Aldea Xbatun

WOW, this was an incredible experience!! I created a weeklong itinerary full of bucket list activities for my family's trip to the Riviera Maya and this was BY FAR the highlight of the trip. We had a great time learning how to make Sikil P'ak (a Mayan pumpkin seed dip), walking through their garden, and then watched them dig up a chicken they cooked for us in the pib (the chicken was DELICIOUS btw). I didn't really know what to expect when I booked this, but it exceeded all of our expectations. I highly recommend this to anyone visiting Chichén Itzá, Valladolid, the cenotes in the area and want to learn about Mayan cuisine/culture......go here!! You won't regret it!!

This was simply the best experience we had at the Yucatan Peninsula. Couldn't recommend this more! The Mayan village is relatively new, but the history behind it and the way it is built is super legit and awesome. They are so welcoming and kind, making sure you are extremely comfortable - really feeling part of their family. We've made a salsa to eat with the chips they made at the time, then we helped sweet Irma to shape the tortillas. They've cooked our meal on ground firepits. It is not about luxury, it is about authenticity and fraternity. It was supposed to be a 60-90 minutes experience and we ended up being there for 3 hours. Our 8yo son simply did not want to leave. Huge thanks to our friends Irma, Fernanda, Rosi, sweet little Regina and Jose. We will be back for cooking classes. Muchas gracias, mis amigos! Gracias de todo el corazon!

We also enjoyed an amazing dinner at Ix Kat Ik and were chatting with the owner about our desire to learn more about the food and how it is made and he invited us out to their property outside of Valladolid to do just that. We were welcomed by their family and they spent to next several hours cooking with us -- and we ate a multi-course meal. The food and the experience were fantastic. The family was so friendly and gracious and proud of the Mayan culture and food and delighted to share it. The physical surroundings, including a garden and a thatched pavillion, were lovely. Basically, ever detail of the experience and the surroundings were creatively and carefully thought through. If you want to support and learn about present day Mayan culture, I would highly recommend this experience.

After enjoying an outstanding meal at the Ix Kat Ik Mayan Restaurant in Valladolid, we started a conversation with the chef/owner who invited us to this property to learn even more about Mayan cuisine. The next day a group of 5 of us came out and had the most wonderful adventure preparing (and eating) several authentic Mayan recipes. And while the food was delicious, what was truly special was getting to know the entire extended family - what a lovely happy group! We wound up dancing with the family late into the evening - a special memory for all of us! And after touring the casitas we definitely plan to stay on property on our next visit.

A wonderful day in nature ❤ Never saw anything like this, when we arrive a very friendly family was waiting for us👪. The place was very quiet, you can feel the wind and hear the birds singing. They have chickens, fish and his obedient puppy german shepherd Roky🐶 Mrs Irma was kind enough to providing us with so much intriguing information about how our food is cooked and the ingredients. We had a tradicional mayan dish, a chicken with recado rojo Achiote and handmade tortilla, that was cooked underground!!! The best chicken dish I've had, finally they gave us a nice tour of their own garden with the ingredients they use and we didn't have time to swin in their beautiful pool, Definitely can't wait to return here and stay in the mayan huts.