Candelaria, declared the eleventh municipality of the state of Campeche on June 19, 1998, is located in southern Campeche in the middle of the jungle. The town is crossed by the region’s largest river, also called Candelaria; its tributaries are the La Esperanza, Caribe, La Joroba, and El Toro rivers.
Outside Candelaria you can find the entrances of old Mayan canals that connected towns inland. In his book History and Religion of the Mayas, John Thompson tells us that the ancient Chontales navigated this river and were traders that apparently went everywhere: the Phoenicians of the New World. There is even a sunken Mayan bridge that crosses the whole river, which can be seen in the dry season and when the water is clear.
There are several river spas in the region, and people can hire guides to take them to see Salto Grande, a place where the river forms pools and small waterfalls, and where it is quite common to hear howler monkeys scream or to see a wide variety of bird species. After a 3 or 4-hour ride along the river you can reach El Tigre or Itzamkanac, an archeological site about 265 km from Ciudad del Carmen, and farther up you will see Pedro Baranda, a town where the river flows into Los Pericos Lagoon.
Located 214 km from Ciudad del Carmen, this young municipality is in the middle of one of the regions with the brightest prospects of developing ecotourism projects in the state. Rivers, animals, and plants are attractions for visitors who will not be disappointed with the landscape’s variety and lushness.
