66 Best Sights in Mexico

About 8 km (5 miles) outside Cuetzalan lies the splendid archaeological zone of Yohualichan, founded by the Totonac around AD 400. Partly obscured from the road by an austere stone church, Yohualichan (which means "house of night") consists of a lovely hilltop grouping of administrative and ceremonial buildings, houses, plazas, and a long ball court. The easiest way to get here is to take a taxi (the ride should cost no more than MX$80), but combis (vans used for public transport) also make regular drop-offs at the top of the road that leads down to the site. To return to Cuetzalan, you can either make arrangements with your taxi driver to wait for you or walk up to the road and hail a combi or taxi.

Just behind the Temple de Santa María Natividad in Zaachila is the small Zona Arqueológica, with a pair of underground tombs that are fun to explore. A pair of eerie carved owls guards one of the graves containing a noble named Lord Nine Flower. He was buried along with an unidentified young man among riches that rivaled those of Tumba 7 at Monte Albán. These treasures, however, are in the archaeological museum in Mexico City.

The occupants of cars and buses speeding along the city's Anillo Periférico (southern beltway) are sometimes surprised to see an ancient, conical pyramid rising just off the side of the highway, standing out rather strangely among the modern buildings that dominate the surrounding landscape of the city's Pedregal area. From around 1400 to 200 BC, a Mexica settlement with as many as 20,000 residents thrived here along the southern shoreline of Lake Texcoco, the now drained body of water on which Mexico City now stands. They built this impressive pyramid likely around 800 BC, several centuries before the construction of the massive pyramids of Teotihuacán (a settlement that some believe was created by descendants of Cuicuilco inhabitants). It's thus considered the oldest of the major archaeological sites in metro CDMX. Today you can visit the site, which has been remarkably well preserved in part because it was covered in lava by the eruption of nearby Xitle around 100 BC. A small museum designed by noted Mexican architect Luis Macgregor Krieger houses excellent exhibits tracing the settlement's history as well as countless pots, figurines, tools, and other artifacts unearthed on the site. You can also walk the grassy, verdant grounds and stand atop the pyramid. Cuicuilco is a five-minute drive from Tlalpan Centro and about a 15-minute drive from UNAM and Ciudad Universitaria. You can Uber here, or take the Insurgentes Sur Metrobus to the Villa Olímpica stop, from which it's an easy five-minute walk.

Located relatively close to the city center in the San Pedro de los Pinos colonia, near San Ángel and Del Valle, this important archaeological site is on what centuries ago was the southwestern shore of Lake Texcoco, an area fed by streams from the western mountains. Its name, which in the Nahuatl language of the Mexica who resided here means "viper of the cloud," is believed to refer to the swirl of stars above that we call the Milky Way. The physical structure preserved at this site is relatively young, having been inhabited from around AD 900 to 1521. One of Mexico's smallest archaeological sites (it's just under 2 acres), Mixcoac only opened to the public for visits in summer 2019, under the aegis of Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH). Visitors can tour the remaining structures, which include a central courtyard surrounded by east and west platforms, with a ceremonial plaza, residential rooms, and other spaces.

By the time the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century, this ancient city was already a ruin. The site's original name, Chicomostoc, means "place of the seven tribes." It was previously believed that seven different cultures had occupied the area, each one building atop the other's city. Debate continues as to whether the inhabitants of the area were related to the Mesoamericans (who occupied what is today central Mexico through northern Central America) or the indigenous cultures of what is now the southwestern United States. The site consists of the ruins of a ceremonial pyramid and a ball court; the principal draw is the rose-colored Salón de las Columnas, containing 11 massive round columns built of the same small slabs of rock. Interesting artifacts are housed in the site's impressive museum. To get here, take a bus toward Villanueva, get off at the entrance to La Quemada, and walk 3 km (2 miles). The bus ride takes about an hour and involves a long walk. Most visitors find it easier to take a taxi or guided tour out of Zacatecas.

Even though it's not a typical excursion for tourists, the Alta Vista petroglyphs offer an interesting and different day in the outdoors. Discovered by the National Institute of Anthropology and History, the petroglyphs are a series of drawings set in stone in what seems to have been a ceremonial center for the ancient people of the Texcoquines. The petroglyphs possibly represent a 1,500-year historical span. Nowadays, the indigenous Huichol people still visit the site to celebrate different rituals. The self-guided tour ends up at the majestic "King's Pool," a naturally formed pool surrounded by cube-like stones. You can finish your history-rich excursion with a refreshing swim in the crystal-clear waters. This is a hard-to-get place, so make sure you have a reliable guide.