"M" for Mexico (part 4)

Mexico is the Maya as well!

The Maya inhabited mainly southeast Mexico, Guatemala and Belize between 750 BC and the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. They are famous for their exquisite temples, palaces and stone sculptures. Also, the Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas...

The best known ancient Mayan cities in Mexico are Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, Palenque and Tulum. However, there are so many other less known, amazing archaeological sites to discover...

You will have to make difficult choices, again!

On our three-week road trip around the Yucatán Peninsula comprising the states of Quintana Roo, Yucatán, Campeche and Chiapas, we intentionally skipped the touristic cities of Mérida and Valladolid. Also, based on the recommendations of some locals, we had to unfortunately postpone for another trip the archaeological sites of Yaxchilán and Bonampak as we were told they were way too close to the Guatemalan border where drug cartels might be rampant. 

Despite that, there was still so much to see that we did not have enough time for everything and still had to make some difficult choices…

One common and most fascinating feature of all archaeological sites we visited is that only a tiny part of the ruins has been excavated and seen the light of the day! I must admit that at some off the beaten track ancient cities we felt a little bit like Indiana Jones venturing deep in the jungle in search for the holy grail… Just think of all the treasures still lying somewhere in the middle of the deep vegetation under layers of soil that have piled up over the centuries. The sky is the limit!

Even though you can always find some common characteristics such as a ball court, each site is very different, though at the same time connected with the others.

Chichén Itzá (meaning “The Mouth of the Well of the Itzás”) was the most visited archaeological site in Mexico in 2023! Besides being one of the largest Mayan cities ever, the most important regional capital of the Mayan area in the years 750 to 1200 CE and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was named, for a reason, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Even though it may feel a little bit like a busy market or an amusement park with its crowds of vendors, guides and tourists, you cannot miss it. 

By entering the site at 8am, you will find the place almost empty and enjoy for a couple of hours the calm before the storm of visitors!

The site is huge and there is so much to see that, despite the heat, the crowds and the noise, we spent four hours there…

It is a fascinating multitude of architectural sites with influences from Central Mexico and the Puuc style of the northern Yucatán Peninsula.

Add to the stunning architecture the beautiful palm trees, cacti and bright orange ziricote flowers... 

And of course the cute iguanas lazing on the rocks... 

And you will understand the amount of time we spent walking around and gasping at it all!

The first sight during your visit will be of the Temple of Kukulcán (aka El Castillo or the Castle as it was called by the first Spaniards who saw it). It is located in the center of the site and is so impressive and changing with the light during the day that we kept coming back several times after visiting the other structures.

Kukulcán is a Mayan feathered serpent deity similar to the Aztec god Quetzalcóatl.

The 30m-high four-faced pyramid had been built over another older temple where the archaeologists found a throne in the shape of a jaguar.

It is no longer possible to climb it after a woman fell to her death in 2006... The prohibition is also definitely necessary in order to preserve the structure from the millions of tourists visiting the site! We looked tiny next to it...

The pyramid is actually a massive Mayan calendar made from stone with its nine levels divided in two by a staircase, thus making 18 separate terraces that commemorate the 18 20-day months of the Mayan Year. It has four stairways with 91 steps each which, together with the top platform, form a total of 365 days in the year. The 52 flat panels on each facade remind the 52 years in the Mayan calendar round.

Each structure at Chichén Itzá is unique!

The imposing Temple of Warriors displays carvings depicting warriors... 

And some gorgeous masks...

The Patio of a Thousand Columns deserves its name.

There are endless rows of columns...

The Great Ball Court (or El Gran Juego de Pelota) is the largest and best preserved ball court in ancient Mesoamerica. It is also acoustically perfect - a whisper from one end of the court travels clearly to the other end of the court, being heard by all players.

The walls of the ball court are decorated with stone reliefs including snakes, skulls and scenes of decapitations of players... There is a debate whether it was the losing team or the winning team which was sacrificed to the Gods...

The Platform of Skulls, which was used to display the heads of sacrificial victims, is decorated with carved skulls. 

The Platform of Venus has huge plumed serpent heads and beautiful carvings. 

The Platform of the Eagles and the Jaguars depict those animals, symbols of the day and the night, grabbing human hearts in their claws.

The governmental palace resembled a European convent to the Spaniards who, misinterpreting the purpose of the structure, named it Las Monjas (or the Nunnery).

