El Tajin is by far the most important archeological site on the Gulf coast. The principal architecture here dates from the Classic period (300–900 AD); the city declined in the early Post-Classic (900–1100 AD) and by the time of the Conquest it had been forgotten. Our knowledge of it comes entirely from archeological enquiries made since the accidental discovery of the site in 1785 El Tajín remains one of the most enigmatic of all of Mexico’s ancient cities. No one even knows who built it: some claim it was the Huastecs, others the Totonacs. Although “Tajín” means thunderbolt in Totonaca, experts consider it unlikely to have been built by their ancestors. Most archeologists prefer not to speculate too wildly, instead calling the civilization “Classic Veracruz”. You’ll notice many of its hallmarks at El Tajín, including niches in temple walls and complex ornamental motifs known as “scrolls”, which are most prevalent on items and bas-reliefs associated with the ball-game (look at some of the stone “yokes” in the site museum). Classic Veracruz influence was widespread, and is strongly felt at Teotihuacán.

Despite many years of effort, only a small part of the huge site has been cleared, and even this limited area is constantly in danger of being once more engulfed by the jungle: green mounds sprout from the trees in every direction, each concealing more ruins. The site (daily 9am–5pm) divides broadly into two areas: Tajín Viejo, which centres on the amazing Pirámide de los Nichos, and Tajín Chico, a group of official residential buildings belonging to the city’s ruling class built on an artificial terrace. The site museum, by the entrance, has a model of the site worth examining before you venture in, along with a collection of the more delicate stonework salvaged from the ruins, notably murals and columns, bits of pottery and statues displays are primarily labelled in Spanish and English explanations.

From the site entrance, a track leads through a small group of buildings to the Plaza del Arroyo, the city marketplace, and into the heart of Tajín Viejo. Around the plaza are several ball-courts, the most prominent of which is the South Court, or Juego de Pelota Sur; it looks like a wide avenue between two small pyramids. Seventeen such courts are known here, and more possibly lie unexcavated; it’s thought that the game took on a greater importance here than at any other known site.

The superb bas-relief sculptures that cover the walls of the South Court include portrayals of a decapitated player, and another about to be stabbed with a ritual knife by fellow players, with Death waiting to his left. (Such bas-reliefs are a constant feature of the site, adorning many of the ball-courts and buildings, with more stacked in the museum). The unique Pirámide de los Nichos is the most famous building at El Tajín, and indeed one of the most remarkable of all Mexican ruins. It rises to a height of about 20m in six receding tiers, each face punctuated with regularly spaced niches; up the front a steep stairway climbs to a platform on which the temple originally stood. If you tally up the niches, including those hidden by the stairs and those, partly destroyed, around the base of the temple, there are 365 in all. Their exact purpose is unknown, but clearly they were more than mere decoration: theories include each one holding some offering or sacrifice, one for each day of the year, or that they symbolized caves the dwellings of the earth god.

Originally they were painted black, with the pyramid in red, to enhance the impression of depth. Niches are also present on other buildings at the site, some bearing the attributes of Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent, El Tajín’s most depicted god. Around the plaza in front of the pyramid stand all the other important buildings of Tajín Viejo. Opposite is Monumento 3, a similar pyramid without niches, and behind it Monumento 23, a strange steep-sided bulk, one of the last structures to be built here. To the right of the Pirámide de los Nichos, Monumento 2, a low temple, squats at the base of Monumento 5, a beautiful truncated pyramid with a high decorative pediment broken by a broad staircase; on the left, Monumento 4 is one of the oldest in El Tajín, and only partly restored.

From the back of Monumento 4 the path continues past the Juego de Pelota Norte, with its worn relief sculptures, onto the levelled terrace of Tajín Chico, home of the city’s elites. Originally this raised area was supported by a retaining wall, part of which has been restored, and reached by a staircase (which is no longer there) opposite the ball-court. Only parts of the buildings themselves now survive, making a rather confusing whole. Estructura C and the adjoining Estructura B are the most impressive remains here: Estructura C has stone friezes running around its three storeys, giving the illusion of niches. In this case, they were purely decorative, an effect that would have been heightened by a brightly coloured stucco finish.

It also has the remains of a concrete roof – originally a huge single slab of poured cement, unique in ancient Mexico. Estructura A had a covered interior, and you can still see the entrance covered by a false arch of the type common in Maya buildings. To the left of Estructura C, Estructura I features internal and external murals, and was probably the residence of some major political or religious figure. On the hill above Tajín Chico stood the Edificio de las Columnas, which must have dominated the entire city. El Tajín’s most famous ruler, 13 Rabbit, lived here bas-reliefs on columns recorded his exploits, and some of these are now on show in the museum. The building is partly restored, and bits of broken, pre-Columbian pottery litter the area, but this part of the site is closed. From the terrace of Tajín Chico you can walk down the stone path to the Gran Greca complex, also known as Xicalcoliuhqui, with its spiral walls containing two ball-courts and more pyramids. It has been only partially cleared of jungle, but you can stroll along the walled edges to get a sense of its vast size. Built towards the end of the city’s life, it is regarded as a sign of growing crisis, Tajín’s rulers becoming increasingly obsessed with monumental projects in order to maintain control over a disenchanted populace.