A day at Xplor is certainly a highlight of your trip vacation in Cancun that you can’t miss.

You will begin your day with the zip lines which are an awesome experience. Be prepared to climb a lot of stairs though. Zip lines are so much fun. You will see people in front of us that are very scared or maybe you will be, but the only thing you have to worry about is to enjoy flying over the lush jungle of the Riviera Maya. Take your time, breathe and have fun because the zip lines are very safe and the employees are very professional and helpful, they always make sure that your gear is well fastened before you let yourself go. Scary the first time you pick your feet up, but once you realize what is it about you will be so happy to be there.

Wear shorts and water socks as the harness can rub your thighs and don’t wear flip flops, they won’t stay on.  

You cannot carry any personal things during the journey. The walk is long and the zip lines include some water landings and a slide. You will get wet, wear something that dries easy, and remember a change of clothes for the ride home.

It is recommendable to wear water shoes. Besides, Xplor will take pictures of you along your excursion and you will be able to purchase them at the end of the day, so you don’t even have to worry about taking care of a camera. There will be a locker where you will be able to keep all your stuff.

The second favorite part of Xplor adventure is swimming through the underwater river, the water is clear and fresh and you will be astonished by the rock formations. Underground River Paddle: is lots of fun too. You will get an arm work out. It is much easier to get around in the single person boat. People get stuck if they don’t have a good synchronization on the doubles.

Driving the Amphibious Vehicles through the jungle and caves are totally fun too. Try to arrive early to be able to have enough time to do all the activities before Xplor closes.

Xplor is totally well worth what you pay and if you purchase online in advance you get a discount in your tickets.

Xcaret Plus Tickets include Xplor in addition to Xcaret Park Attractions and the Xcaret Night Show (Xcaret Mexico Espectacular).

The two largest barrier reefs in the world are the Great Barrier Reef Australian measuring 2500 km long and our system of Mesoamerican Caribbean reef with an area of 1 000 km.

Corals are formed by many small organisms called polyps that are segregated and accumulate millions of tons of limestone, and slowly created a reef, which together with the sponges and algae, are the habitat of over 3,000 marine species.

Unfortunately, the balance of coral reefs is too vulnerable due to pollution, over-exploitation of its resources and exaggerated and poorly prosecuted touristic activities.

For their protection, Xcaret Park, in the Riviera Maya, Mexico  along with other institutions has established sustainable development programs in tourism and fishing activities, research and education.

Xcaret Park offers a great opportunity to appreciate the wonderful biodiversity of the Caribbean through a Natural Reef Aquarium which displays the typical ecosystems of the Riviera Maya coast in Quintana Roo, Mexico.

The Xcaret Park reef aquarium recreates the natural conditions of Caribbean reefs, thanks to a pumping system that enables open sea water getting into tanks without being filtered, which also enters with the plankton and many organisms that initiate a natural colonization process on the artificial reef structures.

Through this process and the collection and transplantation of organs, the Xcaret Park Reef Aquarium now has more than 5,000 specimens, representing a valuable sample of the Mexican caribbean coral reefs, and being one of the main attractions at Xcaret Ecological Park that you cannot miss.

The Xcaret Park Reef Aquarium also has developed some research programs, where you can  learn about  the ecosystems, contributing to the conservation of one of the main assets of the world through awareness of its visitors.

All environmental, educational  and interactive activities at Xcaret Park are focused on  caring for and respecting  living organisms that make up our environment.

The reef aquarium at  Xcaret is included with all Park Entrance Tickets.

Xcaret Park main objective is that its visitors spend a day packed of fun, with different attractions immersed in a natural environment with interactive programs to awake awareness to take care ot our planet.  Buying your tickets to Xcaret or any of  Xcaret Tours, you are contributing to endangered species conservation activities.  

Don’t miss the incredible Night Show  Mexico Espactacular,  in your visit to Xcaret Park,.

Xcaret Park, at the Riviera Maya, Mexico  in coordination with the reserve and with the approval of the National Institute of Ecology, initiated a major program of protection to the Caribbean flamingo.

The first measures taken were monitoring and control of predators (such as jaguars) and forest fires to facilitate nesting. The program includes collection of eggs out of their nests. They determine which contain an embryo with life and protect them in the reserve incubator donated by Xcaret Park, while others are moved to the park where to be incubated artificially.

The actions also include monitoring of the flock during the nesting season, monitoring of artificial incubation, hand feeding of chickens with a nutritional formula, measuring daily; reintegration of chickens to wildlife,  breeding flocks in the park , abandoned chicken rescue, injured ones research, biology, behavior and habitat.

With your Xcaret  tickets you may see these long-necked birds of candy pink and red plumage, short tail and long legs and enjoy some other attractions including Xcaret Mexico Espectacular Show, at dusk. Ask your Travel Agent about Xcaret Tours.

Xcaret Park has developed programs that contribute to the preservation of endangered species in the region. One example of this is the wild birds breeding program at Xcaret Park, which breeds captive birds, including macaws. The first birds were acquired through donations and exchanges with some other zoos.

