Surrounded by emerald-green hills, El Tajin must have been resplendent at the height of its influence, when stuccoed pyramids painted bright blue and red surrounded the city’s treat plazas. Although abandoned for around 800 years, the uniformity and density of its construction, the fascinating bas-relief carvings, and the tropical setting still make this a breathtaking site, worth the effort to find.

Archaeologists are not sure who built this ceremonial and residential city, which was established during the Early Classic period but reached its height toward the end of the Late Classic. A uniformity of design and the repetition of the step-and-fret pattern characterize its architecture.

Just to the north, a large number of buildings are clustered around the magnificent Piramide de los Nichos, named for its 365 deeply recessed niches, one for each day of the solar calendar. This relatively stocky structure has a single steep stairway on the east side. Hidden within is a duplicate structure, although without the niches.