Sian Ka'an means "Gift of the sky" or "Where the sky begins." It was the name given by the ancient Maya to Southern Quintana Roo. Since 1987, it has been included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO.

Location in Mexico: 19.05-20.06 N and 87.30-87.58 W, between kilometers 1 to 50 along the south coast of the Solidaridad Municipality and the entire coastline of Felipe Carillo Puerto Municipality, in the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Management authority: The Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve is a legal entity designated by the Comisión Nacional de Areas Protegidas Naturales known as CONAP, (The National Commission for Protected Natural Areas) which is a decentralized body of the Federal Government.

Objective/Purpose of the site:

• Guarantee the physical integrity of the Area.
• Promote reasonable use of the natural resources.
• Foster social integration.
• Spearhead research and education towards a better understanding and utilization of the natural resources of the Areas and the environmental benefits that this would provide for the region.
• Secure financing for the permanent and continuous operation of the Area.

Ecological features and assets: Coral reef and platform with a length of 120 kilometers and depth of 60 meters towards the Caribbean Sea, covering approximately 150,000 hectors. It is part of the second largest coral reef in the world. The Sian Ka'an Biosphere Preserve is the third largest protected area in Mexico.

Located on the east coast of the Yucatán peninsula, this biosphere preserve contains tropical forests, mangroves and marshes, as well as a large marine section intersected by a barrier reef.

It provides a habitat, remarkably rich in flora and a fauna, comprised of more than 300 species of birds, as well as a large number of the region's characteristically terrestrial vertebrates, which cohabit in the diverse environment formed by its complex hydrological system.

The Sian Ka'an Biosphere Preserve is home to nearly every kind of the region's wildlife: jaguars, jaguarondis, howler monkeys and tapirs; crocodiles, turtles and manatees; millions of birds and many more.

When you enter the biosphere, the road is surrounded by huge giant fan palms. The Sian Ka'an includes 27 little explored Mayan sites, which are hard to find maps for.

Whether or not you will see crocodiles, anteaters or any of the rare Sian Ka'an animals is a matter of luck, but you will always see plenty of birds.