Cempoala

Cempoala is an archaeological site and was one of the most important settlements in the early encounters of the Spanish within the Americas in 1519. It's an ancient site that sunk into oblivion during the colonial period, and remained basically lost to the jungle until cattle ranchers re-discovered it in 1838. Today, you'll find it on the western edge of the modern town of Zempoala, just an hour north of the Puerto de Veracruz. 

Today people visit, many of the from Puerto, especially to stroll the ancient ceremonial grounds. The Temple of the Sun or the Great Pyramid is the most spectacular structure on the site. The Temple of the Chimneys features a series of semicircular pillars one and a half meters high, and the fresco murals still hold some power to astound.  The history of the ancient city and civilization is documented in a museum on the site. 

Inside you'll learn that the Totonac people arrived here at the height of the Toltec empire between 1000 and 1150 CE. The city was the capital for an estimated 250,000 people living in some 50 smaller towns. The Totonacs were soon joined by Chinantec , and Zapotec peoples and some 25,000 to 30,000 people lived here at the city's height although it may have been occupied for some 1,500 years prior to the arrival of the Spanish. But by the late 16th century, the population was nearly entirely wiped out, especially by small pox.  

As mentioned, cattle ranchers re-discovered the town in the mid-19th century. But it was at the end of that century that a survey was conducted of many of the relics found there. By 1891, these had already begun to reveal the wealth of ancient artifacts that would emerge from the site including a magnificent Chac Mool figure now in the collection of the National Institute of Anthropology and History. During World War I, a Japanese lumber firm began operating a mill here, and this swelled the population of the adjoining town to something like the size we see today. 

People arrive to the Cempoala site, especially from the Veracruz Puerto, although buses get here frequently from the Xalapa area too. Just about an hour from either city, it's an incredibly important cultural and historic record carved in stone. The town is home to a number of lodging establishments and a good number of smaller restaurants and eateries, too.