Value Mexico: Mayan Yucatan and coast

Rather like Swiss cheese, the Yucatán landmass is honeycombed with holes: over 3,000 cenotes, a type of sinkhole characteristic of the peninsula. Formed by underground rivers, these atmospheric limestone grottoes contain clear turquoise water and their walls are often draped with tree roots straining to reach the water below. They are also shrouded in the mysticism of the ancient Maya, who revered them as entrances to the underworld of Xibalba.

The Yucatán's cenotes make for fabulous swimming: with a snorkel you can even observe a wondrous sculptural display of stalactites and stalagmites within their cool depths. There are countless cenotes to visit across the peninsula, but one of our favourite options is to explore the dual pools of the Cenotes de Abala, where you can clamber down into contrasting chambers to swim beneath sheer walls dripping with foliage or surrounded by extraordinary rock formations.

Bookend your bathing experience with visits to haciendas dating back to the colonial era, characterised by grand colonial architecture and reflecting the prosperity engendered by the 19th century sisal boom.

Find out how a variety of agave plant came to shape the fortunes of a vast region of Mexico on this tour of the Yucatán's henequén (sisal) plantations. The strong fibres yielded by the plant were found to be the most effective raw material for rope-making – a booming industry in an era of seaborne trade and transportation.

Begin by visiting a working henequén hacienda to see for yourself how the substance is cultivated using centuries-old machinery that recalls the sisal boom years of the 1800s. Ride out on a wooden cart pulled by mules to tour the plantation and stop for a swim in a cenote (a natural sinkhole typical of the peninsula).

With the imposing Pyramid of the Magician forming a hulking, solid centrepiece to an expansive site, Uxmal is a striking and evocative Mayan site once connected to the other great cities of its era by a network of sacred roads.

With water a scarce commodity, the rain god Chac is well represented in the form of grotesque masks, most impressively displayed on the façade of the Governor's Palace. There's also an intriguing nunnery and a large ball court where the Mesoamerican ballgame was played in order to select sacrificial victims.

Founded more than 450 years ago on the site of an important Mayan city, the relaxed capital of the Yucatán peninsula has a grandeur and elegance undiminished by the ages. Much of the colonial architecture was built with stones from toppled Mayan temples, and the cultural vestiges of the Maya are equally intertwined in the city's modern-day society.

The main sights are clustered within a compact area, so a walking tour is an ideal way to visit them while getting your bearings. Begin at the main square, shaded by laurel trees and surrounded by handsome buildings including Latin America's oldest cathedral. Visit Casa Montejo, the grandiose home of the city's founder, complete with ornate porticos. Next, take a look around the Governor's Palace, with its collection of unflinchingly graphic depictions of the region's violent history, before a final promenade along the stately boulevard of Paseo de Montejo in a horse-drawn carriage – a fitting mode of transport for exploring this sedate and historic city.

The immaculately preserved pyramids, courts and temples that make up this 1,500-year-old site are perhaps the most impressive collection of Mayan structures anywhere. Their bas-reliefs and sculptures reveal much of the bloody and ritualistic side of ancient Mesoamerican life, as will your knowledgeable guide who will help to decipher the mysteries of the ancient city.

The imposing pyramid of El Castillo – recently declared one of the new wonders of the world – is the most arresting feature of the site, occupying a vast central plaza where giant iguanas nonchalantly bask beneath the fierce sun. Following in the footsteps of ancient worshippers, modern-day visitors flock here on the spring equinox to watch the shape of a sacred snake appear from the shadows to ascend the stone steps of the pyramid.

Also of great interest is the large ball court where ritual sports were played: you can still see the intact stone rings through which teams had to hit the ball to ensure the rising of the sun. Bas-reliefs of decapitated players suggest the ultimate sacrifice for the losers (or winners, according to some theories).

This is far from the only gruesome tale you’ll discover on your tour, as you examine sacrificial altars, podiums etched with hundreds of realistic skulls and the sacred cenote where it’s thought human sacrifices were thrown directly into what the Mayans saw as an entrance to the underworld of Xibalba.