The plazas
Stone rows.
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One of the most important archaeological finds in the Antilles and the oldest indigenous ceremonial and sports complex found in Puerto Rico, on the bank of the Portugués River north of Ponce. The Igneri people built it more than a thousand years ago, and their Taíno descendants used it until the Spanish arrived. The site holds rectangular and round plazas edged with rows of stones set in the ground, the bateyes where ritual ballgames and ceremonies took place, some stones carved. The largest is a star-shaped plaza believed to have been linked to observing the sun. Visitors walk between the plazas in the shade of trees; the site also has a rebuilt Taíno village of thatched huts, a small museum of pottery, tools and ornaments from the excavations, and a botanical garden of plants the first peoples used. Tours are guided in Spanish and English, and the site is quiet and little visited. The sun is strong all year, so carry water, a hat and sunscreen.
Stone rows.
Sun watching.
Thatched huts.
Barrio Tibes, about 10 minutes north of central Ponce
The Igneri people more than a thousand years ago; their Taíno descendants used it until the Spanish arrived.