File:Mexico - Xel-Ha entrance station, 2010.jpg

English: Xel-Ha is a very small site and is beside the main highway on the Mayan Riviera, I drove by it at least 6 times and there was never anyone here, I stopped on my way back to the resort.

Xel-Ha translates to “place where the water is born” in Mayan due to its location on one of the largest coves on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. The city of Xel-Ha, was founded around 100 B.C. Between 400 and 700 A.D., it became a well-organized village. The oldest masonry buildings on the site date from this time and are formed into closed plazas. Several residential structures also appear to have been built around that time. From 700 to 1200 A.D., the residents made contact with other central Yucatan cities. The influence of those cities is seen in the pottery of this period found at Xel-Ha.

The Spanish wrote of the small village where they disembarked during the conquest, referring to it as Xala. Between the 7th and 12th centuries, Xel-Ha was an important seaport. Its large bay could receive numerous boats simultaneously, and its close proximity to the city of Coba also afforded it enormous economic stability. Coba, at that time, was the most important and stable city in the region, both politically and economically. Trade between various cities included obsidian, jade, coconuts, feathers, cotton, textiles and other merchandise.