Coming in from Yucatan where I had already seen plenty of Maya ruins, I was wondering what more Palenque would have to offer. Some more pyramids I figured. I had heard or read little on the site and had a hard time fathoming what would be unique about it.

But Palenque is strikingly different from the Yucatan ruins. It's probably the setting with the ruins embedded in jungle and hills. I felt really reminded of Indiana Jones.

Getting There

Palenque is relatively hard to get to. The next major town is Villahermosa (2,5h by bus), a town not generally on the average tourist's itinerary. The main tourist stops nearby would be San Cristobal de Las Casas and Campeche. Albeit "nearby" is not really appropriate for 5h resp. 8h trips. Luckily, the site is well worth the effort (5* rating from me).

In my case I came from Calakmul. After lunch I got on a bus in Xpujil to Escarcega and from there on another bus to Emiliano Zapato. In Emiliano Zapato I jumped on a Colectivo to Palenque arriving at night. I think it took me 10h or so to make the trip, but it all worked out and the plan had plenty of buffer. Still, working with the limited online information available I was a bit worried if I would make it.

After having visited the site I left in the afternoon for Villahermosa from where I continued to Tlacotalpan (bus to Cosamaloapan, local bus from there) the next day.