Comalcalco
Zona Arqueológica de Comalcalco
The largest Maya city in the western part of the Maya world, unusually built with fired brick pyramids, with carvings on the bricks themselves.
Comalcalco flourished from about AD 600 to 1000. Lacking stone, the Maya made clay bricks, fired them, and used oyster-shell lime mortar to build temples and palaces. It is the only large brick city in the Maya region. The site is divided into Temple 1, a pyramid on the North Plaza, and the Gran Acrópolis. Remnants of palace walls and stucco masks on the acropolis are well preserved, and many bricks bear carved designs of human figures, animals, and architectural sketches. A small museum on site displays these carved bricks. Admission is about 95 pesos, and the site is open daily. It lies about 55 km from Villahermosa, roughly 1 hour by car, and is often visited together with nearby cacao haciendas.
Opening hours
08:00–17:00
Nearby sights
- Hacienda Cacaotera La Luz
- Parque Tomás Garrido Canabal & Laguna de las Ilusiones
- Parque-Museo La Venta
- Catedral del Señor de Tabasco
- Museo Regional de Antropología Carlos Pellicer Cámara
- Yumká
- Pantanos de Centla Biosphere Reserve
- Grutas de Coconá