Campeche

Campeche is located in southeast Mexico, west of the Yucatan Peninsula and one of 31 states of Mexico. It was founded on top of an old Maya town called Ah Can Pech meaning “place of snakes and ticks.” When founded in 1540, Spanish conquistadors renamed it “San Francisco de Campeche.” 16th century medieval forts and walls were built to secure the port of the Peninsula from pirates. By the 1800’s this seaside town gained its independence from Spain. This Colonial town is currently the 2nd largest city after Merida in the Yucatan Peninsula and preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 
Travelers are lured by the Mexican charm and its many festivals and carnivals. Visitors can walk along medieval streets and marvel at 16th century Spanish churches, stroll Malecon, a 3-mile sea wall with a view of the Gulf of Mexico, relive the past with a play at Puerta de Tierra, and climb the stairs of the Edzna Maya Site.