A little before reaching the mining town of San Joaquin, on the top of one of the highest hills in the region, the ruins of an important prehispanic city are located: Toluquilla, a word which, in náhuatl, means “hunchback hill”.
The city became publicly known in 1872 when various engineers who were looking for mines in the region found it. It was first thought that the place was like a city-fort with fortress walls, watchtowers and trenches. Finally, it was understood that the fortress walls were just retaining walls, the watchtowers just temples and the trenches were the facings of the ball game courts.
Toluquilla (photo: visit mexico)
- Working Hours
Monday to Friday, from 09:00 to 18:00 hrs.
- Activities
The state of conservation of these ruins is exceptional: you can appreciate, among luscious forest, stairways, corridors, housing complexes, walls higher than two meters and two ball courts that are erected like vertices of the site, as the entire urban layout revolves around these spaces that faithfully adapt to the mountain’s topography.
The site is divided into the following: Vestibule, Ball Court I, Main temple or building 15, Living Area, Magueyera [area for growing Maguey], Ball Court II, Temple or building 57 and the southern zone which is restricted from visits given that work has not been done there and the buildings are still covered by rubble.
Toluquilla (photo: cuarto poder)
- Useful information
Before starting your trip in the Sierra Gorda, prepare first by going to la Secretariat of Tourism in Santiago de Queretaro. There they have all the information you need. Visit them and collect brochures, maps, guides and all the ideas you need to travel. The Secretariat is located on Pasteur 4 Norte, next to la Casa del Corregimiento, a few steps from Plaza de Armas.
Find out more about Toluquilla here
Source: QueretaroTravel
