MEXICO

Stretching lazily along Mexico's Caribbean coast and ecompassing the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, the lesser-visited Maya Ka'an region, on the Yucatán Peninsula, is renowned for its Maya ruins and cultural heritage. Today, Maya communities strive to protect the land and nurture ancient, sustainable crafts, from gum harvesting to rope making

- RICHARD JAMES TAYLOR

Tradition thrives in the Maya Ka'an, where ceremonies rooted in the reciprocal relationship the Maya have with the land - are an important part of daily life. No sites are more sacred than cenotes, dotted across the peninsula. As the only source of fresh water in the region, these limestone sinkholes were vitally important to the ancient Maya, whose cities flourished across the Yucatán between the fourth and 10th centuries. Cenotes are still considered sacred portals to the mythical underworld of Xibalba, and pilgrimages are regularly undertaken to them, including the one in the village of Dzulá, near the city of Felipe Carrillo Puerto.

Passed down through the generations, another ancient tradition involves extracting the e sap of the chicozapote tree to produce a natural chewing gum called chicle. At 82 years old, Ceveriano Xooi Pat has been climbing trees to harvest the sap since the age of 11. A tree can only be tapped every seven years so it can recover, ensuring a sustainable crop.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sian Ka'an, which became a biosphere reserve in 1986, is one of the most sacred natural sites for the contemporary Maya population, having featured in their ancestors' cosmology. In the ancient Mayan tongue, 'sian ka'an' means 'the place where the sky is born'.