Ichkabal Archaeological Site Remains Free for Visitors in 2026

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Despite expectations that the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) would establish an entrance fee for visitors to the Ichkabal archaeological zone this year, the general director of INAH in Quintana Roo, Margarito Molina Rendón, announced that admission will remain completely free throughout 2026.

He highlighted that in its first anniversary since opening to the public, this Maya city located in southern Quintana Roo, 40 kilometers from the municipal seat of Bacalar and the Laguna de los Siete Colores, has received more than 38,000 tourists drawn by the beauty of the site, positioning it as one of the main cultural and tourist references in the southern part of the state.

“Ichkabal has established itself as the main archaeological zone in the south. One year after its opening, it ranks as the fifth most visited zone in Quintana Roo after Tulum, Chacchobén, Cobá, and San Gervasio. It is surprising because in just one year, both local and non-local visitors clearly identify the ruins. We have had about 38,000 tourists, and this year there will be no charge. It was not included in the 2026 Fee Law, but likely by the end of this year we will discuss a possible fee, as new charges generally start in January,” said Molina Rendón.

However, while acknowledging that providing adequate maintenance for this heritage site, whose peak occurred between 200 and 600 AD, will be a challenge, he emphasized that Quintana Roo is one of the five states in the country that worked on the most archaeological zones last year through the Archaeological Zone Improvement Program (Promeza) with excellent results.

“Maintenance will indeed be a challenge. Among the priorities in this year’s work plan is maintenance. Although of the five states that participated in the Promeza program, Quintana Roo was the state that worked on the most archaeological zones with 11, we also created two museums: the Museum of the Eastern Coast and the Historical Museum of Felipe Carrillo Puerto. It is an enormous amount of investment and work, and this work stands out because they are the only archaeological zones among the five participating states that have extensive new infrastructure, in addition to the archaeological and research work conducted,” he added.

He elaborated that this month they have been working on defining the budget they will allocate to care and conservation actions for the archaeological zone. Although they will present an estimate of the resources needed for these tasks, it will be decided at the central level how much will be authorized, due to the budget cuts they have been subject to since last year when they received 500 million pesos less.