Mexico Guide
The Yucatán
The Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve
Sian Ka'an means "the place where the sky is born" in Maya, which seems appropriate when you experience the sunrise in this beautiful part of the peninsula. Created by presidential decree in 1986 and made a World Heritage Site in 1987, the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve is a huge, sparsely populated region sprawling along the coast south of Tulum. One of the largest protected areas in Mexico, it covers 1.3 million acres. Only about a thousand permanent inhabitants are found here, mainly fishermen and subsistence farmers gathered in the village of Punta Allen.
It contains all three of the principal ecosystems found in the Yucatán Peninsula and the Caribbean: the area is approximately one-third tropical forest, one-third fresh- and saltwater marshes and mangroves and one-third marine environment, including a section of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. All five species of Mexican wild cat – jaguar, puma, ocelot, margay and jaguarundi – live in the forest, along with spider and howler monkeys, tapir and deer. More than three hundred species of birds have been recorded (including fifteen types of heron and the endangered wood stork, the largest wading bird to breed in North America) and the coastal forests and wetlands are important feeding and wintering areas for North American migratory birds. The Caribbean beaches provide nesting grounds for four endangered marine turtle species, while extremely rare West Indian manatees have been seen in the inlets. Morelets and mangrove crocodiles lurk in the lagoons.
Although you can enter the park unaccompanied (M$20), on the road south from Tulum's beach hotels, you will benefit more from an organized tour, which is easily arranged in Tulum. One of the best operators is Sian Ka'an Info Tours, part of a non-profit group called Centro Ecológico de Sian Ka'an (CESIAK), which funds its research and educational programmes with several tours: one by day through the ancient Maya canals that criss-cross the marshy areas here, and a late-afternoon excursion that takes in sunset inside the reserve (M$700 each); half-day kayaking trips are also an option (M$500). These are great trips around the fringes of the reserve's vast open spaces, with excellent opportunities for bird watching, especially on the sunset tour. You can reserve a spot at the office in Tulum.
CESIAK also offers accommodation at its rigorously ecofriendly Boca Paila Camps ( 
984/871-2499, 
www.siankaan.org ; Price: M$500-750), hidden among the trees in a prime location near the beach; guests share bathrooms (with composting toilets), but there is hot water, thanks to solar and wind power. The staff are very well informed about the reserve, and the inexpensive restaurant is worth the long drive from Tulum for its sunset view across the jungle. Note that although there are many enticing stretches of sand along the road from Tulum, biosphere regulations prohibit camping on the beach to control erosion – which is not to say it's not done, unfortunately.