Riviera Maya: Find on a forgotten coastal paradise is quickly becoming Mexico's hottest new tourist destination. (Living in Mexico).

The coast that holds the magnificent Mayan ruins of Tulum and Coba was all but forgotten after the Spanish stepped ashore in the 16th century. Today, it's the hottest new destination in Mexico, boasting the second-largest barrier reef in the world and miles of white, sugar-spun sand beaches.

The Riviera Maya begins south of the Cancun airport and extends 72 miles along the east coast of Quintana Roo to Punta Allen, a fishing village midway along the Sian Ka'an Biosphere.

OF MAYAN RUINS AND Eco-PARKS

A thousand years later, Tulum still sits unwavering as tens of thousands of modern-day pilgrims wearing shorts and cameras thread their way through the ruins. A small fortress city set on a limestone cliff overlooking the Caribbean, it is one of the most famous and most visited Mayan sites in Mexico. Although it was inhabited when the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century, it had already lost its sheen as a great imperial trading center. Built during the post-classic period, (900 A.D.-1541 A.D.), it's compact and surrounded by a stone wall, the only such Mayan wall discovered to date.

The most famous temple, El Castillo, erected on a craggy bluff, most likely served as a watchtower. The Temple of the Frescoes is embellished with a corbel arch, or false arch, and the frescoes inside depict the three worlds of the Maya--heaven, earth and the netherworld.

The general public is no longer allowed to enter or climb the fragile structures. But don't let this deter you, because it hardly detracts from the attractiveness of the site. To best view the ruins, it's wise to arrive around 8 am., while it's still relatively cool and before the large crowds of cruise-ship passengers invade the premises.

One of the Riviera Maya's most respected attractions is Xel-Ha. Often called a natural aquarium, Xel-Ha is where a network of coves, inlets and lagoons has been carved into the limestone shore. It's the largest inlet on the coast and the grounds are so spread out that the average 1,300 visitors a day are hardly noticeable once they take to the rambling rivers. To protect the fish, tubes of environmentally safe sunscreen are handed out to those who plan to swim or snorkel.

Xel-Ha was once a port for vessels headed to the island of Cozumel, a center of pilgrimage for Mayan women seeking blessings from Ixchel, the goddess of fertility. It was reincarnated as an aquatic park six years ago.

Besides snorkeling and swimming, there are nature walks along a half-mile trail filled with sunning iguanas, elusive raccoons, the occasional armadillo, and the songs of hidden birds. Six kinds of orchids and 350 species of preHispanic plants thrive in the jungle. A small cenote (underground water reservoir) along the path was once dedicated to the Mayan god of rain, Chaac, who was thought to live underground in watery realms. The cenote also represented the womb, and many offerings of precious ceramic bowls were discovered here.

Multi-hued parrotfish, fluttery butterfly fish, small stingrays and comical pork fish dart among the snorkelers. The dolphins, however, are one of the main attractions. Six of them with Mayan names such as Pax (music), Cob (honey) and Nic-Te-Ha (water flower) perform in the show, which ends with a heart-stopping, synchronized leap.

STRIKING THE RIGHT BALANCE

Ecotourism best describes the focus of tourism along the Riviera Maya. More development is inevitable, especially since FONATUR (National Tourism Development Fund) announced plans for a mega project along the Riviera Maya corridor. The Jacques Cousteau Society, led by the founder's granddaughter Alejandra Cousteau, plans to open an office in the corridor's Playa del Carmen as part of a program to guide developers in following sustainable tourism projects.

As Marijke Fackeldey, director of public relations for the Riviera Maya Tourism Board commented: "Development is a chance to upgrade the living standards of the Mayan communities. Now they have jobs, clinics, schools and electricity that they didn't have before."

The ideal balance, however, is the chance to upgrade the living standards of the communities while still respecting their cultural traditions and local wildlife.

Take Pac Chen, a jungle settlement of 125, 40 miles inland from the coastal town of Tulum. The people live in traditional, oval-shaped thatched-roof huts called na and make a living farming pineapple, beans and plantains and raising chickens. The children go to school on bicycles donated by the government and speak Spanish in addition to Maya. Many of the elders speak only Maya.

Alltournative, an outfit run by the same people who operate Xcaret (see below), runs low-impact tours to the village--no more than 80 people a day. As a result, Pac Chen, for the first time, has "ecological" outhouses, which use sawdust to process organic waste material, which is then funneled into the milpas (fields) as fertilizer. There are no paved roads, telephones or televisions and it will probably remain that way. Alltournative reimburses the village for each tourist it brings in.

The tour starts with a trek through the jungle on a beaten dirt path. We pass a Mayan cross, a throwback to old customs. The shaman sets the cross at the limits of the village to protect it. The cross represents the four elements and four cardinal points, also safeguarding the village from the dreaded aluxes or elves, who have been known to hide the animals they hunt.

We break into a clearing with an open-air cenote, one in which the limestone roof has caved into the water. A Z-line is strung across it. Visitors climb into a harness, clip one end to a ring on the Z-line, jump off a cliff, and glide across. It's intimidating, but only at first jump.

