When you go on vacaction to Tulum, take a day to drive on the coast road south of the Zone of  Hotels in Tulum that leads to the entrance of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. Straddling northern and central Quintana Roo, this UNESCO World Heritage Site comprises 1.3 million acres of jungle, marsh, mangrove forest, Caribbean beaches and a 110-kilometer-stretch of coral reef, all of which are rich in flora and fauna. The biosphere reserve was established by government decree in 1986 to protect these incredibly fragile ecosystems.
Sian Ka’an, which means “where the sky is born in Maya,” is home to 103 different mammals and over 350 resident and migratory species of birds, including herons, ibis, roseate spoonbills, wood storks and frigate birds. This reserve in the Riviera Maya, Mexico also has a large breeding population of ospreys and protects a tiny colony of the rare jabiru stork, the largest bird in the Americas.
Include a day trip to Sian Ka’an in your Tulum Vacation Itinerary, this will  give you the opportunity to know more than Tulum Beach and ruins only in the Riviera Maya. Visit at least two of the reserve’s 23 archaeological sites, Muyil and Xlapak. You’ll also get an overview of the reserve’s jungle and wetland ecosystems and take a boat ride through the lagoons to see the birds.

A 20-minute drive to the south of Tulum ruins lies Muyil, also known as Chunyaxche, an archaeological site in the forest on the shores of a lagoon that shares the same name. The largest archaeological site found to date in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, Muyil was an ancient trade enclave with links to cities in the Yucatán and Central America. Over 1,000 years ago, Mayan traders were shipping goods to and from the coast by means of a natural canal in the mangroves that they dredged and widened.
Many of the buildings at Muyil are still covered by jungle creepers but the principal temple known as El Castillo has been restored. Wildlife is abundant in the surrounding forest and gleaming blue morph butterflies, the agouti or tepescuintle, a rodent the size of a small dog and flocks of parrots are often spotted. Visitors can follow a nature trail through the trees to the mangroves at the water’s edge and climb a wooden observation tower for spectacular views of the forest canopy and the wetlands.
Getting there: Take Highway 307 to the south, the entrance to Muyil is clearly marked. Local fishermen from the Muyil cooperative also offer boat trips through the lagoons and mangroves of Sian Ka’an to the coast. If you are spending your vacaction in Tulum, this is an incredible day to see more than Tulum beatiful beach and nature.