Yunkú

Yunkú is a very small village in the municipality of Sacalum, in the southwest of Yucatán, on the road that links the Mucuyché hacienda with the town of Sacalum. It grew up around a henequen-era estate, the Hacienda Santo Domingo de Yunkú, and is still essentially the old hacienda and the families who live around it. The 2020 census counted 159 people here, a figure that has barely moved in a century: records list 117 inhabitants in 1900 and a peak of 217 in 1980. The village sits at about 14 m above sea level on flat limestone scrubland.

The main sight is the hacienda itself. Its long front building is painted the deep red typical of Yucatán's estates, with a row of arches across the main façade and a small belfry on top; inside the grounds you can still see the original outdoor kitchen and dining area. The estate is dedicated to Santo Domingo de Guzmán, which is also the village's patron. The Sacalum municipal history counts Yunkú among the area's former haciendas, and it is listed together with Mucuyché as one of the two places in the municipality with small Maya archaeological remains.

Most visitors pass through Yunkú on the way to Cenote Sabak Ha, an open, free-fall cenote reached by a 2 km dirt track that leaves from the Yunkú crossroads. Its pool is about 60 by 30 m, divers have gone down 120 m and its full depth is still unknown, which has earned it a reputation as the deepest cenote in Yucatán; a wooden staircase leads down to the water. Private tours from Mérida also combine Yunkú with Mucuyché's cenotes and Uxmal. Bring cash and water: this is a farming village with no tourist services of its own.