Coba lies 45km inland from Tulum and was the site of a major Mayan city from about 100-1500 AD. There are several large temple pyramids, of which the partially excavated La Iglesia is one of the the largest. Coba is estimated to have had 50,000 inhabitants at its peak between 500-1000 AD, and the built up area extended over some 50 square km. They traded extensively with other Mayan communities, particularly the ones further south along the Caribbean coast in what is now Belize and Honduras, via nearby ports including Tulum. A series of paved roads, “sacbe”, radiate from Coba with the longest running over 100 km (62 miles) west to Yaxuna. Around 900-1000 AD Coba had a lengthy power struggle with Chichén Itzá (90km to the west), after which it declined. By the time of the arrival of Spanish colonists in 1550 Coba had been abandoned.