canopy was very exciting haha!
Because of the wind and weight limit of the tiny treehouse, only two people are allowed to climb up at a time. After slowly climbing to the top, we held each other under the tree house canopy, overlooking the vast jungle and beautiful biosphere!
We shared an intimate moment taking in the amazing views of the ocean, jungle, and lagoons surrounding Tulum! We love every memory of that day! Being together in the jungle , so high up above the trees was an incredible experience!
The Real Name of Tulum – “Zama”
The visitor center’s hosts gave us some details about the biosphere and the plant and animal life that lives in the area, including a large population of brackish water manatees that stay in the jungle lagoons year-round!
The host also told us an inspiring story about the history of Tulum and that the city was originally called “Zama,” which means “new dawn” to the Mayan people. We always enjoy learning learning new things about the places we visit from the people who live there!
Worth a Visit While in Tulum
Stopping through Sian Ka’an during our elopement in Tulum was a great way to spend an afternoon. We could have easily spent the whole day in Sian Ka’an finding remote cenotes and avoiding crocodiles, but we were on a search for our perfect wedding ceremony spot!
After a couple of hours at Sian Ka’an, we loaded up into the Jeep and continued driving south down the rugged jungle path toward a fishing village called Punta Allen – while avoiding all of the lizards that scurry across the road! (at least they aren’t jungle crocs haha)
The blog post about our CRAZY adventure driving through the jungle on “the road to Punta Allen” and the cool pics we took there will be up on the blog soon!
Included in the upcoming Punta Allen post will be a short video of the jungle “road” we drove down on the journey – it ended up being 6 hours round trip! After we were too far in to turn around, we learned that the locals call the road the “Mayan Massage” hahaha! So stay tuned!
More Stories from Tulum Coming Soon!
We have SO many more pictures and stories from our adventures eloping in the jungles of Tulum and the places we visited in the Yucatan coming to the blog soon!
In the meantime, check out our recent sneak peek from our beach shoot in Tulum or the recent post about our Tulum wedding venue for more!
We are also running a Holiday Sale – 40% OFF all of our hand painted prints! There are over 200 different prints to choose from, available in many different sizes.
All of our hand painted art prints, rad vintage goods, hand loomed Mayan wallhangings, and other oddities and one-of-a-kind finds available in our Etsy shop! Order soon if you want your items by the Holidays!
