Campeche is the state capital of the Mexican state of Campeche and is located on the west side of the Yucatan Peninsula. The Mayans occupied the area from about about 500 bc until the arrival of the Spanish in 1517 when they began the conquest of the Yucatan.
The city prospered, but early Caribbean pirates forced the Spanish government, in middle of the 1600’s, to enclose the city with a high wall. The original wall was approximately 10000 feet in length. Only about 1600 feet remain standing in the old historic district. The city was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.

The state of Campeche has many Mayan ruins such as Edzna, an early important site, located near the city of Campeche. It was one of the most important ceremonial centers during the Maya period of 300-900 ce. The largest archeological site in the state is Calakmul, located in the south central region of the state. Calakmal is estimated to have been populated around 1000 bce. Another small, but interesting ruin is called Balam-Ku. It is located southwest of the city of Campeche along the major east-west highway. This ruin is noted for having one of the largest surviving stucco friezes. (Frieze- a broad horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration, especially on a wall near the ceiling). Balam-Ku was first occupied about 300 BC.

The food of the Campeche area is a mixture of Mayan, Spanish and French, focusing on fish and seafood from the Gulf of Mexico and meat, fruit and plants from the inland rain-forest. One of our favorites dishes in Campeche was fish (Snapper), filleted or whole, and covered with a chaya sauce, served with rice and beans. Chaya is a plant used by the Maya people for cooking and in native medicine.