COBA
Coba is a large and sprawling site, located about 30 minutes northwest
of Tulum.
Actually, it is composed of several separate-but-connected
sites, most of which are still “lost in the jungle.” During the Late
Classic Period (800 to 925 A.D.), Coba was the largest site on the
northeastern Yucatan Peninsula and had a dense population spread over an
area of nearly 30 square miles.
Today, the main area of this restored and partially-restored
archeological site is located between the two largest of five lakes in the
area—Lake Macanxoc and Lake Coba. The only sizeable lakes in all of
northern Yucatan, they are no doubt the reason why the Maya settled here
in the first place. Coba in Maya means “ruffled waters.”
One of the most outstanding features of Coba is the incredible number
of sacbeob (white roads) that connect different parts of it to each other,
and link it to outposts on the coast as well as other cities many miles
inland. More than 45 sacbeob have been discovered here, including one that
runs 62 miles to the west, connecting Coba to the city of Yaxuna. It has
been proposed that this causeway was the last-ditch effort by Coba to
strengthen its trade relationship to the interior, thereby competing with
its rival Chichen Itza during the early Post Classic Period.
Coba has several groups of interesting buildings, such as the Iglesia
Group (church), which includes the ball court, and the Pinturas Group with
its remnant paintings. But by far the most important group is the Nohoc
mul Group, with its massive temple-pyramid of the same name. The view from
the top of this pyramid is a bird’s eye view of a huge expanse of
surrounding jungle that is very moving to see. At 138 feet tall, it is the
highest ancient construction in all of Yucatan.
Forty-five stelae (upright stone slabs with carved inscriptions and
images on them) have been recovered from Coba, with dates that range from
613 A.D. to 780 A.D. One, which has one of the longest hieroglyphic stela
texts known, portrays a queen.
Even if you go only to see the Nohoc mul Temple-Pyramid alone, looming
high above the Yucatan jungle, a visit to Coba is well worth it.
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