Xcunyá: Melipona Bees, Jungle Trails, and History

Xcunyá brings together a range of themes for a varied trip: a nighttime legend, bike rides with views of a landscape bearing traces of the henequen era, the Melipona garden, and historic buildings. Nature, botany, local stories, and architecture each offer a different focus. Which ones you choose to prioritize depends on your travel interests.

Nighttime Stories and Bike Rides

Biciruta Fantasma is a nighttime adventure loop that starts on Fridays in the municipality of Xcunyá. The experience includes hearing the legend of the ghost town of Misnebalam. Xcunyá is also presented as a destination for bike rides with views of a landscape bearing traces of the henequen era. The two activities offer different perspectives: the legend on the nighttime loop and the landscape on a bike ride.

Melipona Bees and Botany

The experience at Jardín Melipona includes a tour of the botanical garden, where the function of the plants is explained. The garden has small wooden boxes for Melipona bees; on their foraging flights, the bees bring back honey, nectar, and pollen. With a little luck and patience, you can see inside the hives and taste Melipona honey. The tour combines botany with an opportunity to learn about the stingless bee.

Jardín also has a shop selling sweets, creams, soaps, pure honey, and propolis. Since the availability of individual products may change, check the current selection before your visit if you are interested.

A small business based in Xcunyá and run by Maya women from Yucatán is dedicated to the rescue, production, and processing of products from the stingless Melipona bee, as well as traditional botany. A tour by Kuchil Kaab in Xcunyá ends with a tasting of a drink described as sacred and made with Melipona honey. Kuchil Kaab de Xcunyá is also listed as one of the projects in the Mérida Comunitaria program.

Archaeological Traces and Church Architecture

A 2025 field report describes six relatively well-preserved archaeological structures in Xcunyá. Jungle trails lead from the remains of ancient platforms to Maya temples; along the way, you may also discover carved stones. The walk to the temples takes about 10 to 15 minutes, and some temples have several chambers. The trails are also home to several local bird species, including motmots and Yucatán jays.

The Church of San Juan Bautista in Xcunyá features Gothic influences, minimally ornamented forms, and unusual pentagram-shaped windows. The combination of restrained design and striking window shapes gives the architectural description a distinctive character.

Mérida as a Separate Cultural and Gastronomic Context

If you also consider Mérida as a separate focus in your travel planning, the city offers another historical and gastronomic point of reference. Mérida was declared a Zona de Monumentos Históricos in 1982; it covers 8,795 km² and is spread across 659 city blocks. The historic zone contains 3,906 historically significant buildings dating from the 16th to the 19th century. Mérida has also been a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy since 2019. Paseo de Montejo illustrates the heyday of the henequen industry in Yucatán and was inaugurated in 1888.

For the broader travel overview: Mérida.