Grupo Xcaret Revives Mayan Sea Crossing Under New Name La Travexia

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Grupo Xcaret has opened registration for the 2027 revival of its ancestral canoe crossing between Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, which will return under a new name: “La Travexia.”

The company published the official call for canoeists on Tuesday, marking a new chapter for an event that began in 2007 and was known until now as the Sacred Mayan Crossing. The new name drops both the words “sacred” and “Mayan” from its official identity.

Grupo Xcaret has not publicly explained whether the change is part of a legal strategy or the result of an agreement with the parties who brought court actions against the event.

Registration opened on Oct. 16 and will remain open through Nov. 10, 2026.

Cancellation followed Supreme Court ruling

In April 2026, Grupo Xcaret announced it would not hold that year’s Sacred Mayan Crossing, even though hundreds of participants were already training for the route.

The decision came after a ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) concerning the commercial use of cultural expressions belonging to the Maya people.

The company maintained that the cancellation was voluntary and that no authority had specifically ordered the event suspended. It said, however, that it wanted to avoid confrontations while the judicial process continued.

Dispute dates back to 2022

The conflict did not begin in 2026. It traces to June 2022, when members of the Maya people filed a complaint with the National Institute of Copyright (Indautor).

The complainants alleged unauthorized commercial exploitation of elements of their cultural heritage.

In December of that year, the institute issued precautionary measures concerning the use of expressions from Maya cosmology in promotional materials. The company later reached an agreement with the Gran Consejo Maya de Quintana Roo, but some of the original complainants questioned whether that body truly represented them, and the proceedings continued.

La Travexia opens registration for 2027

La Travexia keeps the same format of preparing participants for the sea crossing between Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. According to the call for entries, applicants must:

• Be between 18 and 65 years old
• Be able to swim in open water
• Live near one of the training sites in Playa del Carmen, Cancún, Tulum or Cozumel
• Complete a timed 1,200-meter swim test
• Undergo a medical evaluation

Registration is free and is handled through the official portal latravexia.com. Participants are required to attend the scheduled training sessions.