It is decorated with elaborate Puuc-style masks.

El Caracol (or the Snail) is another beautiful structure. The unusual round shape and stone spiral staircase explain the name given to it by the Spaniards. It is believed to have been used as an astronomical observatory.

The archaeological site also has two cenotes, the most famous of which is Cenote Sagrado (or Sacred Cenote). Cenotes are natural deep-water sinkholes. They are fed by the currents of underground rivers and the filtration of the rain through the soft, porous limestone typical of the northern Yucatán Peninsula where the ruins of Chichén Itzá are located. The name “cenote” comes from the Mayan word Dz’onot, which means “hole with water”. The cenotes of Chichén Itzá must have provided plentiful water year round to the city, making the area attractive for settlement.

The Maya believed that the cenotes were passageways to the underworld of Xibalba (or “Place of Fright”) where their Gods and spirits resided after death. They considered them sacred places and sacrificed objects and human beings into them as a form of worship to the Mayan rain god Chaac. Several artifacts of gold, jade, pottery and incense were discovered in Cenote Sagrado, together with human remains with wounds consistent with human sacrifice. It is believed that there is also a third hidden cenote under the Temple of Kukulcán, which has never been seen by archaeologists.

Another very popular archaeological spot is Tulum. While we absolutely hated the touristy city around which, with its fancy condos, gated resorts and trendy restaurants, looked more like the US than Mexico, the ruins of Tulum are worth the visit. 

The place is different from any other Mayan site due to its gorgeous location on the top of a bluff overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. 

The views are spectacular and are enough on their own to make the visit worth it! 

Next to the archaeological site lie some amazing white-sand beaches where you can go for a pleasant and relaxing dip after roaming for hours around the ruins under the scorching sun!

Do not forget to bring a flask of water as plastic bottles are not allowed and you cannot buy any drinks inside the site - I wish someone had given us this piece of advice which could have saved us from complete dehydration! Another great advice is to arrive at 8am in order to avoid the huge lines - the early bird always catches the worm!

If it was not for the many groups of tourists, the place would have been heaven!

You will come across tons of iguanas sunbathing on the rocks. 

We even spotted some birds including the stunningly beautiful orange-backed troupials feeding on the flowers of the same colour.

Tulum was founded in the 6th century - one of the last cities built, inhabited and abandoned by the Maya. It reached its high point between 1200 and 1539 CE, during the same Late Postclassic Period as Chichén Itzá. Like some other Mayan sites, Tulum has its own cenote and is surrounded by many others.

The city was formerly known by the name Zama, meaning City of Dawn, because it faces the sunrise. It was at the same time a ceremonial center and an important trade hub, being one of the ports scattered along the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula used by Maya traders. 

The most famous building named by the Spaniards El Castillo (or the Castle) once served as a lighthouse that guided Maya ships to port.

It definitely looks like a castle... The plumed serpents at the corners of the structure echo those of Chichén Itzá.

The archaeological site will awe you with dozens of other beautiful buildings. 

The Palace of the Great Lord, the Temple of the Descending God and the Temple of the Frescoes are amongst the most elaborate. 

They display gorgeous sculptures, masks, murals and red coloured handprints. 

Without denying even a bit the cultural and architectural beauty of either Chichén Itzá or Tulum, one of the reasons for being amongst the most visited sites in Mexico is their proximity to touristy crowded Cancún. If you venture further west or south, you will find less and less visitors and so many hidden gems to explore!

Sometimes you do not have to go that far to find your luck. The archaeological site of Ek’ Balam is located only a few kilometers away from Chichén Itzá and is much less crowded than its famous neighbour.

The cultural and economic development of this Mayan site continued from 100 BC during the Early Late Preclassic Period until 900 CE during the Terminal Classic Period. It was still inhabited when the Spaniards began their invasion in the 16th century.

Due to the poor preservation of many other notable northern Mayan sites such as Cobá, Izamal and Edzná, Ekʼ Balam is a rich resource of information for the archaeologists.

It is impressively well preserved with its defensive walls, entrance arch and palace with an unusual oval shape.

It also has a ball court, a steam bath, a cenote and various temples.

And of course its impressive acropolis...

It is believed to contain the tomb of one of the city’s important rulers.

