Mexico

All those images of romantic Mayan ruins shimmering in the morning light come true at the lost jungle city of Palenque. Surrounded by emerald jungle, Palenque's setting is superb and its Mayan architecture and decoration are exquisite. The best time to visit this sweltering, breezeless complex is in the early morning when a humid haze wraps the ancient temples in a mysterious mist.

Evidence from pottery fragments indicates that the site was first occupied more than 1500 years ago, flourishing from 600 to 700 AD when many plazas and buildings were constructed, including the elaborate Temple of Inscriptions pyramid crypt, the tallest and most prominent of Palenque's buildings. Only a handful of the almost 500 extant buildings have been excavated, and all were built without the use of metal tools, pack animals or the wheel.

The instantly forgettable new town, where most hotels and restaurants are clustered, is about 7km (4mi) from the archaeological zone, and shuttle buses trundle the route every 15 minutes. A bus and ferry connection from Guatemala's Tikal via the border town of La Palma links two of Central America's most impressive Mayan sites.