Last Updated on: 4th August 2024, 11:30 pm
Located near the border between Puebla and Veracruz, Cantona is one of Mexico’s most unique – and lesser-known – archaeological sites. The Cantona ruins are incredibly dense yet shockingly vast. And as archaeologists continue to research the site, it becomes increasingly clear it was one of the most important and prosperous cities in Mesoamerican history.
Exploring the site, you’ll lose track of all its plazas, pyramids and ball courts. And looking off into the distance reveals how much more of Cantona has yet to be excavated.
While Cantona is by no means easy to reach, it turned out to be one of my favorite archaeological sites – not just in Mexico but in the entire world. Following this guide to the Cantona ruins, be sure to check the end of the article for info on getting there.
Cantona: A Brief History
Archaeologists suspect that the earliest settlers arrived in the area around 900 BC, drawn to the region thanks to its fertile soil and mild climate.
Much of the city was then developed throughout what scholars call the Cantona I phase (600 BC-50 AD), when inhabitants began constructing numerous plazas, pyramids and ball courts.
Situated about 9 km away from the Zaragoza obsidian mine, the mining and trading of obsidian played a major role in Cantona’s economy. And the city would continue to thrive during the Cantona II phase (50-600 AD). Notably, this prosperous era coincides with the apogee of Teotihuacan.
Cantona was situated in a prime location between Central Mexico and the Gulf Coast, and it would become the main center of trade between the two regions. At its peak, the city expanded out to 12 square kilometers and it may have housed as many as 80,000 residents.
Notably, rather than decline alongside Teotihuacan, which began to fall from the 7th century, Cantona grew even more powerful. Some scholars even suspect that Cantona played a direct role in Teotihuacan’s downfall!
While we don’t know for sure, it was probably around the year 600 that a group known as the Olmeca-Xicalanca took over the city. This is the same group that founded other dominant cities in central Mexico, such as Xochicalco and Cacaxtla, which both rose to prominence in the power vacuum left by Teotihuacan’s collapse.
(Despite their name, the Olmeca-Xicalanca were not Olmecs, but traders of Mayan origin.)
As was the case with many other cities in a post-Teotihuacan world, Cantona heavily fortified itself for protection during these dangerous and tumultuous times.
Cantona would finally begin to decline from the 10th century, possibly due to internal conflict. The city was then suddenly abandoned around 1050, likely due to a Chichimec invasion from the north.
Notably, Xochicalco and Cacaxtla also fell around the same time. This new power void in the region would then give rise to Tula and the Toltec Empire.
Following its abandonment, the site remained hidden for centuries until being discovered by Swiss explorer Henri de Saussure in 1855. The massive site was then gradually surveyed and excavated by numerous archaeologists throughout the 20th century.
Amazingly, as big as the excavated portion of Cantona is today, only about 10% of the total site has been uncovered thus far!
Even with just a fraction of it excavated, Cantona already holds the distinction of having the most ball courts of any Mesoamerican site. The total is currently 27, but who knows how many will be found during future excavations.
And as you’ll discover during your visit, numerous walled causeways cut through the ancient city, of which no less than 500 have been counted thus far.
Touring the Cantona Ruins
Cantona Visiting Tips
Exploring Cantona is unique in the sense that visitors must follow a designated route. But after touring the site, you’ll see how easy it would be to get lost without arrows pointing you in the right direction.
Past the ticket gate, you’ll walk down ‘1st Avenue,’ after which you’ll reach the Acropolis. The route will take you around the Acropolis in a loop, after which you’ll eventually exit via 2nd Avenue.
Confusingly, some of the plazas you’ll encounter near the end of your visit happen to be part of the same building groups as those you encountered near the beginning.
This guide to the Cantona ruins covers the landmarks in the order you’ll see them during your visit. And as you read the following guide, the official ruins map will help you get a sense of where everything is.
As of early 2024, Cantona is open from Tues.-Sat. from 10:00-17:00 and costs 95 pesos to enter. But these details are always subject to change.
