These sister sites , about 20km southwest of Tlaxcala and 32km northwest of Puebla, are among Mexico’s most intriguing. For its many high-quality, vividly painted depictions of daily life, Cacaxtla (ca-cashtla) is one of Mexico’s most impressive ancient ruins. Rather than being relegated to a museum collection, these works – including frescoes of a nearly life-size jaguar and eagle warriors engaged in battle – are on display within the site itself. Located atop a scrubby hill, with wide views of the surrounding countryside, the ruins were discovered in 1975, when men from the nearby village of San Miguel del Milagro, looking for a reputedly valuable cache of relics, dug a tunnel and uncovered a mural. The much older ruins at Xochitécatl (sochi-teh-catl), 2km away and accessible from Cacaxtla on foot, include an exceptionally wide pyramid as well as a circular one. A German archaeologist led the first systematic exploration of the site in 1969, but it wasn’t until 1994 that it was opened to the public.
