Quintana Roo on the sun drenched shores of Mexico's Caribbean
coastline has long been a mecca for cave diving and exploration. Chetumal is
the capital. Occupying most of the eastern part of the Yucatán peninsula,
the state was, until recently, wild, sparsely settled, and populated almost
entirely by the Maya. The Yucatan is primarily a flat karst plateau with few hills and
even fewer rivers. In the state of Quintana Roo on the peninsula's
Caribbean coastline all the fresh water moves underground through shallow caves.
These caves have provided water to the life above for millennia. The
ancient Maya as well as the modern day inhabitants of the peninsula rely on this
water for their survival.
Now, more than twenty years after the first explorations, roughly two hundred
miles of submerged caves have been discovered and explored, establishing the
Yucatan peninsula as the home of the world's largest and most spectacular
underwater caves.
In recent years large areas have been cleared for farming
and pasture. It has a hot climate and high rainfall. The economy is dominated by
tourism. Along the Caribbean coast is the famous Mayan archaeological
zone of Tulúm as well as the lare Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve.
Quintana Roo is sparsely populated
and contains some of the region's most breathtaking white-sand beaches, tropical
forests and vine-covered Mayan ruins.
Visitors come to this region to ejoy
world class beaches, clear turquoise waters, natural landscapes, history and
culture.