Things to See in Mexico

Mexico's second and third highest mountains, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, form the eastern rim of the Valle de México. While craterless Iztaccíhuatl is dormant, Popocatépetl in recent years has spouted plumes of gas and ash, supposedly even signalling the arrival of the new Pope. Iztaccíhuatl remains open to climbers and is perhaps all the more fetching because of its neighbor's unpredictable outbursts.

The existence of cliff dwellings at Cuarenta Casas (Forty Houses) was known to the Spaniards as early as the 16th century. Despite the name of this site, only about a dozen adobe apartments are carved into the west cliffside of a dramatic canyon at La Cueva de las Ventanas (Cave of the Windows). This is the only cave accessible to the public.

These ruins give Casas Grandes (Big Houses) its name. The crumbling adobe remnants are from what was the major trading settlement in northern Mexico between AD 900 and 1340. Partially excavated and restored, the networks of eroded walls now resemble roofless mazes. The passageways are chained off to protect the walls from damage.

Your admission fee also covers entrance to the adjoining Museo de las Culturas del Norte.

Mayanists consider Calakmul, which means 'Adjacent Mounds', to be a site of vital archaeological significance, as it was once the seat of a nearly unrivalled superpower. It was even further-reaching in size - and often influence - than Tikal in Guatemala. Lying within the vast, untrammeled Reserva de la Biósfera Calakmul on the Yucatán Peninsula, the ruins are surrounded by rain forest, best viewed from the top of one of the several pyramids.

This fabulous archaeological zone lies in a mountain-ringed offshoot of the Valle de México. Site of the huge Pirámides del Sol y de la Luna (Pyramids of the Sun and Moon), Teotihuacán was Mexico's biggest ancient city and the capital of what was probably the country's largest pre-Hispanic empire. A day here can be awesome - don't let the hawkers get you down. Bring a hat, water and your walking shoes.