Xpujil

For the Maya archaeological site, see Xpuhil.

Xpujil
Xpujil Show map of Campeche Xpujil Show map of Mexico
Coordinates: 18°30′20″N 89°23′50″W
Country	Mexico
State	Campeche
Municipality	Calakmul
Elevation	260 m (850 ft)
Population  (2010[1]^[failed verification])
• City	3,984
• Urban	3,984
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
Postal code	24640
Area code	983
Demonym	Xpujilense

Xpujil (Mayan pronunciation: [ʃpuˈxil]) is a town in the Mexican state of Campeche. It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of Calakmul. As of 2010, Xpujil had a population of 3,984.^[2]

Xpujil is located in the south-east of the state, close to the border with Quintana Roo to the east and Peten, Guatemala, to the south. With Escárcega, Campeche 153 kilometres (95 mi) to the west and Chetumal, Quintana Roo 120 kilometres (75 mi) to the east it is a useful midway point on Federal Highway 186. Close to the town are the Maya ruins of Xpuhil (1 kilometre (0.62 mi)) and Becan (8 kilometres (5.0 mi)), Chicanná, Balamcan, Hormiguero. Further to the south-west is the major Maya site of Calakmul, in the 7,230 square kilometres (2,790 sq mi) Calakmul Biosphere Reserve.

Highway 186 was, as of February 2009, undergoing a major refurbishment to a multilane highway that will improve access to the zone.

In addition to providing services for the local community, Xpujil has a paved runway and serves as the gateway for tourists visiting those areas, with restaurants, transportation services, modest hotels, etc. Currently many tourists travel by road from Cancun to Palenque, and stop to visit the many Mayan sites in the region.

There are plans to increase room availability and other services for eco-tourism and other activities within the Calakmul Ecological reserve.

XEPUJ, a government-run indigenous community radio station that broadcasts in Spanish, Yucatec Maya and Ch'ol, is based in Xpujil.

Valeriana

Main article: Valeriana (city)

In October 2024 it was announced that a huge city, including pyramids, sports fields, causeways connecting districts and amphitheatres, had been discovered underground near Xpujil, using lidar.^[3][4] The discoverer named it "Valeriana", after a nearby lake, "Laguna La Valeriana", the dry bed of which had been used by drug smugglers as an airstrip.^[5]

Transportation

Xpujil is served by a station of the Tren Maya,^[6] which opened on December 15, 2024^[7]

Services
Preceding station	Tren Maya			Following station
Calakmul toward Palenque		Tren Maya		Nicolás Bravo-Konhunlich toward Cancún Airport

References

1. 2010 census tables: INEGI Archived May 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
2. "Calakmul". Catálogo de Localidades. Secretaría de Desarrollo Social (SEDESOL). Retrieved 23 April 2014.
3. Rannard, Georgina (29 October 2024). "PhD student finds lost city in Mexico jungle by accident". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
4. Auld-Thomas, Luke; Canuto, Marcello A.; Morlet, Adriana Velázquez; Estrada-Belli, Francisco; Chatelain, David; Matadamas, Diego; Pigott, Michelle; Díaz, Juan Carlos Fernández (October 2024). "Running out of empty space: environmental lidar and the crowded ancient landscape of Campeche, Mexico: Antiquity : Cambridge Core". Antiquity. 98 (401). Cambridge University Press: 1340–1358. doi:10.15184/aqy.2024.148. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
5. "Eran dos narcoaeródromos" (in Spanish). Por Esto Online. 29 June 2019.
6. SIPSE.com (7 June 2023). "Mara Lezama comparte cómo lucirá estación del Tren Maya en Chetumal". sipse.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 October 2024.
7. Castro, Gerardo (December 15, 2024). "Tren Maya simboliza la grandeza cultural de México destaca Claudia Sheinbaum". poresto.net (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved December 15, 2024.

External links

• Xpujil travel guide from Wikivoyage