The reopening of El Tajin in mid-February prompted me to rearrange the final days of my 2022 Mexico / Central America trip. Instead of flying home from Cancun, I returned to Mexico City and took a 3.5h bus for an overnight stay in Poza Rica. From Poza Rica, a taxi took me to El Tajin: it is only 18 kilometers and it takes half an hour. I paid 200 pesos on the way up there, and 180 on the way back. Beforehand I did some desk research on buses/collectivos as well: they apparently leave from terminal El Parador, just south of the city center.

Only 500 visitors per day are now allowed (they’ve extended the numbers and opening hours a bit since Shandos visited), but that doesn't stop the souvenir sellers from unpacking all their stalls. They might as well be with 100 people as well.

I got there a little after the opening hour of 10 a.m., and there were already about 50 other visitors. Of the three parts the site consists of, Tajin Chico and the Group of Columns are not accessible at the moment. The small museum is also closed. The Tajin Complex, which can be visited, is the most monumental though.

With the exception of a few "normal" pyramids at the beginning of the site, the buildings with the niches that are so typical of El Tajin stand out. The niches are made of stacked flagstones. Why they were added to the designs is a bit of a mystery, they probably weren't filled with statues or anything. They may depict caves and the entrance to the underworld.

The inhabitants of El Tajin loved the Mesoamerican ball game. Or maybe they once organized the Precolumbian Olympic Games? No less than 20 courts have been excavated here, in a city that had a population of about 15,000-20,000. At the corner of one of these fields is a frieze showing a ball game player about to be beheaded (photo).

Some of the ruins still have remnants of their original red color. There is also one with light blue paint residue.

When you walk here, it really feels like a city: it is densely built up and there are streets connecting those ball game courts. The archeological remains comprise the administrative and ceremonial center of the city; the common people lived on the surrounding hills. The two most beautiful buildings stand side by side at the far end of the site – the stately Building #5 and the Pyramid of the Niches. The latter has no less than 365 niches. It looks a bit unstable as if a major hurricane would topple it. But that slight imperfection makes it all the more interesting in my opinion.