One of the largest and most ambitious projects on the Riviera Maya has become an eco-benchmark against which future developments will be judged.

Mayakoba’s architects have crafted a complex plan in which the natural and man-made will intertwine, complementing and enhancing each other. Beach, golf course, mangrove swamp and jungle are linked by an aquamarine chain of lagoons, man-made but using natural, subterranean water.

Studying a Mayan technique for managing the forest called socoleo, the biologists learned about the natural balance of the forest, what plants were expendable and what were not, how to cut each tree differently. Their nursery now has over 130,000 indigenous plants, from smoky purple-and-green agaves to giant palm trees, which will be used to beautify Mayakoba’s unique landscape.