Archaeological site 8 km east of Tula
The 'place of mist': a rare round pyramid, El Cuizillo, by a lagoon outside Tula, built around 600–900 AD.
Tammapul, a Huastec name usually translated as the place of mist, is an archaeological site about eight kilometers southeast of Tula, beside the Laguna de San Isidro in the ejido La Laguna. It takes its name from the fog that often fills the valley at dawn, framed by the ridges of the Sierra Madre Oriental.
The site had three circular buildings linked by causeways, but the one that stands out is El Cuizillo, also called the Tula pyramid: a semi-conical mound about 12 meters high on a base roughly 41 meters across, built in stepped tiers around a limestone core. Round pyramids are unusual in Mesoamerica, and among the Huastecs they were often linked to the wind god Ehécatl. Tammapul flourished around 600 to 900 AD, and the tens of thousands of potsherds found here also tie it to the Río Verde culture of neighboring San Luis Potosí.
The site appeared on Abraham Ortelius's map of La Huasteca in 1570, was stripped of stone in later centuries, and was fenced in 1980 to protect it. INAH has studied it, but it is not a formally developed site with visitor services.
What to see and do
See El Cuizillo, the round pyramid, from outside its protective fence; please do not climb it.
Come at dawn, when mist often settles over the valley and the lagoon.
Walk to the shore of the Laguna de San Isidro next to the site.
In Tula, ask locally about guided visits or any news on the site's opening.
Getting there
Tammapul is about eight kilometers southeast of Tula, roughly 15 minutes by car, near the village of La Laguna on the shore of the Laguna de San Isidro; ask in Tula for directions, as signage is limited. It is not formally open to the public and has no visitor services or fixed hours, so treat it as a site to view respectfully from outside. Climbing the pyramid has damaged it in the past.
8 km east of Tula
Directions from Tula on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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Weather mild
Tammapul shares the climate of Tula, 8 km away. The best months to visit are Jan, Mar, Nov, Dec.
Make Tula your base
Tammapul is an easy trip from Tula, a Pueblo Mágico with places to stay, food, and more to see.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.