Pyramid of the Niches
Rows of openings.
Omarem — CC BY-SA 3.0 · AlejandroLinaresGarcia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · AlejandroLinaresGarcia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Omarem — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Omarem — CC BY-SA 3.0
El Tajín is a pre-Columbian archaeological site in Veracruz, Mexico, about 6 km west of the town of Papantla in a straight line, and one of the largest and most important cities of the Classic era in Mesoamerica. It flourished between 600 and 1200 AD, when many temples, palaces, ballcourts and pyramids were built. Europeans did not know of it until 1785, when a government inspector came upon the Pyramid of the Niches. It is named after the Totonac rain god and became a World Heritage Site in 1992. Its best-known monument is the Pyramid of the Niches, decorated with rows of square openings, surrounded by grass-covered stepped pyramids, wide plazas and stone buildings with geometric decoration. Twenty ballcourts have been found at the site. Voladores perform at the site, men swinging down on ropes from the top of a tall pole, and there is a small site museum. It is hot and humid, so bring water and a hat; mornings are best.
Rows of openings.
Twenty of them.
The pole ritual.
Near Papantla, Veracruz, Mexico
About two hours.
In the morning.