Haciendas

Visiting the heneken-producing haciendas of Yucatan is an incredible experience. These plantations, once the bread and butter of the economy, are now the guardians of that auspicious life-style. The contrasting scenery and comfortable architecture make visitors feel right at home.

The haciendas of Yucatán emerged in the XVII century on the initiative of the families that, since Colonial times, had possessed great territorial expanses. Some of these haciendas were established as cattle ranches, while others began to process heneken fiber. This was exploited on a grand scale, turning it into a highly profitable business that lasted until the beginning of the XX century, and the appearance of synthetic fibers.

Heneken created a completely new panorama, changing the surroundings and buildings of the hacienda, and even the workers' living quarters. It was a vast world of modern, contradictory images. The main house was the residence of the owner and reflected his taste, incorporating its own church and chapel. The modern machine house was often conceived as a temple or work palace. The masonry and tile of the workers houses placed the humble labourer in the new affluent world of the owner, which stretched as far as the eye could see.

Today, it is interesting to walk around these old haciendas, which have fortunately been saved from becoming piles of rubble, and instead, been converted into hotels, restaurants or luxury tourist stops and museums. The haciendas of Yucatán that have been refurbished share, one special attribute: a new life for the natural surroundings in which they are found.

Yucatán offers a big variety of haciendas. The following is just a small selection of more than 1.000 haciendas:

Xcanatun

The exuberant low tropical forest which surrounds the hacienda delights visitors with an exquisite variety of regional flowers, trees and bushes, while the small, decorative lAke is home to innumerable multi-colored fish. The group of buildings also appeals: the ex-machine house has been converted into a restaurant-bar, and the main house, without being overly ostentatious, has acquired a special charm.

Xcanatun is just 12 km from the city of Mérida towards the port of Progreso.

San Antonio Cucul

The history of this hacienda dates from the beginning of the XVII century. The installations of the ancient hacienda are in prime condition and house an admirable patrimony of rustic furniture, Mayan statuettes and other lavish objects. There is also a small chapel where you can still see the bells used by the Franciscan monks to call the people to worship. Valuable antiques are preserved in the house, telling the story of the various owners.

San Antonio Cucul is north of the city of Mérida.

San Jose Cholul

Visiting this hacienda is like entering an important historic site:

Every corner yields tribute to the arrangement and style of the Colonial era. The machine room, the main house and the administrator's house are now cosy guest rooms. In tune with the harmonious scenery, visitors can enjoy an attractive, exquisite menu of regional and international cuisine. As night falls, the warmth of the place is accented by special lighting, and the indispensable troubadours provide the music.

San Jose Cholul is located 68 km from Mérida.

Sotuta de Peon

This hacienda offers a ride on a rail-mounted platform (“truck”), pulled by a horse out into the fields to see the planting and harvest of the henequen (sisal) plant as well as the machines that transform it into a hard, natural fiber used in a wide range of industries. Visitors will also see a Mayan home, a cenote and the main house and machinery building of the hacienda.

Sotua de Peon is located in the city of Tecoh, 35km from Mérida.

San Ildefonso Teya

Founded in the year 1683, this was one of the key haciendas in heneken production. Its economy, based on agriculture and cattle-ranching prospered. As the years passed, the Catholic faith propagated by the Franciscans was adopted, and a chapel housing an immense cross carved from zapote wood was built. Along its corridors are displayed a collection of early XX century photographs. Visiting Teya is a mouth-watering experience, for only the best of Yucatecan cuisine is served in its restaurant.

San Ildefonso de Teya is located 12 km from Mérida.

Petac

Dating from the XVII century, Petac was built over the remains of a Mayan settlement. It is situated inside the Cuxtal ecological reserve and offers visitors peaceful surroundings with luxury facilities. The hacienda is available for rent and can receive up to 10 guests, who will enjoy traditional Yucatecan living.

Petac is situated 20 minutes from Mérida airport.

Temozon Sur

An ideal site where you can go back in time and breathe the prosperous economic atmosphere lived in Yucatán. Around the middle of the XVII century production concentrated on cattle raising and was later complemented with corn cultivation. This hacienda gives us a clue to the splendour of the era, affording its visitors not only a gratifying rest, but also the chance to examine industrial relics and items relating to heneken fiber processing.

Temozon Sur lies 45 km from the city of Mérida.

Santa Rosa de Lima

Founded in the XVIII century, this hacienda shows the transitions which took place in the state when the great heneken fiber producers gave way to the cultivation of aloe vera. The good taste of the original construction was made evident after its restoration and the comfort it offers is incomparable, making visitors feel right at home. To one side of the main house is the pool, a scale reproduction of the haltún, a kind of public mineral baths built by the Maya to soothe the body.

Santa Rosa de Lima is found 84 km from the city of Mérida.

Yaxcopoil

“Place of the Green Poplars,” is an accurate description since these elegant and immense trees grow abundantly here. Founded in the XVII Century, the hacienda is now an important museum. A walk around here is equivalent to a re-encounter with the century-old European life style created by the owners at the beginning of the XX century. In the main house each object is in its place: the fine pig-hair brush set on the dressing table, the ceramic dining service and silverware in the display cabinet, and next to the clothes rack, a delicately bevelled mirror still hangs. For a long time each stage of heneken processing was carried out here: cultivation, scraping and manufacturing of the rope. Of the machine houses, blacksmiths' and carpenters' workshops that operated in those days, only the buildings themselves and some tools remain today.

Yaxcopoil is located 36 km from the city of Mérida.

Ochil

A tourist site where the entire process of heneken manufacturing can be observed down to the smallest detail. The hacienda was built in what was once an important Maya settlement. Its particular character is derived from the vitality projected by the hacienda, offering as it does, a panorama of the handicraft made in Yucatán.

The craftsmen have special workshops in what used to be the old hacienda chapel. It is impressive to see the skill with which filigree jewellery, hammocks and embroidered items, among other things, are made.

Ochil lies 43 km from the city of Mérida.

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