[ifuyivara]

"full of narcos and rebel groups"

This area is 60km into Balamkú ecological reserve. Are you familiar with that area? This state (Campeche) if famous for being one of the safest areas in Mexico. No, there are no narcos or rebels in these jungles. You would have to travel several hundreds of kilometers north in order to find any danger related to narcos. Everything else you said is true: Thick jungle, hot and difficult to navigate, but humans are the least dangerous things in that area.

[janalsncm]

Agreed. That area of the Yucatan is not exciting to drug cartels specifically because of its inaccessibility. By far the biggest risk is from disease which can be deadly due to the difficulty of getting back out of the jungle.

[briga]

I’m referring to the Mayan civilization at large, which extends through Guatemala and Honduras. Which is certainly not safe by any first world standards (but also not as dangerous as one might think)

[mattcantstop]

I went to Chichen Itza last year and went to a cenote. It felt incredibly safe the entire time. It was a fantastic experience.

[briga]

Yucatan state is quite safe, it’s one of the few in Mexico without a US travel advisory. It’s also got to be the #1 attraction in the state and a major source of revenue judging by how much they charge to get in

[catlike]

But “the area” in question is not that. Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras have serious challenges but you do those and the reader no favor by conflating them.

[briga]

You’re being pedantic, the original comment referred to Mayan cities, not Mayan cities in Campeche

[janalsncm]

Are you suggesting there are undiscovered Mayan cities in the heavily trafficked areas of Honduras and El Salvador?

[muststopmyths]

Campeche also contains some of the most interesting ruins in Mexico, like Calakmul (close to this area in question, think) and a bunch of smaller sites.