Akumal is a small beach-front

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

community in Mexico, located south of

Cancún Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...

, between the towns of

Playa del Carmen Playa del Carmen, known colloquially as 'Playa', is a resort city located along the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is part of the municipality of Solidaridad. As of 2020, the city's population was just over 300,000 peopl ...

and

Tulum Tulum (, yua, Tulu'um) is the site of a pre-Columbian Mayan walled city which served as a major port for Coba, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The ruins are situated on cliffs along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Carib ...

. It is located on Akumal Bay and Half Moon Bay on the site of a former coconut plantation in

Tulum Municipality Tulum Municipality ( es, Municipio de Tulum, ) is one of the eleven municipalities that make up the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It became a municipality when it was formed on 13 March 2008, at which time it was separated from Solidaridad Mun ...

in the state of

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo ( , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 11 mu ...

, and is part of the

Riviera Maya The Riviera Maya () is a tourism and resort district south of Cancun, Mexico. It straddles the coastal Federal Highway 307, along the Caribbean coastline of the state of Quintana Roo, located in the eastern portion of the Yucatán Peninsul ...

area. The 2010 census showed a population of 1,310 inhabitants. Akumal is famous as a destination for snorkeling, where visitors can swim with endangered green sea turtles, who visit the shallow bay to feed on sea grass. The popularity of snorkeling has put environmental pressure on the fragile habitat.

History

The town was officially founded in 1958 as a community for

scuba diver Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

s by

Pablo Bush Romero Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul. People *Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer *Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer *Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer *Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist * Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer *Pablo Brenes ...

—a Mexican businessman, big game trophy hunter, diver, writer, historian, and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

. Pablo Bush's family still controls a portion of Akumal. On March 7, 2016, Akumal Bay was declared a marine refuge to protect the threatened turtle population. In 2018 the Akumal Arts Festival was founded. Each November this annual event brings over 120 national and international artists from Mexico for one of the largest mural festivals being produced globally. GreenSeaTurtlesAkumalCancunMexico05

References

External links

Centro Ecologico Akumal
Populated places in Quintana Roo Populated coastal places in Mexico Tulum (municipality) Mexican artist groups and collectives Tourism in Mexico {{QuintanaRoo-geo-stub