Candelaria may Just Be the Most Underated Stop on the Tren Maya’s Route

The Candelaria River runs from Guatemala into the Gulf of Mexico through its many tributaries and is extremely rich in its biodiversity. 

Despite its undeniable charm, natural beauty, and long history, saying that Candelaria flies under the radar would be an understatement.

But a couple of years ago, Candelaria’s status as a remote, hard-to-reach community was transformed by the Tren Maya (Mayan Train) route connecting Palenque and Cancun, which runs through it.

Despite this, few visitors disembark at Candelaria, making it a blink-and-you ‘ll-miss-it stop. Most passengers to and from Candelaria travel only one or two stops to visit family or friends in nearby communities like Escárcega.

This is a shame, as locals in Candelaria, hoping to see a spike in tourism, have opened new restaurants and set up boat tours for birdwatching and fishing.

Despite traveling to Candelaria during a long weekend, I was surprised to find myself, at least seemingly, the only visitor in town. This sense was highlighted by the locals constantly greeting me and asking if there was anything specific I was looking for, not to sell me anything, but just because they legitimately seemed enthused to see un turista. 

The most memorable of these encounters came when taking a morning jog on the town’s riverside pier; a man with a huge grin stopped me, cracked a coconut against the ground, and insisted I drink it all in one continuous gulp—Hasta el fondo. 

Feeling disheveled and a little confused, but not wanting to be rude, I took him up on his offer and must admit this was perhaps the most delicious coconut water I have ever tasted.

The man whose name was Chivo, which was certainly a nickname, told me it was good to see visitors in the town and that I should tell my friends, so I guess here I am!

I continued on my jog and crossed a huge bridge, snapping photos of the town and the river as I made my way around, increasingly smitten with the community.

Aside from its palm tree-lined boardwalk and friendly locals, another thing Candelaria has going for it is that it is kept extremely clean. Seeing rubbish on the street or in the river is rare and, at the very least, a positive sign, especially given the number of wild birds and animals in the area.

While I had long been curious about Candelaria and had passed it a couple of times on the train on the way to Palenque, the main reason I decided to make the stop was to visit the ruins of Itzamkanac, which is also known as El Tigre.

The site exceeded my already high expectations and whetted my appetite for exploring the region further. Unfortunately, unless you have a vehicle of your own, the only real way to get around to visit archaeological sites in this region is by taxi, which gets fairly expensive when you’re on your own. 

Nevertheless, after four hours at the ruins of Itzamkanac and downing what must have been no less than two liters of water, financial caution was thrown to the wind as I asked the driver to take me to a few other smaller sites in the vicinity, including one ominously known as “Cerro de los Muertos”. It was well worth it, but very bumpy and not for the faint of heart. 

Aside from their friendly disposition, folks from Carmelita are a little different from what one would expect, which is to say not particularly campechano. This is likely the result of much of the city’s population being migrants from Central America who fled the region’s many civil wars in the 80’s. 

But even those whose families have lived in the region for generations lack distinct markers of Peninsular identity. While this may be the result of isolation, it is likely also has to do with the fact that the Maya peoples who settled this region were not Yucatec-Maya, as is the case in most of the region, but rather Mopan Maya, an entirely different ethnic and cultural group much closer to that of folks living on the other side of the Candelaria River in Guatemala’s Petén region, as well as Belize.

Restaurants in Candelaria are, not surprisingly, dominated by seafood, but for a city of its size, it has a surprisingly large number of cafes and local pizza joints. Despite some initial reservations about going out alone at night, I was glad I did so, as a cool breeze swept through the town and I enjoyed an esquite on the boardwalk. 

A place like Candelaira has a lot to gain from the Tren Maya, but the word hasn’t seemed to get out yet. It’s unlikely this tiny town will ever become a tourist hotspot, but if you are looking to break up a long train ride a bit, or are curious about the archaeology in the area, you sure could do a lot worse.

Interested in visiting Candelaria?

Since publishing about Itzamkanac last week, I received a few emails from folks interested in going. So if you would like to get on board, and check out this and other great sites (as well as Candelaria itself), send me an email at: carlos.rosado@gmail.com