Top Things to do in Tlaxcala
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What to do and see in Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala: The Best Budget-friendly Things to do
Thanks to an intense development during the colonial period, the city of Tlaxcala is the proud guardian of a significant architectural heritage, stunning landscapes and warm people.
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1. Murals of the Government Palace
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 181 reviews
Reviewed By H8106MOkathyw - Gainesville, United States
What a surprise in a municipal building! You’ve got the entire history of Mexico to peruse skillfully painted in this interesting structure. I especially liked picking out historical personages in the stairwell.
2. Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Ocotlan
3. Volcan La Malinche
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 70 reviews
Reviewed By farmar1 - Coventry, United Kingdom
This was a last minute thing which I did with a friend who had found a local guide (we had to pay him the tickets there and back, and food). We took a bus to the ADO station early morning. Then another to Huamantla from where we took a taxi to the entrance of the park (it was sunday and with colectivos not working as usual, we had to take the cab to save time). The experience was very good although it is tough going up. At 4000m height it is quite high, even though the climb starts from around 2000m. I climbed Kilimanjaro the year before, for 7 days and so I though this would be easy (without any training) to do in 1 day....wrong. It is tough, v tough. There are 2 routes you can take (from where I started, from near Huamantla). A direct one (very steep), and a winding one(less steep but still tough). This through the first part which is a forest terrain. The two paths meet at the end of the forest, where the rocky terrain starts. And when I mean rocky, I mean sandy rocky. In 7 days climbing Kilimanjaro I never experienced this. It feels that you are taking 2 steps up and one down all the time. In the end we did not make it up to the top of the mountain (due to time constraints as last colectivo back is at 4 and it takes around 1.5-2 hrs to climb down) but just the first peak, which is 400m lower. From there to the top is another 45 mins climb on the ridge and then you also have to clamber to go to the top. Reminded me of Snowdonia but 10 times more difficult and big. However, as I was making the last steps to the first peak, huffing an puffing, the tiredness and aching went away when the view came out over the top...WOW. You have Puebla on one side and Tlaxcala on the other, with the Popocatepetl and Izzacchihuatl mountains in between. On the other side, the snow-capped volcano added to the amazing view. All in all an amazing experience.
4. Museo Nacional del Titere
5. Santuario de las Luciernagas
6. Centro Historico de Tlaxcala
7. Palacio de gobierno de Tlaxcala
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 54 reviews
Reviewed By 251alicias - Mexico City, Mexico
Tlaxcala's Government Palace is a beautiful building that keeps a secret inside: there are wonderful murals depicting Mexico's centuries of history. Entrance is free and you will not regret investing your time in looking at the colorful and detailed scenes. If you come from abroad you could hire a guide to explain the murals' sequence to you, or you can read or research a bit in advance so you make the most of this experience.
8. The Cacaxtla Archeological Site
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 208 reviews
Description: Although over 1,000 years old, the ruins from this archaeological site are well-preserved, including a series of virtually untouched murals.
Reviewed By maritimeexplorer - Nova Scotia, Canada
I note that one recent reviewer describes being robbed at Cacaxtla which emphasizes why it is always best to travel in a group with a local guide. Despite that, this is a must visit place if you have an interest in pre-Columbian Mexico and its long history of mural painting. Here's why. Many visitors to Mexico make it a point to see some of the great murals of the 20th century by artists like Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco that depict important scenes from Mexico's history in ways that are understandable to every Mexican, whether literate or not. I know I did in Mexico City by visiting the National Palace where Rivera's grand murals that surround the walls and stairways are overwhelming. However, the tradition of Mexican mural painting goes back far earlier than the 20th century, in fact over a 1,500 years earlier at a minimum. Cacaxtla (pronounced Ka-cosh-la) lies a short distance outside the regional capital of Puebla where we have been staying for the last few days. On the way, we pick up our local guide Jean-Luis who is an elderly gent who carries a walking stick and is a fountain of information on all things related to the Puebla area including Cacaxtla. Amazingly, the location of Cacaxtla was completely unknown until 1974 when what was presumed simply to be a natural hill was found to be a huge complex that might be the largest palace in all of Meso-America. Archaeologists have been working there almost continually since. What they have found is mysterious and controversial. The site dates from 650 to 900 which was after the collapse of the nearby cities of Cholula and Teotihuacan. Strangely, there are traces of Olmec influence even though they had supposedly disappeared from the scene over 800 years earlier. There are also Mayan influences as well. Just who the people who built Cacaxtla were is still unresolved as is the status of the exactly what Cacaxtla was actually meant to be. It was definitely not a city as there are few other ruins around it that are not strictly ceremonial. Nearby are the much older ruins of Xochitecatl which you could visit by walking over from Cacaxtla, it is that close. The one thing everyone agrees upon is that whoever built Cacaxtla, they were a very militaristic society as evidenced by the subject of most of the murals. The site consists of both an excellent if small museum and the actual archaeological site which is several hundred metres away. Jean-Luis takes us through the museum first where there are reproductions of some of the murals found at Cacaxtla. Frankly, in retrospect, these are much more brightly coloured than the originals and give an idea of how they must have looked when fresh. I've included a photo of a reproduction of what is called the Birdman Mural. The largest mural at Cacxtla depicts a battle between the Jaguarmen and the Birdmen, with the Jaguars winning. No one knows for sure who the Birdmen were supposed to be, but many believe they were Mayans. On the other hand the great demi-god Quetzalcoatl is often depicted something like this and the real bird behind him is almost certainly a quetzal. Opposite the Birdman is the Jaguarman who is ferocious looking and like Birdman, stands atop either a snake or a dragon. The water dropping from his hand may mean that he is some type of rain or fertility god. Without further discoveries it is unlikely that the definitive solution to who these two guys were, will remain unresolved. Murals are not the only important artifacts from Cacaxtla. There are clay masks depicting very different looking peoples as well as ceremonial vases which may have held the hearts and organs of sacrificed victims. There are also bones that show clear signs of cannibalism. After the terracotta warriors in the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang in Xi'an, China, Cacaxtla is the second largest covered archaeological site on the planet. Once unearthed, the murals had to be protected from both the relentless Mexican sun and the occasional rains or they would be destroyed in no time. There is a plan of the Gran Basamento that is found at the entrance to the stairs you must climb to get into the place. It sounds weird because, speaking English, the word basamento conjures 'basement' and yet this is very opposite of a basement. In fact the word translates more as 'base' or 'plinth' than basement. Reading the inscription you learn that this structure built over three centuries during nine distinct construction phases. This is the third major archaeological site we have visited on this tour outside of Mexico City and like Monte Alban and Mitla there's almost nobody here. It's incredible to me how tourists fixate on one or two sites in Mexico like Teotihuacan or Chichen Itza, which are great, but very crowded to the exclusion of dozens of others that you can explore at your leisure without the hordes and those darn selfie sticks. I've also included a photo of the interior of the Gran Basamento. The wall in the centre contains the Cacaxtla Battle Mural which is in two parts divided by a staircase. It's badly faded and nowhere near as bright as the reproductions in the museum. Still, Jean-Luis did a great job of pointing out the salient features of this and other murals in the Gran Basamento. In the Battle Mural the victorious jaguarmen massacre and dismember the losing birdmen. Nobody knows if this scene depicted a real battle or was just wishful thinking on the part of the jaguar forces. Without a guide you would have very little idea of what was being depicted in these murals. Overall, Cacaxtla was more than worth visiting and I highly recommend it to those with an interest in history.
9. Museo Taurino
10. Museo Vivo de Artes y Tradiciones Populares
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