You can climb this 30-meter tall structure unless you have vertigo in which case I would strongly advise against it! 

The steps are narrow and not even and it is pretty high! 

If you do climb though, you will be rewarded with some breathtaking views from the top!

Not too far away from Tulum lies another slightly less crowded archaeological site from almost the same period as Ekʼ Balam - the ruins of Chacchoben (or “The Place of Red Corn”).

The city was founded around 200 BC but most structures date from 700 CE.

Some cute howler and spider monkeys are sleeping on the branches around the beautiful pyramids, walls and staircases.

Similar to other Mayan ruins, only a tiny part of the city has been uncovered and excavations are still ongoing. A huge collection of incense burners was discovered on the site, which is why the archaeologists believe it was an important pilgrimage center. The Great Plaza with the trees appearing as extensions of the structures reminded us of the temple of Ta Prohm in Cambodia!

If you are a huge Maya fan and are fed up with the crowds, you should head southwest to the magnificent Ruta Puuc (or Puuc Route) along which you can tour some of the most stunning Puuc-style sites. Puuc is the Mayan word for "hills" - the Puuc region is an area of small rolling hills on the Yucatán Peninsula which is otherwise quite flat. In Mayan archaeology, the Puuc style is characterized by the elaborate ornamentation of the facades of ceremonial buildings such as temples and palaces, using limestone quarried in the region. The intricate stone carvings crafted without the use of any metal tools will leave you completely awestruck.

The most famous of the sites on the Ruta Puuc is Uxmal (pronounced “oosh-mahl”) which is a must visit. However, you should definitely push further to the smaller sites of Kabah and Labná as well. They are as gorgeous as, and located only a few kilometers away from, Uxmal. Grand ball courts, monumental arches and elevated palaces are just some of the surprises that these sites hold for those who venture off the beaten track to explore them. It is highly likely that - like when we visited - you will be the only visitors around. 

There are seven sites in total open to the public along the Ruta Puuc, each of which offers something worth seeing. However, in order to visit them all, you will need time which is unfortunately a rare currency in Mexico!

Along with Palenque, Chichén Itzá and Calakmul in Mexico and Tikal in Guatemala, Uxmal is considered one of the most important cities of Mayan culture and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It reached its apogee between 700 and 950 CE during the Classic Period and will open to you the doors of Mayan life before the time of the Postclassic-Period archaeological ruins of Chichén Itzá.

The city of Uxmal is simply magnificent... 

Its sacbes (or ancient roads) are connecting typical Puuc-style buildings.

It is a world of elegant columns and trapezoidal shapes, intricate masks of the rain god Chaac and beautiful representations of intertwined serpents, parrots and turtles.

And there are of course the ubiquitous cute iguanas who have adopted the site as their home!

They are literally everywhere!

The usual ball court lies in the middle of some jaw-dropping structures.

Uxmal means “thrice-built” in Mayan in reference to the construction of its highest structure, the Pyramid of the Magician, built on top of existing pyramids.

According to the legend, a dwarf, hatched from a turtle egg, built the pyramid in one night using magic, hence the name "Pyramid of the Magician". 

With its impressive height of 35 meters, five levels and unusual oval shape instead of the more common rectilinear plan, it is the highlight of the site.

The nearby Nunnery Quadrangle was named like that by the Spaniards because of its resemblance to a convent. 

A little bit further and higher is the imposing Governor’s Palace with its exquisite facade. 

It is facing a throne in the shape of a two-headed sculpture of a jaguar.

Next to it is located the more humble but beautiful House of the Turtles carved with, well, dozens of cute turtles. The Maya associated turtles with the rain god Chaac.

The presence of turtles and masks of the god on all the sites along the Ruta Puuc is due to Chaac’s role as protector of the harvest and the scarcity of water in the region. There are no cenotes, rivers or other sources of water and the Maya depended solely on the rain. It is still a mystery why they decided to settle in a region without local sources of water. 

Another feature of all the archaeological ruins in the area are the Mayan chultunes (cisterns), which held water for the population to live from. 

If you are up for more surprises and amazing discoveries, just keep driving along the Ruta Puuc. The site of Kabah (meaning “Lord of the Powerful Hand” in Mayan) is the second largest site in the Puuc region after Uxmal and is connected to the latter by an 18 kilometer-long and 5 meter-wide raised sacbe with monumental arches at each end.

