I visited this WHS in December 2021. After we were forced to change plans and sleep in a motel close to Xochicalco instead of Cuernevaca, we woke up early to be the first visitors of the morning and also avoid any possible disruptions from the nearby demonstrations and protests. Not only were we the first visitors but we were also the only visitors till we left a couple of hours later.

Xochicalco's heydays came after the fall of Teotihuacan and it has been speculated that Xochicalco may have played a part in the fall of the Teotihuacan empire. The architecture and iconography of Xochicalco show affinities with Teotihuacan, the Maya area, and the Matlatzinca culture of the Toluca Valley. The absolute highlight of this WHS is without any doubt the Temple of the Feathered Serpent with fine stylized depictions of the Feathered Serpent deity in a style which includes apparent influences of Teotihuacan and Maya art. I was also surprised by the number of huge pyramids, platforms and ball courts as well as residential or cerimonial buildings which lack the intricate decorations of the Temple of the Feathered Serpent but are still worth viewing as an impressive series of complexes which once made up a sizeable city with a population of around 20,000 people.

Most if not all stelae and statues can be seen at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City and although the small museum of Xochicalco (usually included in the entrance ticket) was closed due to COVID restrictions, its main pieces were on loan and displayed in Mexico City's Secretaria de Educacion Publica (SEP) building as part of the Greatness of Mexico (La Grandeza de Mexico) exhibition which in January 2022 was transferred to the National Museum of Anthropology as a temporary exhibition when the permanent exhibition halls were suddenly closed supposedly due to a rise in COVID cases.

The Rampa de Animales has a tent-like structure for protection against the elements which makes it quite hard to appreciate the ramp made up of stone slabs with carved animals such as birds, snakes, butterflies and mammals. Adjacent to this ramp is a small temple in which a female goddess statue was found which probably was believed to be the Goddess of the Earth, the place where all animals breed. Unfortunately, entering the astronomical observatory was not possible due to COVID restrictions, but researches believe that the vertical shafts of the underground chambers here were used to observe and measure the solar zenith passage (on 14th-15th May at Xochicalco) functioning as part of Mesoamerican calendar system. Recent studies also suggest that these were also used to observe the moon and predict eclipses.