For more information on the complicated process of reaching the Cantona ruins as a day trip from either Puebla or Xalapa, check the very end of the article.
Along 1st Avenue
As mentioned above, a visit to Cantona begins with a walk down what archaeologists have dubbed 1st Avenue, the first of many walled causeways you’ll walk through at the site.
Archaeologists have determined that these avenues were carefully planned out from the very beginning of the city’s construction. Accordingly, most of Cantona’s buildings were constructed in alignment with their adjacent roads.
Considering how off-the-beaten-path Cantona is, this is unlikely to be your first Mesoamerican archaeological site. And you’ll immediately notice how unusual these walled paths are, giving Cantona a completely unique look and feel.
The 1st Avenue, which has a total length of 563 m, linked the Acropolis with the outer perimeter of the ancient city. As you walk along it, you’ll pass by numerous patios on either side of you, most of which served as residences.
Unfortunately, most of them are inaccessible, though there will be lots to explore atop the Acropolis.
Some of these patios housed up to 15-20 people, and the living compounds likely consisted of both private dwellings and shared public spaces.
While the houses themselves are no more, imagine wooden dwellings atop each of the square platforms.
To reach the Acropolis, you’ll walk up 47 steps to access it from the west. Given the security situation of the city, it surely would’ve been manned by guards who carefully watched everyone entering and exiting.
Around the Acropolis
The Acropolis was Cantona’s most sacred precinct and home to the city’s elite. As you’ll soon discover, the entire area is massive, comprised of seemingly endless pyramids and ball courts.
You’ll first arrive at what’s known as ‘Ball Game Cluster 5.’ (Many of the building groups at Cantona have been named by archaeologists after their nearest ball court.)
And as mentioned above, the ball court here is one of at least a few dozen discovered thus far at Cantona!
Ball Game Cluster 5 also features a plaza surrounded by buildings, including a pyramid. This is one of many such plazas at Cantona, most of which appear nearly identical.
Visitors will be pleased to discover that most of the site’s pyramids are indeed climbable. And from atop this pyramid, you can get a clear view of the plaza’s central altar, under which archaeologists discovered human remains. Also notice how it features staircases on all four sides.
It’s also from the top that you can see another plaza and pyramid on the other side of the Acropolis’s main east-west road. Eventually, after having looped back around, you’ll get to go there near the end of your visit.
In the other direction, meanwhile, you’ll be able to see a vast area covered in shrubs and yucca trees. Looking carefully at some of the mounds in the distance, you’ll realize how they are indeed manmade.
The true extent of Cantona’s original size is mind-boggling, and it may have been one of the largest-ever settlements in Mesoamerica. It’s especially puzzling, then, why it’s brought up so infrequently.
Walking east for a while down the walled avenue, you’ll pass by the small Ball Game Cluster 6 before eventually arriving at Cluster 7, Cantona’s largest.
Archaeologists believe that this sector of Cantona was where rituals were carried out in hopes of a good harvest. Accordingly, two phallic statues were discovered near the Ball Court.
The ball court here is one of Cantona’s largest, and it’s surrounded by buildings constructed to give spectators clear views of the action.
Interestingly, archaeologists discovered an infant around here that was buried wearing a necklace of green stones. These stones likely symbolized Tlaloc, the Mesoamerican rain deity.
Cluster 7 is home to the Grand Plaza, Cantona’s largest ceremonial space. Based on the discovery of numerous obsidian knives, archaeologists believe that bloodletting rituals were carried out here. As mentioned above, Cantona was the center of the regional obsidian trade.
Cluster 7 is also home to Ball Court 23, which is remarkable for how tiny it is. What purpose could a ball court of this size have served? Was it merely meant for practice, or perhaps as a place where children played for fun?
Back on the road, the designated route will take you further east to the easternmost point of the Acropolis. Accordingly, archaeologists have dubbed it the Eastern Plaza.
Constructed sometime between 650-900 AD, the plaza is home to the aptly named ‘Viewpoint Pyramid.’ This structure can also be climbed, and you’ll get to enjoy even more views of Cantona – both excavated and untouched.