The process requires great care and attention. First, the necessary conditions for the birds to mate must be set. This involves determining the sex of the birds by endoscopic surgery, because males and females are physically the same, then the birds are placed together and are expected to choose their partner, while observing their behavior. Once a female-male couple is formed, it is isolated in a specially designed nest to provide them safety and comfort. Adaptation and incubation times, the amount of eggs and nest temperature are monitored. Once a chick is born, it is separated from their parents and manually fed through special needles diet every certain periods of time and weighed regularly The task is arduous but very rewarding outcomes.

Every year 2,000 Xcaret Park delivers 42 fowls. This project  also provides information of reproductive biology and behavior of macaws is focused on the reintroduction of these birds to their natural habitat in order to repopulate areas where these beautiful birds could be easily seen before. The observation of macaws is included in Xcaret Tickets.

Xcaret park’s main objective is that its visitors spend a day packed of fun, with different attractions.  Xcaret Park has interactive programs to awake awareness of our planet. Buying your tickets to Xcaret you contribute to endangered species conservation activities.  

Don’t miss the show Xcaret Mexico Espectacular, at dusk.

The orchid farm and greenhouse at Xcaret Park, Mexico  started their work with twelve native species. Later, Xcaret Park in the Riviera Maya began breeding native plants with the aim of spreading the vegetation of the region.

Xcaret Park has a laboratory that breeds mushrooms, orchids, bromeliads and more than 72,320 plants native to the Mexican Southeast, including 17 endemic species such as endangered cacti, ferns, insectivorous plants and palms. Also spreads 95 native species,  12 hybrids and host plants for butterflies with a plant breeding program to rescue wild plants whose environment has been altered for major reforestation purposes but also for marketing to reduce indiscriminate pillaging.

Nowadays, Xcaret Park rescues an average of 2,000 plants of 30 different species each year, especially kukab, chit, nak’as ku’um, and guano palms that have been overexploited due to the construction of thatched roofs and the four species mangroves: botoncillo,  red, white and black.

The breeding program of a plant follows three stages: the hand-pollination, in vitro system and after two years, moving outdoor pots first and then his natural habitat.

The in vitro cultivation of orchid’s technique requires high technology, since germination is the most delicate stage in the life cycle of the orchid, optimal conditions must be observed to prevent cross-breeding and a strict temperature, light and moisture control. The labs hold about 5 000 bottles, each stocked with 25 to 50 seedlings that were transformed into 250 000 beautiful orchids.

The orchid collection at Xcaret Park increases with donations, exchanges and certified purchases.
Of the 35,000 species of orchids in the world, 21,000 are native to Mexico and 109 of them are found in the Yucatan Peninsula. However, due to the great beauty and variety of flowers and the healing properties of some of the orchids, they have been subject to unmeasured collections, together with deforestation, causing the extinction of many species.

All Xcaret tours and tickets include a visit to the Orchid Farm, being this a way for visitors to learn about the different species of regional flora and the importance of keeping them thriving. The park staff provides lectures and lessons for students, visitors and communities in the area. At the end of the day, there is a wonderful night show that you can’t miss, Xcaret Mexico Espectacular.

Xcaret park’s main objective is that its visitors spend a day packed of fun, with different attractions.  In addition, Xcaret Park has interactive programs to awake awareness of our planet, so buying your tickets to Xcaret you contribute to endangered species conservation activities.

This project was founded in 1994 with the identification of numerous populations of butterflies in the state of Quintana Roo, their host plants and nectar plants used to be fed.

Four years later Xcaret Park began the cultivation of host plants and nectar plants for butterflies in the region, in order to know the growth of these species, succeeding in reforesting the park with the fabulous amount of 17.974 host plants and 26000 nectar plants.

What made butterflies as Parides, Papilo thoas and  Driadula,  that were no longer seen in the area, reappeared, in addition to providing food for migratory butterfly species.

For a butterfly is necessary to propagate ten host plants. Nowadays, the Xcaret nursery propagates 3 000 plants a month, and intends to continue reforesting the park, and areas of the strip of coastal dunes in the north of the state is a serious environmental impact.

Three species of butterflies withstand a delicate situation, because of the disruption of the jungle, Hamadryas honorina, one of the seven endemic species of the Yucatan peninsula; Battus philenor corbis, whose habitat is restricted to beaches and dunes where the host plant  Aristoloquia Pentandra  grows and  Driadula phaetusa phaetusa, of which there is little information, so that its research is important.

To save these butterflies n serious danger of extinction, the Xcaret Park organized collections of adult butterflies in the southern part of the state. The specimens are transferred to the nursery of Xcaret Ecological Park, with similar conditions to their natural habitat.

Then the eggs are collected in small glass boxes and they hatch, the larvae are transported to their host plant.

The Butterfly Pavilion at Xcaret Park also reproduces an average of  400 specimens per species a month, and knows the life cycles of 51 species.

