The Ministry of Agriculture, Territorial and Urban Development (Sedatu) reported that the southern access to the Jaguar National Park in Tulum, Quintana Roo, is 54% complete.
Sedatu announced that the access point will provide a view of the national park, Tulum’s beaches and the archaeological zone. The coastal town is one of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations and has expanded significantly in recent years.
“We are working in Tulum. The Jaguar National Park is advancing, creating new public accesses to the beach and the park. The southern access, at the end of Cobá avenue, is already more than 50% complete,” said Sedatu head Román Meyer Falcón on his social media accounts.
The park is a 2,249-hectare nature reserve in the northeastern part of Tulum and is made up of several protected natural areas, including beaches and forest, as well as Tulum National Park, which was created in 1981, and the archaeological zone.
The project was envisioned to protect Tulum’s deteriorating ecosystem from further development of the hotels and restaurants that were built to fuel the city’s booming tourism industry. It also arose as a mitigation measure for the environmental impacts of the construction of the Maya Train, one of President López Obrador’s key projects, and to compensate for the deforestation occurring as a result of the new Tulum airport.
The newest access point is part of the third stage of the park’s construction, which began in April. It comes with an investment of 189 million pesos and is part of a 300-hectare reforestation effort, which includes removing the asphalt layer of the former airfield’s runway.
During a tour of the park, Falcón noted that the access point will also contain visitor services and a commercial area, and is located on the main thoroughfare between the town and the beach, near the entrance to Tulum’s world-famous ruins.
“We are supervising the progress of Jaguar National Park. The southern access is the most important entrance for the tourists who want to visit the public beaches,” he said.
“This access, in addition to containing services and information for tourists, will have a lookout tower, and from that tower visitors can appreciate everything that corresponds to the Jaguar National Park,” he added.
“There will also be a corridor that will connect with the Maya Train, in addition to a care center in the archaeological zone, as well as an onsite museum carried out in coordination with the National Institute of Anthropology (INAH).”
With reports from La Jornada Maya, El Economista and Pie de Página