It’s also from here that one can also appreciate clear views of Pico de Orizaba, Mexico’s highest peak. Cantona’s proximity to so many volcanos meant that volcanic rock was in abundance throughout the area.
As such, builders were able to continually expand the city without ever having to worry about a shortage of material. And as you’ll have noticed by now, all of Cantona’s structures and walled causeways were impressively built without the use of mortar.
Next, the designated route will take you back west. And the next major building group you’ll encounter is known as the Palace, or Cluster 10 (situated just south of Cluster 7).
The complex is comprised of numerous large buildings flanked by staircases, and it takes up around10,000 square meters in total. And atop the main palace structure are numerous platforms built at varying levels.
This area likely served as the main residence of Cantona’s royal family. But the original houses, built of perishable materials, have long since vanished.
The palace area also features two plazas which, in contrast to the others nearby, are uniquely sunken. Again, visitors are free to climb the structures and take in the views from all angles.
A bit to the west is the Plaza of Earth Fertility, which archaeologists have determined was Cantona’s main square. Dedicated to agricultural rites, the plaza is home to Cantona’s largest pyramid.
Notice how the altar at the foot of the pyramid is in the shape of a mask – possibly a depiction of the Mesoamerican ‘Earth Monster.’
Notably, human remains and numerous other offerings, such as ceramics and shells, were found buried within the pyramid.
Finally, back at the western edge of the Acropolis, you’ll encounter the Western Plaza. It’s likely a part of Cluster 5, the first building group you encountered upon arriving in the sacred precinct.
While the pyramid here looks much like the others, the view from the top is one of the finest vantage points you can enjoy of the Cantona ruins.
Exiting Via 2nd Avenue
Leaving the Acropolis behind, you won’t return to the entrance via 1st Avenue, but via 2nd Avenue, which runs parallel to it. This avenue runs at a higher level, offering you great views of the residential complexes you passed by on the way in.
The 2nd Avenue is also surrounded on either side by residential complexes. As was common at ancient cities throughout the world, the city’s elite occupied the highest and most sacred precinct, while those of a lower status lived around the perimeter.
While we don’t know for sure, those living just outside the Acropolis probably still enjoyed a pretty high social status. The commoners, meanwhile, likely inhabited the vast areas that have yet to be excavated.
Incredibly, I didn’t encounter a single other visitor during my entire tour of the Cantona ruins. Back at the entrance, I made sure to visit the on-site museum before making the long trip back to Puebla.
The Cantona Museum
Cantona’s on-site museum is small but informative – as long as you can understand Spanish, at least. In addition to artifacts discovered throughout the site, the museum also provides a comprehensive overview of Cantona’s history and culture.
As impressive as the ruins are to walk through, Cantona as we see it today is entirely devoid of decoration. But this isn’t how things looked during the city’s heyday, and decorative stones at the museum reveal some of the patterns and motifs that once adorned the city’s structures.
Given its proximity to numerous volcanoes, it’s not surprising that one of the main deities worshipped at Cantona was Huehuetéotl, the fire god. The museum contains numerous statues of the deity, one of which was discovered at the Plaza of Earth Fertility alongside two stone phalluses.
Other pieces include things like a Tlaloc vase, various stone carvings and ceramics, a replica of ritual offerings found at the Palace, and a sculpture base carved with two intertwined serpents.
Additional Info
Before detailing the arduous process of reaching Cantona via public transport, it’s worth noting that this tour is available for those who’d like to avoid the hassle. Pickup, however, is from Cholula rather than from Puebla.
Cantona can be reached via public bus as a day trip from either Xalapa or Puebla. But information about the process is very difficult to come by. I came from Puebla, and it turned out to be one of the most difficult day trips I’ve ever done in my life! At one point, I even thought I’d end up stranded in the nearest town.
Luckily, I just barely made it back to Puebla. And now that I know what to do, I understand what I could’ve done differently. Nevertheless, getting to Cantona requires multiple steps, and one must anticipate a lot of waiting at each of them.