The butterfly Pavilion at Xcaret Park has three farms, a larva with the humidity and temperature needed,  a laboratory to control parasites and to care newly hatched larvae, and a 80,000 host plant nursery.

The main objective of the butterfly is to continue studying this endangered species that provide valuable information to reintroduce them to their natural habitat again.

Xcaret Park main objective is that its visitors spend a day packed of fun, with different attractions.  In addition, Xcaret Park has interactive programs to awake awareness to take care of the environment, therefore buying your tickets to Xcaret you contribute to nature conservation activities. Ask your Travel Agency about Xcaret Tours. Don’t miss Xcaret  Mexico espactacular Show.

Many of these exotic birds are endangered due to loss of habitat, poaching and being captured and sold on the black market.   For these reasons, most of the birds are illegal to own without a special permit and Xcaret Eco Park is one of the few places that you can not only see but interact with these amazing animals.  You can even have your picture taken with one!

Among the 44 different species of birds there are Scarlet Macaws, Military Macaws, and Keel-Billed Toucans.   The Scarlet Macaw is a symbol that most people recognize from movies as a sign of the tropics!  These beautiful birds are only about 36 inches long and weigh about two pounds, but they can live up to 75 years in captivity!   They are also one of the native species of the Yucatan peninsula and the Mayan Riviera.

The Keel-Billed Toucan is another very famous face of the Caribbean and tropical places, but these birds only live in a

Keel-Billed Toucan

very small part of the world stretching from the Mayan Riviera to the northern part of South America.   The Keel-Billed Toucan is only about 22 inches long, but up to six inches of that is just its beak!   It may look heavy, but it´s actually not! The beak of the toucan is a very spongy kind of bone and very light, but very strong.  These birds mostly eat fruit and seeds, but occasionally they may even eat a lizard or large bugs!

At the Regional Wildlife Breeding Farm in Xcaret Eco Park you can see many different birds that are very quickly fading from the earth.   Due to many reasons there are very few of these wonderful creatures left and thanks to Xcaret Eco Park, you have the opportunity to see them first hand!

This tour is usually included in the regular ticket price, but may vary.  Be sure to call to find out more information.

Cemetery at Xcaret with the Kapok tree

During the Festival de Vida y Muerte, you can see traditional Mayan dances, plays about the cycle of life and death, taste the food specially made for the holiday and get an understanding of what it means to really remember.  At any time of the year you can see traditional Mayan dances at Xcaret Park, but only one time a year can you see the dances of life and death and for the first time in 2009, Xcaret Park invited local Mayan peoples to come share their traditional crafts, jewelry and food.   The cemetery is also “dressed up” for the occasion.  To really celebrate the dead, tradition is to create altars for those lost and in the cemetery you can see hundreds of examples of just how to honor the dead.

Decorated with photographs, sugar skulls, the favorite food of the dead, tequila or beer for adults and toys for children, these altars are a glimpse into the life of the person who is no longer with us.   By remembering and honoring the dead each year, the local people keep those they have lost alive in spirit which is the true meaning of the holiday.   The Festival of Life and Death at Xcaret Park is something to be enjoyed by the whole family and an educational glimpse into the Mayan culture.

The Festival of Life and Death is just one more amazing experience that you will find at Xcaret Park!

1. “The Xcaret Night show was pretty amazing in the evening and if you came by bus you will have to wait until it is done, but they really put a lot of work into the show and most people come for it as opposed to other things in the park I think. Much of the beginning of the show is about the ancient Mayans and follows through the history of music and dance in the Yucatan until modern times”.

2. “At night there is an excellent show that depicts the history of the peninsula through dance and performances. During the Xcaret Night Show, they show 2 ancient Mayan ball games which are quite interesting. One is like soccer, but you have to hit the ball with your hips, the other like across, but the ball is on fire”.

3. “The Xcaret Spectacular Night Show was very nice. Hot sitting in the seats. The first part was dragged out schemes, but the second part was Mexican dancing and singing. The whole show is done live, no recording and that was just amazing to me”.

4. At 7pm, just about all of the 7,000 park patrons crowd into a huge stadium for a great show. Get there around 6 for the best seats. The Xcaret Night Show is all in Spanish, but you’ll understand, don’t worry. Over 200 performers: dancers, musicians and actors lead you through a cultural history of Mexico from the Mayan era to today. You’ll see the Mayan ball game played with a rubber ball using only the hips, tribal dance, traditional mariachi music, and lots more”.

5. “The Xcaret Night Show in the evening is one that you do not want to miss. It is a combination of the history, customs, and music of the area and is just awe inspiring”.

6. “The biggest attraction of Xaret Park is the evening spectacular which lives up to its billing as the best show in Mexico. Hundreds of performers portray Mayan ball games, and the conquest of the Mayans by the Spanish. The second half of the show contains performances of songs and dances from various parts of Mexico. On the evening we were there the audience was extremely enthusiastic, cheering the various regions of Mexico as they were presented, and exuberantly clapping and singing along to the music. This is a tremendous celebration of Mexico”.

Source: TripAdvisor/www.tripadvisor.com