It reached its apogee at the same time as Uxmal between 700 and 950 CE during the Classic Period.

The most famous structure of the site is the Palace of the Masks whose facade has been entirely covered in hundreds of stone masks of the long-nosed rain god Chaac. This massive repetition of a single set of elements is unusual in Mayan art. It is fascinating to stand in front of all these staring faces! It reminded us of the multitude of serene faces on the Bayon Temple at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. 

Labná, the third site on the Ruta Puuc that we visited, lies only a few kilometers away from Kabah. We were the only visitors there and I must admit that it was a little bit scary given the signs to watch out for wild animals… At the same time it was fascinating to walk around and discover the treasures of the ruins on our own!

Labná’s high point was between 800 and 1000 CE during the Late Classic and Early Postclassic Periods, slightly later than Uxmal’s or Kabah’s apogee. The Puuc style - geometric and richly ornamented - is easily recognisable on the ruins. 

You will come across a small sacbe with a few iguanas and cute bee-eaters! 

However, the highlights of the site are the well-preserved Chaac masks pointing their noses at you, as well as the stunning Arch of Labná.

It is a 6 meter-high structure with gorgeous reliefs and some authentic remnants of Mayan paint! Whether you are an Instagram fan or not, you will not be able to hold back from taking a picture of this gem! It is huge!

Much further away from the crowded Riviera Maya, in the remote state of Chiapas famous for its stunning nature, is located our favorite Mayan archaeological site - Palenque. 

It is quite far away and it is not that easy to get there but the reward is guaranteed!

You can venture into the lush greenery of the jungle surrounding this ancient city, reach a beautiful turquoise river, cross a swinging bridge and walk to a serene waterfall. 

On the way you will spot wildlife and discover some hidden ruins almost completely submerged by the vegetation.

Even though this was probably the most hot and humid archaeological site ever, we loved its serene and mystic atmosphere.

It was so peaceful in the early morning...

The area in which Palenque was built is saturated with numerous springs, creeks, streams and waterfalls. This explains its name meaning “Big Waters”. The site dates from the same Classic Period as Uxmal and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The city is smaller than Chichén Itzá but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculptures, roof combs and bas-relief carvings that the Maya produced. 

Similar to other sites, it is estimated that less than 10% of its total area has been explored, leaving probably hundreds of structures still buried in the tropical jungle. Yet, the buildings that have been uncovered represent a remarkable display of the architectural and artistic skills of the Maya!

Most of the palaces and temples of Palenque were constructed during the 7th century under the government of its most famous ruler - K'inich Janaab Pakal, aka Pakal the Great. He began to govern at the age of 12 years old after his mother Sak Kuk resigned as queen and passed power on to him. Palenque flourished, eclipsing even the site of Tikal in Guatemala. Pakal’s tomb has been found in the impressive Temple of the Inscriptions. The latter was named after the hieroglyphic texts and stucco reliefs preserved in its superstructure recording approximately 180 years of the city’s history... 

The king's sarcophagus, built for a very tall man, held the richest collection of jade seen in a Mayan tomb, including a jade mosaic death mask placed over his face and a jade suit adorning his body.

A reproduction of the tomb can be admired in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.

Next to the Temple of the Inscriptions is the majestic, splendidly carved Palace. 

It was used by the Mayan aristocracy for bureaucratic functions, entertainment, and ritualistic ceremonies.

In the center of it stands the unusual and easily recognizable four-story Observation Tower.

The Palace was equipped with numerous large baths and saunas supplied with fresh water by an intricate water system with an aqueduct diverting the nearby river to flow underneath the main plaza.

A little bit further away lies a set of graceful pyramids with well-preserved and impressive roof combs. The main buildings are the Temple of the Cross, the Temple of the Foliated Cross and the Temple of the Sun. 

The cross motif found at this complex of temples alludes to the names given to them, but in reality the cross is a representation of the Mayan Tree of Life.

According to Mayan mythology, the world was made of five Ceiba trees, aka Yaxche, planted by the Gods - four Ceiba trees in each corner of the world for each cardinal direction so that they could hold up the heavens and the fifth one in the center so that its roots could reach Xibalba, the underworld, and its branches - the heavens. The fifth tree, aka the Tree of Life or the World Tree, was viewed as the sacred connector of the three realms - the underworld, the middle world, and the heavens. It was thought to provide a channel for the souls of humans to travel into the underworld or the heavens and was seen as sacred because it was the only way the Gods had of traveling into the middle world. The Yaxche influenced Mayan architecture, was planted near spiritual or sacrificial sites and depicted on stelae, pottery and even on the tomb of leaders like Pakal the Great.

