Texcotzingo, Archaeological site and botanical garden in Texcoco, Mexico

Texcotzingo is an archaeological site and botanical garden on a hillside in Texcoco, Mexico. A narrow stone staircase climbs steeply between rough stone walls, with a paved path to its right. In the foreground, a circular stone basin with a rectangular hollow sits among dry grass and shrubs. The site covers 122 hectares.

A 15th-century ruler established this place as royal gardens with sophisticated water systems that were advanced for the time. The site marks an early moment in the history of organized botanical collections in the New World.

The name Texcotzingo derives from a diminutive of Tetzcoco, meaning 'little Tetzcoco'. A pool at the site is flanked by three carved frogs standing for Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan, the three cities of the Aztec Triple Alliance. The site also held spaces for poetry, singing, dancing and oration, and the Texcocan chronicler Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxóchitl described its waterworks in his Historia de la Nación Chichimeca.

The site lies northeast of Mexico City and can be explored on foot, with paths running over terraces and between the plants. It is best visited in good weather, as the trails are steep and the sun can be strong.

The circular stone basin in the foreground, with its rectangular hollow, is one of the site's carved baths. A pool flanked by three frogs stood for the three cities of the Triple Alliance: Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan. Texcotzingo's waterworks resemble those on Chapultepec hill, and Bernal Díaz del Castillo described the place as extremely beautiful.