Below, I’ll be covering the best ways to reach Cantona from both Puebla and Xalapa. But first, I’ll describe what I did. While it’s a pretty long read, it’ll be helpful to go through so you have an idea of what to expect and what mistakes to avoid.
How I Reached the Ruins From Puebla
Leading up to my day trip, I spent a lot of time researching the best way to reach the Cantona ruins from Puebla, but could hardly come across any concrete information. I did, however, find a Mexican YouTuber who described getting there from Xalapa, and so I decided to start by taking a bus to the town he mentioned.
The town is called Perote, Veracruz. As we’ll cover shortly, this is indeed the best starting point when visiting Cantona from Xalapa. But it’s not where you should start if you’re coming from Puebla.
Coming from Puebla, Perote is well past the ruins. But since I didn’t know of any other method, my plan was to take an eastbound AU bus to Perote, and then a colectivo back west toward Cantona.
Not sure what the day would have in store for me, I departed extra early from Puebla, taking the 7:30 am bus and arriving in Perote around 9:10.
My next mission was to take a colectivo bound for a village called Tepeyahualco. But it ended up taking me ages to find. The problem was that the location of the stop had changed since the YouTube video I’d watched was made.
I ended up walking around town for well over an hour, asking various people where the stop for Tepeyahualco was. Locals only gave me vague directions, such as ‘that way’ or ‘around the corner.’ But I couldn’t find anything resembling a colectivo station or stop.
Finally, I did manage to find it, but the colectivos were parked in a nondescript parking lot. No signage indicated that it was anything but a parking lot, and there were no signs on the backs of the vans, either. It was only after asking the drivers that I could confirm they were indeed headed to Tepeyahualco.
But first we had to wait nearly an hour for the van to fill up. The ride to Tepeyahualco then took around 45 minutes.
Finally arriving in Tepeyahualco, I was not actually sure how to reach the ruins, which would be about a two-hour walk from the village. Asking locals, they said there would be a northbound colectivo coming that could drop me off there.
But I waited and waited, and nothing came. It was already past noon by this point, and I had no idea what I was going to do.
Luckily, a taxi eventually appeared. Even though the driver was headed in the opposite direction, I talked him into taking me to Cantona. I forgot how much I paid him, but it was probably close to 100 pesos for the 15-minute ride. I was just happy to have found a taxi at all, or else I probably wouldn’t have made it to the ruins.
Finished with my tour of Cantona, I asked the woman working at the museum if she could call a taxi for me. But the place was so remote, she explained, that no such taxi company existed out there! She told me to instead wait by the road for a colectivo for Tepeyahuaco that would come ‘shortly.’
I decided to walk in the direction of town, repeatedly looking behind me to see if any colectivo was coming. But I walked and walked and no colectivo appeared.
The last bus from Perote to Puebla departs around 17:00, so I had to take the 16:00 bus from Tepeyahuaco to Perote if I was going to make it. But by this point, I was feeling pretty certain I would not. And as I gradually got close to the highway, I was seriously considering trying to hitchhike back instead. Otherwise, I’d have to find last-minute accommodation in Perote.
But just before I reached the highway, a colectivo for Tepeyahuaco finally appeared! Back in town, I explained to some of the friendly drivers who’d recognized me from before that I ultimately wanted to get back to Puebla.
They explained that in that case, I shouldn’t head back to Perote, but to the town of Oriental. And a bus for Oriental just happened to be leaving at that very moment.
Looking at my phone, I realized I actually had Oriental saved in Google Maps. I then recalled having come across a website that mentioned it being the nearest city to the Cantona ruins.
But looking at the reviews of the local bus station, I remembered why I hadn’t considered going there. One of the reviewers mentioned there being no direct buses between Oriental and Puebla. But this turned out to be completely false!
There are indeed direct buses between Oriental and Puebla, and they’re run by a company called Via. After about fifteen minutes of waiting in Oriental, the bus appeared, and I eventually made it back to Puebla, amazed that I pulled it off.
