With the idea of a tourism development that would add to the attractions of the region, a group of Mexican entrepreneurs with a very clear vision of the future trajectory of tourism in the State of Quintana Roo purchased the land surrounding Xcaret.

In 1984, Architect Miguel Quintana Pali, captivated by the spot’s natural beauty, purchased 5 hectares of this wonderful parcel from the group with the idea of building his dream home.

However, when he began to clear the land, he started uncovering cenotes formed by collapsed cave ceilings weakened by 3 million years of erosion from underground rivers running through them and flowing into the sea. He felt that so much beauty should not be accessible only to a privileged few.

So, Quintana began to formulate the idea of a Natural Park open to the public and soon joined forces with Oscar, Marcos and Carlos Constandse to turn this great dream into a reality.

Together, they faced this enormous task and the park—a family-oriented park with something for all ages--opened in December of 1990. At the same time, they established contact with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in order to restore the Mayan pyramids and buildings found in the site. XCARET subsidized all the work and INAH provided a team of experts to supervise restoration. By sponsoring restoration of these pyramids, XCARET is proud to contribute to Mexico and display part of our culture to tourists who come from all over the world to visit the park.

From the very beginning, XCARET was conceived as an ideal of natural beauty that would satisfy the need that we all have to return to nature. This ideal has become a reality that emphasized and added to these natural attributes, coming just when the world is beginning to recover its appreciation for the value of nature.