Chetumal is a city on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. It is the capital of the state of Quintana Roo. Chetumal is an important port for the region and operates as Mexico’s main trading gateway with the neighboring country of Belize.

The city is situated on the western side of Chetumal Bay, near the mouth of the Río Hondo. Because of its location on the Caribbean coastline, it is vulnerable to tropical cyclones; Hurricane Janet and Hurricane Dean made landfall near Chetumal in 1955 and 2007, respectively.

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Chetumal, in modern Maya: Chactemàal, means “Place of the Red Wood”.

In Pre-Columbian times, a city called Chactemal (sometimes rendered as “Chetumal” in early European sources), probably today’s Santa Rita in Belize, was the capital of a Maya state of the same name that roughly controlled the southern quarter of modern Quintana Roo and the northeast portion of Belize. This original Chetumal is now believed to have been on the other side of the Río Hondo, in modern Belize, not at the site of modern Chetumal.

During the Spanish conquest of Yucatán, the Maya state of Chetumal fought off several Spanish expeditions before finally being subjugated in the late 16th century.

The 1840s revolt of the indigenous Maya peoples against Mexican rule, known as the Caste War of Yucatán, drove all the Hispanic people from this region; many settled in British Honduras (modern Belize).

The current site of Chetumal was established as a Mexican port town in 1898, originally under the name Payo Obispo. The name was officially changed to Chetumal in 1936.

Two hurricanes in the 1940s leveled the entire town; Chetumal was devastated a third time in 1955 by Hurricane Janet. After this, the town was rebuilt with more solid construction, with concrete blocks replacing wood as the usual material.

The population of Chetumal was small (about 5,000 in 1950) until the construction of highways linking it to the rest of Mexico in the 1960s and 1970s; the city then boomed with substantial migration from other parts of Mexico.

The city has a Museum of Maya Culture as well as a zoo, the Payo Obispo Zoo, which belongs to the children of Quintana Roo.

Chetumal’s economy has been influenced by its proximity to the border with Belize. A goods and services tax-free zone (Corozal Free Zone) established on the Belizean side attracts many visitors to Chetumal and also provides a ready market for Chetumal’s retailers and traders.

A large indoor mall, the Plaza de las Américas, houses a modern movie theater (which belongs to the Mexican chain Cinepolis), various department store chains, fast-food outlets, and a Chedraui supermarket.

The city has a music school which offers lessons on various instruments as well as music theory and history. The school is the main music school of the state and is the home of the Junior symphonic orchestra of the state Quintana Roo (“Orquesta sinfonica juvenil del estado de Quintana Roo”), which is directed by Silvia Alcantara Chavero.

The city houses two theaters. The “Teatro Minerva”, which is an open-air theater and belongs to the state’s music school, and the “Teatro Constituyentes”, which is a privately owned theater.

Monuments

  • Monument to the Flag (Monumento a la Bandera), the first monument built in Chetumal. It consists of a white obelisk that has a clock dial on each of its faces.
  • Cradles of the Meztizaje (Monumento Cuna del Meztizaje), constructed at the entrance of Chetumal. It has the form of a Mayan pyramid on which are the statues of Gonzalo Guerrero, his wife Zazil Há, and the children of both.
  • Andrés Quintana Roo Memorial, dedicated to Andrés Quintana Roo, after whom the state was named.
  • Monument to the Fishermen, one of the most recent, is located in the Bay of Chetumal.

  • The Cultural Center of the Fine Arts (Centro Cultural de las Bellas Artes), located in the center of the city. The building is housed in what was the school Belisario Domínguez, which was the first school of Quintana Roo.
  • Museum of the Mayan Culture (Museo de la Cultura Maya), considered the largest and most comprehensive museum in the state dedicated to the Mayan culture. It has an important collection of authentic and reproductions of classical works, and tells the development of Mayan culture, its origins, as well as various aspects of their daily life.
  • Museum of the City. Tied to the Cultural Center of the Fine Arts, dedicated to the exhibition of photographs, tools, and documents that tell the story of the founding of the city.

  • Ecological Park (Parque Ecológico)
  • Cheese Park
  • Biouniverzoo Zoo

Chetumal is a perfect city to stay for a while, exploring the surrounding areas in daily tours on your own or guided ones.

Suggested 1-day tours from Chetumal

  • Chacchoben
  • Kinichna + Dzibanche
  • Kohunlich
  • Bacalar
  • Xpuhil, Hormiguero, Rio Bec, Chicanna, Balamku
  • Calakmul

You can dial 078 from any phone, where you can find free information about tourist attractions, airports, travel agencies, car rental companies, embassies and consulates, fairs and exhibitions, hotels, hospitals, financial services, migratory and other issues.

Or dial the toll-free (in Mexico) number 01-800-006-8839.

You can also request information to the email correspondencia@sectur.gob.mx

MORE EMERGENCY NUMBERS:

General Information: 040 (not free)

SNational Emergency Service: 911

Radio Patrols: 066
Police (Emergency): 060
Civil Protection: +52(55)5683-2222
Anonymous Complaint: 089

Setravi (Transport Mobility): +52(55)5209-9913
Road Emergency: 074

Cruz Roja: 065 o +52(55)5557-5757
Firefighters: 068 o +52(55)5768-3700