Xcalak

Xcalak () is a village of 375 inhabitants in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco, Quintana Roo, on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. It is one of the last "unspoiled" stretches of the Mexican Caribbean located on the southern end of the Costa Maya. The world's second-largest barrier reef passes just off-shore from Xcalak and it is also a departure point for dive trips to the Chinchorro Bank (Banco Chinchorro) atoll reef system. It is designated a Mexican national reef park (Parque Nacional Arrecifes de Xcalak) and is an excellent site for snorkeling, scuba diving and fly fishing. It is south of Mahahual, the site of a new large cruise ship pier, and just north of the border with Belize. The Mahahual pier was destroyed by hurricane Dean in 2007. This section of the coast is now being developed by the tourism industry and has a growing number of Americans and other expatriates investing in beach front property north of town. However, development is nowhere close to the degree of development in Cancún and Playa del Carmen to the north.

==History== The first settlements in the region date from the Pre-Columbian era. Nearby are the ruins of the Mayan city of Xcalak, from which the town derives its name.