This is the most important pre-Hispanic city in the center of Veracruz, founded around the 4th century AD, which reached its splendor between the years 800 and 1200 AD, a time when most of its buildings were built.
Its name means "the city of the god of thunder", possibly named for its primitive inhabitants, who were of Huasteca and not Totonac descent. The architecture of the site is monumental and the visitor will be able to discover beautiful buildings such as the Pyramid of the Niches, with its multiple holes distributed in its bodies, or the South Ball Court, which is the most important of the 17 that have been found so far. and showing six magnificent boards decorated in relief with ritual scenes from the ball game ceremony. In the northern part of the site, it is interesting to visit The Columns Complex, which shows reliefs with scenes from the life of a character that has been identified as "13 Rabbit" and Building I, which houses wall paintings with pictorial representations of some deities of great importance to the ancient inhabitants of this great city. Don't forget to visit the museum, which will give you a complete overview of the site in its heyday, as well as objects and finds from archaeological explorations.
Location: west of Papantla.
Visits: Monday to Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Source: Arturo Cháirez file. Unknown Mexico Guide No. 56 Veracruz / February 2000