The next stop is the Jaguar Cenote, set deeper into the forest. Rappelling or clinging to a harness is the only way to reach the bottom, 60 feet down. Once below, people float on inner-tubes in the half darkness while curious catfish approach.

Lunch is prepared by the village women and consists of chicken marinated in achiote (annatto seed) and sour orange juice, rice, beans, plantains and watermelon. It's served buffet-style on an open air deck overlooking a green lagoon, which we later cross in canoes. The howler monkeys are silent during this trip, undisturbed by our presence. We learn to say "jumbo-tek," or "thank you" in Maya as we leave the village.

The 27-square-mile Mayan site of Coba, about 10 miles by road from Pac Chen, was a formidable trading center from 800 A.D. to 1100 A.D. Over 6,500 structures have been discovered so far, but most remain unexplored. Mayan for "muddy water," Coba is surrounded by five lakes and had an estimated population between 50,000 to 70,000 at its apex. To facilitate trade, Coba rulers built at least 45 sacbe ("white road" in Maya) for carrying goods to cities as far as 60 miles away and exerted a tremendous economic influence over the region. The sacbe were constructed of white limestone so that the road could be easily traveled by foot at night.

The first set of temples is called the Coba Group from the Classic period (around 300 A.D. to 600 A.D.). The main pyramid is tall and rounded with 78 steps facing the front and no steps in the back, a definite Tikal trait. (Coba and Tikal had trade relations). It's called the Iglesia because the Maya often came here to pray for rain. To the left is a newly restored ball court where the ritual game was played between two teams. The ball represented the sun, the playing field was the sky, and the game often went on for days.

About a mile past this temple is the biggest pyramid in northern Quintana Roo, Nohoch Mul, with 138 steps rising about 12 stories high. This is the only one you can climb and it's a killer of an exercise. The steps are very jagged but there's a rope secured to the stairs for navigating the downward descent. Coba's longest sacbe started from here, and the view from the top of the pyramid is spectacular.

NATURE'S THEME PARK

Xcaret is often given a bad rap and called a "Disneyland in the jungle." It's a theme park to be sure, but there are no long lines, gaudy shows or people dressed in mouse suits. It's a perfect getaway for families.

A Mayan port and safe harbor for trading boats, Xcaret, which means "little inlet," opened as an eco-playground 10 years ago. Billed as "Nature's Sacred Playground," it's filled with lagoons, cenates and an underground river that snakes through various caves, making it ideal for snorkeling and diving.

There's also an aquarium on site. Second to none, however, are the educational exhibits on butterflies, sea turtles and other species on the endangered list and the park's hands-on approach to conservation.

The staff at its research center recently journeyed to Rio Lagartos to rescue the eggs of pink flamingos that had abandoned their nests. Putting out an S.O.S. to universities around the world, the team learned how to care for the eggs, 150 of which were successfully hatched. Fifty of the chicks were tagged and returned to the northern Yucatan flamingo sanctuary.

"We will see if they are accepted by the rest of the community," Liliana Rodriguez, head of public relations for Xcaret, said.

In addition, two jaguar cubs named Chac Mool and Chic Ne were born at Xcaret this year and will be transferred to a zoo when they are ready to mate.

The "Xcaret at Night" show is a cultural extravaganza, which kicks off with an ancient Mayan ball game. After the game, guides lead groups through a series of dramatic and heavily incensed Mayan performances, ending with a rousing Ballet Folklorico.

Further down the coast, Muyil (entrance to the sky) is a small Mayan site at the northern end of the Sian Ka'an Biosphere and one of 22 ancient cities in the reserve. It was first inhabited in 300 B.C. Today, among the three structures to be viewed is the "Pink Palace," which has vestiges of murals and served as a ceremonial center for human sacrifices, and El Castillo, which looks like a square, layered wedding cake.

TREASURE BEACH

Playa del Carmen, halfway between Cancun and the beginning of the Sian Ka'an Biosphere, is the heart and soul of the Riviera Maya. What started out as a drowsy fishing village more than a 100 years ago is now a bustling tourist port of more than 30,000 inhabitants, making it the fastest growing town in the country.

Playa del Carmen entices the visitor with its quaint inns and restaurants, marble sand beach, deep blue-turquoise ocean and kickback flavor. It's a friendly place and a good hub for exploring the rest of the Riviera Maya. Mayan women dressed in embroidered huipiles sell fresh fruit from stands by the beach and smile at passersby, mainly European tourists who have made this place their sun mecca of the Caribbean.

A few blocks away, open-air restaurants come alive with salsa and mariachi music once the sun goes down. Internet cafes are just as plentiful as casas de cambio (exchange houses)--a sure sign that cyber-age tourists have replaced the fishermen.

For more information on the Riviera Maya, click on www.rivieramaya.com.

Patricia Alisau is a travel editor and writer who used to live in Mexico City. She now makes her home in Atlanta, Georgia.