Zona Arqueológica de Huapalcalco

Huapalcalco sits on the northern edge of Tulancingo, at the foot of a line of basalt cliffs and the flat-topped Mesa de Huapalcalco. The name comes from Nahuatl and means roughly "place of the wooden house." It is considered the oldest known site of human occupation in Hidalgo: caves in the cliffs hold rock paintings, and a Clovis-type spear point was found in the Cueva del Tecolote, evidence of hunters who lived here long before pottery or farming.

The visible ruins are much later. The main structure is a small three-tiered pyramid, about 8 meters high, with a plaza, a stela and a round altar, built with clear influence from Teotihuacan. Archaeologists see Huapalcalco as a key place for understanding what happened in the region after Teotihuacan fell, and old chronicles tie it to the Toltecs and to Quetzalcóatl, who is said to have built a house of penance here before Tula rose.

The site is cared for by INAH but has seen little excavation, so it is quiet and uncrowded. Entry has been reported as free, and around the spring equinox local groups hold ceremonies and cultural events among the mounds.