In Maya, the name Cobá means turbid (cloudy) waters, almost surely an allusion to the five "cenotes" in this region: Cobá, Macanxoc, Sacalpuc, Yaxlaguna and Xcanh, which must have played an important role as a source of water for agriculture in the development of this zone. There is a small village in the region, very close to the archaeological site, which has some hotels and restaurants. Walking among these archaeological temples that have been set free from the jungle, breathing the humid air beneath the trees, treading on the thousand year-old causeways or climbing the pyramid's steep incline, the visitor is brought close to the culture of the ancient Maya. Everyone feels the sensation that it hasn't died but, rather, that it is asleep among the stones and the jungle, waiting for the right moment to be reborn from the depths of time.