New Monument Park in Chiapas, Mexico Honors Maya Calendar and Cuture

I've just received some fascinating news for travelers headed to the southwest corner of Mexico, in the state of Chiapas. There, a concerted effort to develop the region's cultural tourism potential is underway. Most interesting is the Parque del Chocolate [1], described by John Major Jenkins in the video above, with its Maya ball court symbolism and alignment with the winter solstice ecliptic.

The proposal is to attract more travelers to the Izapa archaeological zone [2], which is considered by some to be the birthplace of the Maya long count, with special significance to the December 21, 2012 date, the ending of 13 b'aktuns.

This article on developing cultural tourism [3] by Renato Johnsson Núñez, explains the significance of the 2012 end-date to travelers, and proposes new tourist routes in Chiapas that include Izapa and the Tuxtla Chico municipality. This means YOU can be among the first travelers to visit them.