Hi there,
Tula de Allende is a Mexican city in the state of Hidalgo that is 70km from Mexico City. We were undecided between the options to go for the day, and we decided on Tula since it seemed that the ruins would be nice.
We went to the North Terminal, which is the same from where you go to Teotihuacán, there we took the bus and, in an hour and a half, we were in Tula. We went straight to see the ruins.
When we were passing through the center, we saw this sign:
We continued towards the ruins and the area was horrible. It looked a lot like Petare. It scared us and at some point, we thought about putting the cameras away. We passed a road full of shacks and we came to an entrance that was closed.
We asked at a store that was right in front and the lady explained to us how to access the archaeological complex since that entrance had not been used for a long time.
We walked another half hour. The parking lot was nearly empty. We paid 75 pesos per person and started to explore.
The museum was closed, and the archaeological complex is small compared to ruins like those of Palenque or Calakmul. You can only walk along the path and there are two parts that are full of vendors.
Tollan-Xicocotitlan was the capital of the Toltec state, which developed in central Mexico during the early Postclassic period of Mesoamerica. The main political power in the valleys of Mexico was based in this city between the 10th and 12th centuries AD. Its influence reached places as far away as the Yucatan peninsula, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The remains of Tollan-Xicocotitlan constitute the archaeological zone of Tula. In turn, the archaeological site is part of the Tula National Park, which is a protected natural area.
What caught my attention the most and the reason why we decided to visit these ruins is because in Pyramid B there is a set of Atlanteans, Pilasters and Serpentine Columns that are perfectly preserved.
We finished touring the ruins and went back to the center. We saw the square, the cathedral and a very small museum that had nothing interesting. There was also a craft market, but it was almost empty.
Apart from the poster that I put up, in the center you could see the policemen going by in the vans dressed all in black and armed with submachine guns. It is the first place in Mexico where we saw the police in that way. It was when Diego said, “Here the policemen don’t play around” and hence the title of this post.
I think that Tula de Allende is a place that I would not recommend to anyone. You only have the ruins, and they are nothing special if you compare with all the archaeological complexes that you have in Mexico. Also, the site itself is the ugliest thing I’ve seen in Mexico.
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