San Simón — Beyond Uxmal and Into the Wild
Ten miles south of Uxmal’s majestic ancient Puuc capital is San Simón, a tiny community where people live off the land, much like their Maya ancestors.

In San Simón, cell phone service and amenities are limited to a small shop selling the basics. The nearest options for anything more than that are Muna or Santa Elena, both roughly an hour away.

Adding to the town’s sense of isolation is that there is only one way in or out, which oddly enough is through Uxmal’s parking lot.

The road, though by no means a highway, is in much better shape than one would expect. With all the twists and turns, it’s best to play it safe, go slow, and enjoy the view.

The way to San Simón is dotted with the ruins of stone temples dating back millennia. Most of these structures have been reduced to piles of rubble, but paying close attention can reveal several interesting architectural details, such as carvings.

But even without getting out of the car, it is possible to spot some exciting examples of restored architecture on the way… but blink and you will miss it,

The landscape in San Simón is dominated by ejidos, where local farmers maintain fields of corn, squash, and other staples.
An ejido is a communal land tenure system created after the revolution of 1910. Ejidos are primarily used for agriculture but can also include other activities like raising livestock and tourism.

Small-scale honey production is also practiced in San Simón’s ejido, so if you come across apiaries, do not disturb them.

San Simón’s town center, if you could call it that, is dominated by an old hacienda whose grounds are now used chiefly for playing soccer.

Folks in San Simón, though not shy or particularly skeptical of outsiders, enjoy the calm of their community and follow their ancient traditions. Originally from Teabo, Lizeth Yahpat moved to San Simón after marrying her husband who has lived in the community most of his life. Lizeth says she enjoys living in such a small place because she knows the community is strong and her children can roam around without a care in the world.

Lizeth is also one of the eight women working with archaeologists in Uxmal on restoration projects, something she says she is very proud of and is looking forward to sharing with her children and saying, “Look at what your mom helped to do.”


Senior Editor Carlos Rosado van der Gracht is a Mexican expedition/Canadian photographer and adventure leader. Born in Mérida, Carlos holds multimedia, philosophy, and translation degrees from universities in Mexico, Canada and Norway.