Finally Veracruz: El Tajin

We are finally going to Veracruz. Ten years ago when we came to Mexico we wanted to check off Veracruz. The US State Department advised against going. This time the security level for Veracruz had dropped. We are eager to explore. 

At the top of our list in the north end of the State of Veracruz is the UNESCO archeological site El Tajin. Getting there from Xilita turned out to be less straightforward than the map suggests. In the end we opted for a 2-hour bus ride to Cuidad Valles, overnighting near the station at the very perfect Hotel Popeye. Then taking a 6-hour bus at 6am to Poza Rica (stopping in Tampico and Tuxpan), transfering to a local bus for another 45 minutes to finally reach Papantla, our base for visiting El Tajin.

Papantla itself is a Pueblo Magico, home to the famous Voladores (an intangible UNESCO entry), and a lively place. Though it doesn't look like too many tourists stop here, the town seems to do well enough on its own.

All the guides warn caution about  visiting El Jain in the blazing sun. We had a chipi-chipi (misty) day. The site is poorly administered. The museum was closed. The whole upper acropolis was closed. Nevertheless the dozen or so rather well preserved  pyramids in fairly close proximity are thoroughly impressive.

We are very happy with our introduction to Veracruz.

John says: The archaeological site of El Tajin is very poorly run and visiting the ruins is an exercise in frustration . 1) There are no information signs in any language. None to identify pyramids or ballcourts. None to give information about the buildings and the people who lived here. The only signs one sees when walking around the site are "don't touch". 2) The most important area of the site, Chico Tajin, is closed, but there is no sign that says "closed", it's just roped off. And when you buy your ticket they don't tell you that Chico Tajin is closed. So we spent about 15 minutes trying to find a way up before giving up. 3) The famous columns of the "House of Columns" in Chico Tajin (closed) are in the site museum. However the site museum is closed. And the columns are not actually in the museum, they are in storage. Luckily we had studied El Tajin before coming and had maps and guide books to refer to.

A few shots of Pyramid of the Niches, the symbol of El Tajin




The so-called South Ball Court is known for its bas-reliefs. In the photo below, a woman is pointing at one of the 6 reliefs (2nd below).




View up to the acropolis known as Tajín Chico with the House of Columns at center. Unfortunately it's closed indefinitely.


One of our favorite structures was The Great Enclosure which viewed from above forms the letter "G".




Many of the pyramids at the site had niches.




Some shots of the stately Building 5.




Photo of Building 5 (left) and Pyramid of the Niches (center) and 2nd below, a video of same.




The Grand Ball Court with 3 rows of "stadium seating" on each side.


We stayed in the Hotel Tajin in the town of Papantla from which the site of El Tajin is a short collectivo ride. All of the photos below of Papantla were taken within one block of the Plaza Principal (first below).






































The night before we arrived in Papantla, we stayed at the very cool and perfect Hotel Popeye in Ciudad Valles, just 2 blocks from the bus station. If you look closely you can see Olive Oil in the lit lobby. ;-)


A shot of the Tuxpan riverfront from the bus window.