Cozumel at Night: Mayan Traditions, Candlelight & Legends

First we drive into San Miguel at sunset, when the square fills with local families, marimba and corn grilling on the corner — the town as the people who live here actually use it. Then into the jungle. You're handed your own candle and follow it to four stations waiting in the dark. Grind cacao on volcanic stone, from when it was money and not dessert. Meet bees that physically cannot sting and eat their honey with your fingers. Try a sugar cane drink you can't buy outside Yucatán. Press your own tortilla on a clay griddle over fire and eat the quesadilla while it's still too hot to hold. Every station has a legend. No stage, no costumes, no show. #1 rated operator in Cozumel on TripAdvisor. Door to door in our own van. Small groups, one departure a night. Kids welcome.

1. 1

   Cozumel

   Pass by

   Unveil the sunset, embrace the night, and taste the delights of Cozumel in a truly unforgettable adventure.

2. 2

   Stop 2

   2 hours

   Tierra Maya is a sanctuary where Mayan traditions are practiced, not performed. You arrive after dark, receive your own candle, and carry it through four hands-on stations. You grind ceremonial cacao on a volcanic stone metate and hear how the feathered serpent gave cacao to humankind. By lantern light you meet endangered stingless Melipona bees — they cannot sting — and taste honey from the hive, with the story of Ah Muzen Cab, the diving bee god. Around the fire you try a regional sugar cane drink made only in Yucatán, and hear about the alux, the jungle guardian who must be offered a drink before anyone builds or plants. The night ends with your hands in the food: crush guacamole and Sikil P'aak in a stone molcajete, press your own tortilla on a clay comal over open flame, and fold it into a quesadilla you eat hot — while you hear the Popol Vuh story of the gods who made human beings out of corn. Children receive hot cacao and honey instead.

• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.