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Day 1
Fly into Villahermosa airport in the state of Tabasco. The city is on the Grijalva River, navigable to the sea. Transfer to your hotel. Depending on your time of arrival a visit to the Museo de La Venta can be scheduled around 2 p.m. The monumental Olmec heads and other figures are now resting at this National Park. About 1150-150 B.C. these structures were in La Venta, 60 miles from Villahermosa. However, when oil was discovered all structures would have been lost, were it not by the efforts of poet Carlos Pellicer who had them hauled all the way to its present location.
Day 2
Ninety miles from Villahermosa is Palenque one of the best known Maya sites. Built over a 400-year period, this Late Classic site has 200 structures spread over an area of 600 acres. Palenque climbs a hillside at the edge of the Maya lowlands. The Palace, the Cross Group and especially The Temple of the Inscriptions are impressive. The Temple contains a sarcophagus with a carved lid depicting Lord Pacal's journey to the underworld. From the summit of the pyramid, you descend to ground level via a long, narrow staircase in order to admire the crypt. In Palenque as in other Maya sites, interesting wildlife, mainly birds, are easily observed early in the morning.
Overnight in Palenque. Scheduled flights directly to/from Palenque are also available.
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