You can wander for hours around Palenque’s several temples, tombs, residences and of course the ball court, and never get bored, even though the heat and humidity will probably get the best of you in the end!

Based on the various inscriptions found on the site, the city had formed alliances with Tikal and Yaxchilán and fought battles with its biggest rival - the neighboring city of Calakmul which was going to be our next stop. We were slowly putting together the pieces of this giant and fascinating puzzle of ancient civilisations in Mexico!

Calakmul was the capital of the Snake Kingdom, the emblem glyph of which was a snake head. It is situated as far away from civilization and as deep in the jungle as you can get, at least as long as the construction of the Tren Maya has not been finalized... From the moment you will not need a car anymore but will be able to simply jump on a train from Cancún to get there, this amazing and remote site will sadly become just another Tulum with herds of tourists and shops around… 

The road to the ruins is long and narrow and is open only until 10am, so you will need to wake up really early and drive for hours at a maximum speed of 30km/h… The current works make the road even trickier and the journey extremely dangerous! We almost had a collision with a truck driving at 60km/h at a turn where there was barely room for one car…

Even before you have reached the archaeological site which is a hidden gem, your bravery (or craziness depending on the point of view) will be rewarded with the sight of iguanas, toukans, ospreys, howler and spider monkeys, as well as colorful wild ocellated turkeys which were revered by the Maya as the messengers of the Gods.

If you are super lucky, you can even spot a black jaguar crossing the road! It took only a few seconds and felt surreal! 

We also had a funny (well, funny afterwards) experience when a wild turkey started charging two cars in front of us, preventing them from driving off, and ultimately focused its attention on our car once the others had managed to force their passage forward!

After driving for more than an hour and a half one way, you will reach the end of the road. A short distance away from the Guatemalan border lies one of the most powerful ancient cities ever uncovered in the Mayan lowlands. Calakmul is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is the largest of the ruins in Rio Bec architectural style characterized by massive temple-pyramids with solid lateral towers and large masks of the creator deity Itzamná.

The Snake Kingdom reigned during most of the Classic Period and reached its apogee in the Late Classic Period between 542 and 695 CE. Later on, the center of Mayan power moved gradually further north into the Yucatán Peninsula to Palenque, Uxmal, and finally Chichén Itzá. By around 900 CE Calakmul was no longer a city with any influence. At its height it is estimated to have had a population of 50,000 inhabitants!

Calakmul’s greatest rivalry was with the major city of Tikal to the south. It may have been based on more than competition for resources as both Mayan “superpowers” seem to have different origins and ideologies. Tikal and its allies were influenced by the northern city of Teotihuacán and had mostly single male rules while Calakmul and its allies derived from the southern city of El Mirador and were also ruled by queens only or jointly by a queen and a king.

The archaeological site, completely hidden by the Lacandon Jungle, is a beauty! It is located about 35 meters above a large seasonal swamp that was an important source of water during the rainy season. The sophisticated water-control network of canals and reservoirs built by the Maya helped to hold the water during the dry season.

There are thousands of structures, most of which are yet to be uncovered. The most impressive of all is Structure 2 which is more than 45 meters high and therefore one of the tallest Mayan pyramids in the world!

In common with many temple pyramids in the Mesoamerican cultural region, it increased in size by building upon a pre-existing temple. 

The views of the endless greenery of the lush jungle from the top of the pyramid are breathtaking!

Another impressive building is Structure 1. It is lower than Structure 2 but since it was built on a hill, it appears to be higher.

There are also dozens of other structures and tombs, as well as murals, carvings and stelae to see! 

Unfortunately, because the city was built from soft limestone, most of them have been severely eroded…

Several artifacts including ceramics with the snake emblem glyph, shell necklaces, as well as jade mosaic death masks and ornaments have also been found on the site. You can admire many of these treasures in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City and the Fort of San Miguel’s archaeological Museum in Campeche.

Another much smaller site which has as few visitors as Calakmul but is much more accessible, just off the main highway, is nearby Becán (meaning "ravine" or “trench” in the Yucatec Mayan language).

