La Quemada (also called Chicomostoc) perches on a rocky hillside between Zacatecas city and Guadalajara, visible from the highway. The terraced ruins climbing the slope look like a fortress — and it probably was one, guarding the northern frontier of Mesoamerican civilization against the nomadic Chichimec peoples to the north. The Site The ruins are … Read more

Alta Vista (Chalchihuites) is an archaeological site in the mountains of Zacatecas state that sits exactly on the Tropic of Cancer. This was not a coincidence — the builders designed the site so that the sun passes directly overhead on the summer solstice, casting no shadow. It is one of the most precise astronomical alignments … Read more

Tapachula sits in the hot lowlands of Chiapas near the Guatemala border, and most travelers pass through quickly on their way to or from Central America. But the small archaeology museum here — the Museo Arqueologico del Soconusco — is worth a stop if you are interested in the pre-Olmec and early Mesoamerican cultures of … Read more

The Olmecs were the first major civilization in Mesoamerica — building cities, carving colossal stone heads, and laying the cultural foundations that every later Mexican civilization built upon. Their main sites are in the swampy lowlands of Veracruz and Tabasco, and getting to them takes some effort. But if you care about Mexican archaeology, these … Read more

Izapa is an early Mesoamerican site near Tapachula in the Chiapas lowlands, close to the Guatemala border. It sits at the cultural crossroads between Olmec and Maya — the carvings here show elements of both traditions. Most travelers have never heard of it, which means you will probably have the site to yourself. The Carvings … Read more

Tulum is the postcard ruin — a Maya fortress perched on limestone cliffs above the turquoise Caribbean. It is not the biggest or most impressive ruin site in Mexico, but the setting is unbeatable. You can see the ruins, climb down to the beach below, and swim in water so clear it looks fake. The … Read more

El Tajin sits in the humid lowlands of northern Veracruz, and most tourists headed to the coast drive right past it. Their loss. The Pyramid of the Niches — with 365 recesses cut into its faces, one for each day of the year — is one of the most distinctive structures in Mesoamerica. The site … Read more

Palenque is the ruin site that disappears into the jungle. Literally — only a fraction of the city has been excavated. Hundreds of structures remain buried under the canopy of the Chiapas jungle, covered in roots and vegetation. What has been uncovered is some of the finest Maya architecture anywhere: the Palace with its tower, … Read more

Teotihuacan is the ruin site that puts everything in scale. The Pyramid of the Sun is the third-largest pyramid in the world. The Avenue of the Dead stretches two kilometers through the center of what was once a city of 100,000+ people. This was built before the Aztecs, before the Toltecs — by a civilization … Read more