Archaeological site 17 km southwest of Teposcolula
Early Mixtec ruins with carved stones and calendar glyphs in a village that keeps a small community museum.
Huamelulpan is one of the oldest cities of the Mixtec world, spread over a hill in the village of San Martín Huamelulpan, south of Teposcolula on the road to Tlaxiaco. It was founded around 400 BC and was at its peak between about 300 BC and 200 AD, when it was among the large early cities of the Mixteca Alta, trading with Puebla, Tehuacán and the Pacific coast. Its Mixtec name is usually given as Yucunindaba.
The site was recorded by the archaeologist Alfonso Caso in 1933. What survives are platforms, a ball court and the remains of temples and plazas, built in places with enormous cut stone blocks, along with carved monoliths bearing calendar glyphs. These carvings are unusual: they look more like the early writing of the Zapotecs at Monte Albán than anything else found in Mixtec cities.
Many of the finds, including fine ceramic urns, are kept in the village's community museum, which also has a model of the ancient city and an exhibit on local traditional medicine. The ruins are not run as a formal tourist site, so there are few services, but they sit right beside the village and the church, and you can walk among them.
What to see and do
Walk among the platforms, ball court and temple remains on the hill.
Look for the carved stones with calendar glyphs.
Visit the community museum for the model of the ancient city and its ceramic urns.
Stop on the way between Teposcolula and Tlaxiaco.
Getting there
San Martín Huamelulpan is about 25 minutes south of Teposcolula on Highway 125 toward Tlaxiaco. Buses and vans running between Teposcolula and Tlaxiaco pass the village. The museum's hours can be irregular, so ask at the municipal office if it is closed.
17 km southwest of Teposcolula
Directions from Teposcolula on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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Weather cool
Huamelulpan shares the climate of Teposcolula, 17 km away. The best months to visit are Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec.
Make Teposcolula your base
Huamelulpan is an easy trip from Teposcolula, a Pueblo Mágico with places to stay, food, and more to see.
More around Teposcolula
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Yanhuitlán
· Landmark · 16 km away
A Mixtec town dominated by a fortress-like 16th-century Dominican church, with fine altarpieces and a restored colonial organ. -
San Miguel Achiutla
· Landmark · 23 km away
Once the seat of a famous Mixtec oracle, now home to a restored 16th-century Dominican convent with colonial altarpieces and paintings. -
Coixtlahuaca
· Landmark · 30 km away
A 16th-century Dominican convent with a carved Renaissance facade and one of the finest open chapels in Mexico. -
Tlaxiaco
· Town · 33 km away
The commercial hub of the Mixteca Alta, with a big Saturday market where Mixtec villages come to trade, and a large Dominican church.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.