Tourists go from driving through a lengthy strip of retail shops such as Louie Vuitton and Dolce&Gabbana to a hidden ruin site located in middle of the sleepless city where condos replace skyscrapers.
Visitors can still experience small Mayan remnants of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization at El Rey (Las Ruinas del Rey) located in the Hotel Zone of Cancún and includes a cheap entrance fee of $4 dollars.
The archaeological site is smaller than most ( much smaller) but has two amazing aspects like being able to climb all over the ruins and witnessing the Iguanas that live there creep around you in droves.
Many people bring bread to feed the iguanas but considering some of hearty lizards were as big as my 3-year-old I opted to leave them alone and instead clicked photos, posed for my husband, ran from my son as he chased me through the columns and meditated.
El Rey is comprised of several platforms, two plazas, and a small temple and pyramid, all arranged along an ancient 500-meter (1,640-foot) roadway. The ruins were named (Ruins of the King) from a skeleton found during excavation and believed to be that of a king.
El Rey hours: 8:00 am- 5:00 PM and there is little or no parking.
Slangshot 