Valladolid

Three Valladolid days with Ek Balam at opening and Dzitnup by bike

Spend the first of three Valladolid days in town. Start on the Parque Francisco Cantón Rosado with the Cathedral of San Gervasio on its south side, join the 10:00 tour of Casa de los Venados, a 17th-century house full of folk art, then swim at Cenote Zací, where the brave jump from about 6 m.

Late in the afternoon, follow the Calzada de los Frailes from the Cinco Calles junction to the convent of San Bernardino de Siena in the Sisal barrio, built from the 1550s, and stay for dusk when the facade is lit.

Day two. Leave at dawn for Ek Balam, 28 km north, about 30 minutes by car or taxi. Climb the Acropolis to see the stucco mouth-shaped doorway and the view, then cool off at one of the cenotes near the site. In the afternoon, rent a bike and ride west to Dzitnup, where the cave cenotes of X'keken and Samulá sit side by side; a shaft of light falls into the water at midday. Back in town, eat on the square.

Day three. Take the earliest bus or a taxi to Chichén Itzá, about 45 minutes west, and be through the gates at opening, before the Cancún coaches arrive. Stop at Cenote Suytun, with its stone walkway into a cavern pool, on the way back, then finish with dinner on Calle 41.

Lomitos, longaniza and escabeche oriental at the Valladolid market

A few eastern Yucatán recipes carry Valladolid's name. Lomitos de Valladolid is diced pork simmered in fresh tomato sauce with chile, served with rice, beans and hard-boiled egg; longaniza de Valladolid is a smoked pork sausage seasoned with achiote, grilled, in tacos or chopped into breakfast eggs.

The Yucatecan classics are here too. Cochinita pibil, pork marinated in achiote and sour orange and slow-cooked wrapped in banana leaves, is best early in the day at market stalls, while relleno negro is turkey in a black paste of charred chiles with chopped egg. Frijol con puerco, pork and black beans, is the traditional Monday lunch across Yucatán. Other good orders: lechón al horno (oven-roasted suckling pork) and bistec de cazuela, a stewed beef.

For breakfast or a cheap lunch, the municipal market's food stalls are the place to find these dishes. In the evening, the square fills with carts selling marquesitas, esquites and fruit ices. The streets around the square and the Calzada de los Frailes now have plenty of cafés and vegetarian restaurants aimed at visitors; they are pleasant, but for regional cooking choose the busy family places where locals eat lunch.

Longer drives to the Río Lagartos flamingos and Las Coloradas

Valladolid's position pays off again after Ek Balam and Chichén Itzá, with three longer excursions best done by car or with a driver. Río Lagartos, about an hour and a half north via Tizimín, has boat tours to see flamingos, herons and crocodiles; nearby Las Coloradas has pink lakes.

Río Lagartos, on the north coast via Tizimín, is about an hour and a half away. Its mangrove estuary is a biosphere reserve where boat tours with local fishermen take you to see flamingos, herons and crocodiles; the flamingos are most numerous in spring and early summer. Combine it with Las Coloradas a few kilometres east, where salt evaporation ponds turn vivid pink in the sun. Swimming in the ponds is not allowed, and the colour is strongest around midday.

West of Chichén Itzá, Izamal, about an hour and a half from Valladolid, is the yellow town: almost every building is painted the same mustard colour, and a vast Franciscan convent sits on top of an ancient Maya platform. A pyramid, Kinich Kakmó, rises a few blocks away.

Timing is everything in this heat. The cooler, drier months from November to March are best for long drives and boat trips. April and May are scorching, so start at first light and plan cenote stops for the afternoon. From June to October, rain usually falls as short, heavy storms in the afternoon, and mosquitoes on the coast are worse. Around Hanal Pixán, the Yucatecan Day of the Dead at the end of October, families build altars across the region, and early February brings Valladolid's traditional Candelaria fair.