Once upon a time we used to pass Mucuyche every weekend on the way to pay the the staff at the hacienda we were managing in the area. Just this winter the unrestored hacienda has opened to tours and visits by appointment. In five years time the hacienda will open for big tour groups. There will be guest rooms and a restaurant or two. Now is the time to go and see it while we can still imagine how it was in the epoch of the Mexican Empire.
Here is the hacienda with the famous cenote where the Empress Carlotta swam in 1865 before heading off to Paris to plead with her uncle Napoleon III for an army and some funds. The 18th century hacienda had cattle and henequen and a distillery. Originally part of the vast holdings of the Peon family. The property was still in the hands of Josefina Peon until very recently when the Xcaret group purchased it.
There is the old cenote which has 19th century stairs leading down to the water. When the property was bought by the owners of Xcaret they discovered a covered cenote under the old well. This second cenote is much deeper than the first. There are old water jars that had fallen into the water a century maybe two ago. They excavated a canal from one cenote to the other.
The hacienda is by appointment only and you can find their Facebook page with contact information and hours. I suggest you combine a visit to Mucuyche with a your tour of Haciendas Yaxcopoil and Uayalche which are both nearby. Then have lunch at Hacienda Ochil or Sotuta de Peon.
It is New Year´s Eve and I went back with some friends today so I´ll add a slideshow of images. I recharged but for got my subaquatic camera so I´ll be going again soon.
The Best of Yucatan Guide 