Xochicalco, Archaeological site in Miacatlán, Mexico
Xochicalco is an archaeological site in Miacatlán, Mexico, featuring temples, pyramids, plazas, and ceremonial structures built on terraces across multiple hillside levels. The fortified settlement spans several tiers and includes residential areas, ball courts, and stone observatories.
After the decline of Teotihuacan around the year 800, the site emerged as a major military and trading center in the central highlands. It reached its greatest extent between 650 and 900, when it housed around twenty thousand inhabitants.
The Temple of the Feathered Serpent shows carved reliefs that combine visual traditions from Teotihuacan and the Maya world, reflecting the site's position as a crossroads. Visitors today walk through stone structures whose terraces and plazas once hosted religious and political gatherings.
Visitors can reach the site by public bus from Cuernavaca, and guided tours are available to explore the extensive ruins and onsite museum. The grounds cover multiple tiers with stairs and paths, so comfortable footwear is recommended.
The underground observatory features precise openings in the ceiling through which ancient astronomers tracked solar movements and predicted lunar eclipses. Visitors today can still observe the exact alignment of the opening, which allows sunlight to pass straight through twice each year.
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