The Best Way to Reach the Cantona Ruins from Puebla
The best way to reach Cantona from Puebla is to start by heading to the town of Oriental. From CAPU (Puebla’s main bus station), the route is handled by the Via bus company.
As with many smaller bus companies in Mexico, there are no timetables posted online except for a scarcely updated Facebook page. If you can, you might want to confirm the times in person the day before. But I’m under the impression that buses to Oriental leave fairly regularly.
The ride from Puebla to Oriental should take about 1 hour and 15 minutes. But what should you do once you’re there?
This is where things get a bit tricky. One option is to take a colectivo bound for Tepeyahuaco. You should see them lined up just around the corner from the main bus station area.
But if you’ve read my long story above, there’s no clear method to get to Cantona from Tepeyahuaco. While a colectivo does exist, you might end up waiting a very long time.
If you’ve left Puebla at a reasonable hour, however, you should have plenty of time to wait around for a colectivo or taxi bound for the ruins.
Otherwise, you can try negotiating with a taxi driver to take you directly to the ruins from Oriental. But as it’s about a 30-minute ride, don’t expect it to be cheap.
Finished with the ruins, your next challenge will be getting back to Tepeyahuaco. As mentioned in my story above, a colectivo eventually should come. Then you should easily find another colectivo back to Oriental. They depart every 45 minutes or so.
The Best Way to Reach the Cantona Ruins from Xalapa
For those visiting the Cantona ruins from Xalapa, start by taking an AU bus to the city of Perote. The ride should take a little over an hour.
Once in Perote, your next mission is to find a colectivo bound for Tepeyahuaco. But this is much easier said than done.
As mentioned above, the location of the current colectivo station is very difficult to find, with no signage indicating where you’re supposed to go. And when you get there, it looks like a regular parking lot.
If it hasn’t already changed again by the time you read this, look up ‘Estacionamiento Central’ on Google Maps. If you see any vans in the parking lot, walk up to them and ask if they’re headed to Tepeyahuaco.
If you have trouble, just keep asking locals, but anticipate vague directions.
As mentioned above, getting from Tepeyahuaco to Cantona and back again is quite tricky. The key is leaving Xalapa early enough so you end up with a lot of extra time to wait around for whatever colectivos or taxis may (or may not) appear.
The most beautiful part of Puebla is undoubtedly its Centro Historico. And this is also where you’re going to find most of the city’s cultural landmarks. What’s more, is that there are plenty of hotel options to choose from here, such as the highly-rated Hotel Boutique Casareyna (high-end), Hotel Diana (midrange) and Hotel Centro Historico (budget).
But would there any reason to not stay in the center? Yes, and for two main reasons. First of all, Puebla is not just a destination in its own right, but the city is one of the best bases for day trips in all of Mexico.
Secondly, the main bus station, CAPU, is unfortunately located quite far from the center. While I originally wanted to stay in the historical district, I realized that there were at least five day trips I wanted to go on that would require a visit to CAPU – not to mention my arrival and departure days.
And so I found an Airbnb within fifteen minutes on foot from the station. In the end, I’m really glad that I did, as it saved me a lot of time and hassle.
Unfortunately, however, the whole area around the bus station is not the most charming, to say the least (though it did at least feel safe). Compared with the historical center, it felt like another world.
While I didn’t have the best experience at my Airbnb for various reasons, you may want to consider Hotel Central, located right next to the station. I would end up staying here during a later trip, and while it was very basic and a bit rundown, I found it fine overall for the price.
Puebla has no tram network, and the drive between the center and CAPU is at least 20 minutes (only if traffic is perfectly smooth). Deciding where to stay, then, all depends on how many day trips you’ll be taking and how extra early you’d be willing to depart to ensure you don’t miss your buses.
While I didn’t stay in Xalapa myself, the best area to base yourself would surely be the historical center. Budget travelers should consider Hotel Maria Victoria Xalapa, while a highly-rated mid-range hotel is Posada del Cafeto.