Cacaxtla & Xochitécatl

Introducing Cacaxtla & Xochitécatl

Cacaxtla (ca-casht-la) is one of Mexico’s most impressive ancient sites for the simple reason that there are so many high-quality, vividly painted depictions of daily life on display within the site itself, rather than being relegated to a museum collection. The frescoes include a nearly life-size jaguar and eagle warriors engaged in battle. Located on top of a scrubby hill, the ruins were discovered only in 1975, when men from the nearby village of San Miguel del Milagro, looking for a reputedly valuable cache of relics, dug a tunnel and uncovered a mural.

The much older ruins at Xochitécatl (so-chi-teh-catl), 2km away and accessible from Cacaxtla on foot, include an exceptionally wide pyramid as well as a circular one. A German archaeologist led the first systematic exploration of the site in 1969, but it wasn’t until 1994 that the pyramids were opened to the public.

The two sites, about 20km southwest of Tlaxcala and 32km northwest of Puebla, are among Mexico’s most intriguing. Both can be toured without a guide, but the bilingual explanatory signs tend to be either sketchy or overly technical. A good, if rushed, alternative is the guided Sunday tour conducted by Tlaxcala state tourist office. It may be possible to hire a guide at the sites from Thursday to Sunday.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009