Ruis of Cobá, México

Although Coba, located 45 km (28 miles) northwest of Tulum, is less well-known than either Tulum or Chichen Itza, it is one of the oldest Mayan cities and predates other better known cities in the area.

Xaibe at Coba, Riviera Maya, Mexico

Coba is located near five of the largest lakes in the Yucatan Peninsula: Cobá, Macanxoc, Xkanha, Zacalpuc and Sina A Kal.

Coba covers an area of about 70 square km (28 square miles). The most important buildings there are located near the Coba and Macanxoc lakes. Most of the buildings in Coba are unrestored, which isn't surprising, given that there are approximately 15,000 structures throughout the city.

History

The five lakes of Coba are without a doubt the main reason why the Mayans settled here.

Coba Lagoon, Riviera Maya, Mexico

Coba reached its peak around 600 AD, yet it was mysteriously abandoned three hundred years later. Some archaeological evidence suggests that around the 8th century, when the population of the city was at its peak, it may have had as many as 55,000 residents.

Coba's buildings are connected by a complex network of sacbes, or stone roads, that are believed to have been built between 600 and 800 BC. There are over 40 sacbes that cover approximately 100 km (63 miles). The sacbes reach other important Mayan cities, like Yaxuna, near Chichen Itza, Pole, now called Xcaret, and the Muyil. They are believed to have been used by the military and for trading, and sacbes were also used for various rituals and pilgrimages.

As Chichen Itza became more economically, and militarily dominant, Coba began to decline. Both cities fought long wars against each other. The destruction of Yaxuna in 860 by Chichen Itza, a city considered to be Coba´s stronghold, marked Coba´s downfall. Despite this, some centuries later, other buildings were added to the city and pilgrimages to Coba continued for some time afterward.

In 1891, the Austrian archaeologist Teobert Maler, after hearing of an ancient city lost in the jungle, came to Coba and began its first excavation. The city remained undisturbed for another thirty five years until 1926, when the Carnegie Institute financed two expeditions headed by Eric Thompson and Harry Pollock. In the 1970´s the Mexican government through the INAH (National Institute of Anthropology and History) financed more excavations at Coba. In spite of all this work, only a few of structures in Coba have been excavated and restored.