Xcalak, Quintana Roo

Xcalak is a village of 375 inhabitants in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco, Quintana Roo, on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Xcalak is one of the last "unspoiled" stretches of Mexican Caribbean located on the Southern end of the Costa Maya. The world's second largest barrier reef passes just off-shore from Xcalak and it is also a departure point for dive trips to the Chinchorro Banks (Banco Chinchorro) atoll reef system. It is designated a Mexican national reef park (Parque Nacional Arrecifes de Xcalak) and is an excellent site for snorkeling, scuba diving and fly fishing. It is South of Mahahual, the site of a new large cruise ship pier, and just north of the border with Belize. The Mahahual pier was destroyed by hurricane Dean in 2007. This section of coast is now being developed by the tourism industry and has a growing number of Americans and other expatriates investing in beach front property north of town. However, development is nowhere close to the degree of development of its Northern cities Cancún and Playa del Carmen.

History

The first settlements in the region date from the pre-Hispanic time. Nearby are the ruins of the Maya city of Xcalak, where the name of the town comes from. These ruins though are not much compared to those at places like Uxmal and Chichen Itza.

In May 1900, the Mexican Navy established the villa of Xcalak as a control post of the zone. There the first shipyard of the Mexican Caribbean was...
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