Alta Vista Chalchihuites

Alta Vista Chalchihuites is an archaeological town on the west-central border of Zacatecas, almost in neighboring Durango. The site is, visually, immediately compelling. People just know something great happened here. And as remote as it may be, the excavation site is supported by the modern little town of Chalchihuites. Home to some 3,800 permanent residents, it's a great comfort for those who've already traveled a long way to get here. 

Widely considered the most important ceremonial center of the Chalchihuites culture, the Alta Vista site was founded between 400 and 450 CE. Scholars suggest that the priesthood who founded the town can be associated with the Teotihuacan culture. The culture here would reach a height between the years 700 and 750 CE. The very site itself, almost on the Tropic of Cancer, suggests that the city was meticulously planned. Ancient inhabitants actually used the surrounding Chalchihuites mountains as a calendar on their eastern horizon. The sun's annual movements could be plotted here and the changing seasons were planned based on these observations. 

Within the ancient city, plaza corners and those of the main buildings projected outward in orientation with the four cardinal directions. The site is also famous for the 600 years of mineral extraction that took place here.  Abandoned at some point between 850 and 900 CE, the site remain practically unknown until it was rediscovered in 1908. In the 1920s and 30s, some protective work was undertaken to try to minimize damage from increased exposure to people and elements. By the 1950s, the site we see today began to reemerge.  

People get to the Alta Vista site especially from the Zacatecas airport. It's still a good 2.5 hours drive from there. The little town of Chalchihuites is a magnificent resource for those on their way to the ruins, but it's also a solid mountain town to visit. From Durango, the trip should only take about 2.5 hours too. And tour groups regularly leave both cities.