It was named by the archaeologists who rediscovered it after its most prominent and unusual feature - its surrounding moat which is 5 meters deep and 16 meters wide.

The city grew to a major population and ceremonial center during the Late Preclassic Period between 350 BC and 250 CE and reached its apogee between 600 and 800 CE. 

It was the political, economic and religious capital of the province known today as Rio Bec.

The construction of major buildings stopped at about 830 CE during the Late Classic Period but the city continued to be occupied until 1200 CE.

The structures are mostly in the Rio Bec style, with some beautiful carvings and arches. 

It is so peaceful to wander around and discover the gems of this ancient city on your own!

You may also come across some toucans and hawks!

Before you start thinking that a road trip around the Yucatán Peninsula is a journey back in time to discover the ancient cities and kingdoms of a civilization long gone, let me stop you right away.

The Maya still live in the region and you can meet them if you venture off the beaten track of architectural marvels built by their ancestors.

Our random encounters with the Maya descendents were amongst the most authentic experiences we had in Mexico… 

If you decide to take the local roads instead of the highway, you will drive through gorgeous mountains and quaint and authentic indigenous villages with people dressed in traditional clothes. 

Along the road you will come across small counters selling fuel cans with the nearest petrol station miles away... 

Vendors and small shops are selling black beans, veggies and handmade artifacts... 

You can take a break in one of the tiny outdoor canteens and savor an enchilada or two, some fish and a cup of local coffee. 

We were stopped twice by the locals and asked to pay a small amount as a toll for the maintenance of the local roads. We found this perfectly fine - the highway has tolls, so the local roads that these indigenous villages maintain on their own should as well! The drive holds many surprises! You will hardly believe your eyes when an ancient pyramid nestled between ordinary houses randomly pops up along the road... The past and the present are closely intertwined! 

While the Maya are without any doubt the most famous amongst them, the south of Mexico used to be home to dozens of other less known, but as fascinating, ancient civilisations. The Olmecs inhabited the Gulf Coast between 1200 and 400 BC, centuries before the Maya. 

They are famous for the giant stone sculptures known as Olmec heads.

You can see these sculptures in the Parque-Museo La Venta in the city of Villahermosa, located in the state of Tabasco (nothing to do with the American brand of hot sauce produced in Louisiana).

This open-air museum will delight you not only with its artifacts surrounded by beautiful trees, but also with the cute coatis napping or wandering around.

Another less known but major ancient civilization from the south of Mexico are the Zapotecs. They inhabited the Central Valley of Oaxaca (pronounced as “wa-HAH-ka”) between 500 BC and 1521 CE. Like the Maya descendants on the Yucatán Peninsula, Zapotec indigenous populations still live in the state of Oaxaca. Mexico's first indigenous president Benito Juárez was born there.

The best known Zapotec site is Monte Albán (meaning “White Mountain”) near the city of Oaxaca. 

It was the capital of the Zapotecs and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Its location alone is something as the city overlooks three valleys and the views are simply jaw-dropping…

Similar to other sites in Mexico, the excavation works at Monte Albán are still ongoing.

Amongst the uncovered structures, there are an astronomical observatory, a ball court, a palace, a main square, a few imposing staircases, several temples, residential buildings and many tombs discovered under their floors…

There are also many stelae, some of them displaying human bodies and heads inside jaguar jaws-shaped headdresses...

The ball court was as important for the Zapotecs as it was for the Maya. This is where the popular ball game with ritual and sacrificial characteristics was played. The objective was to put a rubber ball through a hoop placed high on each wall. Any part of the body could be used except the hands. The losing team sometimes lost not only the game but also their lives…

The highlights of Monte Albán, other than the breathtaking views whenever you go, are more than 300 Danzantes (or Dancing Figures). The figures were misnamed by some 19th-century viewers who saw them as swimming or dancing. It is uncertain who or what they represent. Given the distorted poses, it is believed that they may be dead prisoners of war… The original reliefs, together with other beautiful artifacts discovered on the site, are displayed in the tiny museum next to the archaeological site.

Whether you have the time and energy to travel around Mexico visiting all these amazing archaeological sites or not, pieces of all major ancient civilizations in Mexico are hosted by its first-rate museums.

Because Mexico is also its top-notch Museums...