The Olmec civilization dates to the 2nd century BC when favorable environmental conditions allowed the society to thrive. This high productivity encouraged population growth from which an elite class developed, and accordingly, so did the demand for objects of creative expression. During this trip, we will visit the birthplaces of this art, where the colossal heads and finely carved sculptures emblematic of the Olmec society were found.
This unusual expedition will take us into truly remote areas of Mexico to explore some of the more elusive Olmec sites. See La Venta, San Lorenzo, and Tres Zapotes, where the first of the Olmec colossal heads were found in 1862. Climb the mighty cleft volcanic mountain to see the beautifully inscribed boulders at Chalcatzingo, way off the beaten tourist trail. Visit museums housing major collections of Olmec art, including the vast open-air museum of Parque-Museo La Venta and the Carlos Pellicer Museum in Villahermosa. Explore the Xalapa Anthropology Museum, whose exquisite works of art are meticulously presented in a stunning building. Finally, you will view the Olmec objects on display at the National Museum of Anthropology, housed in an unrivaled award-winning structure in Mexico City.
Won’t you join Far Horizons and only 13 others on this unique 10-day journey to the world of the ancient Olmec? Keep reading to learn more, and please get in touch if you have any questions.
Fly to Villahermosa, Mexico, and transfer to the Holiday Inn for a light supper. Overnight for two nights. (D)
This morning, walk the pathways within the Parque-Museo La Venta, a vast open-air museum where many of the stone monuments from the site of La Venta have been relocated.
As we stroll along the trails, agouti and coatimundi can be seen scurrying through the underbrush, and vibrant tropical birds fly through the jungle setting. This is where we see the first of the massive stone heads characteristic of the Olmec culture.
The afternoon will be spent in the Carlos Pellicer Museum, Tabasco’s main regional museum for archaeology and anthropology. Housed within a dazzling architectural masterpiece, the displays focus on Olmec and Maya art and artifacts. (B/L/D)
In a large area cut by the Coatzacoalcos River system, the Olmec heartland is home to many impressive sites, and the excavations at La Venta formed the foundation for the archaeology of this ancient civilization.
Although none of the signature colossal stone heads are still in situ, the remains of the massive earthen mound that was the focus of the ceremonial complex can still be seen on an island rising above the surrounding swamp. One of the earliest known in Mesoamerica, the Great Pyramid is 110 feet high.
After our explorations, we will continue to Lake Catemaco and overnight for two nights at the La Finca Hotel, beautifully located on the edge of the lake. (B/L/D)
By no later than 1200 BC, San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán had emerged as the most prominent Olmec center and largest settlement in Mesoamerica. Without city walls for protection, San Lorenzo may have been largely a ceremonial complex.
Archaeologists have uncovered numerous monuments here, including no less than ten of the huge basalt heads of rulers, the greatest weighing 28 metric tons and standing almost 10 feet tall. After spending the morning at this site, return to Lake Catemaco with time for a relaxing boat ride on the lagoon. (B/L/D)
This morning takes us to Tres Zapotes, where the first of the huge Olmec monuments was found in 1862. When the rest of the Olmec settlements started to decrease in importance about 400 BC, Tres Zapotes continued to thrive and grow in importance, lasting into the Early Postclassic about 1200 AD.
In the nearby town of Santiago Tuxtla, we will examine several Olmec monuments standing in the central plaza. After lunch, drive on to Veracruz, Mexico’s Gulf Coast port. Veracruz is a very special, laid-back town, and its charm can be felt by simply spending an evening sitting in the sidewalk cafés sipping lechero while listening to the music of the festive danzón and watching the spontaneous dance performances. With its crumbling historic architecture, we may be reminded of old Havana. Overnight in the Hotel Gran Deligencia, near the central plaza in the heart of the city. (B/L/D)
Xalapa, the capital of the state of Veracruz, is today’s destination. Here, we visit the Anthropology Museum, certainly one of the most spectacular in Mexico. The unique building was designed by the architect Edward Durrell Stone, an early proponent of modern architecture in the United States.
Huge, airy rooms pour down the side of a hill, each room home to artifacts of different ancient Mexican civilizations. Spend a leisurely morning examining the exciting display of art, with a concentration of artifacts from the Olmec civilization, the mother culture of Mesoamerica.
In the late afternoon, drive to Puebla. Overnight for two nights at the Hotel Palacio San Leonardo, housed in an elegant 19th-century former mansion located in the historic center of Puebla. Dinner is on our own. (B/L)
Founded in 1531, Puebla’s stunning historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the first city in central Mexico created by the Spanish that was not built upon the ruins of a conquered Native community.
During our morning walking tour, we will see graceful colonial mansions, the 16th-century Catedral de Puebla on the central square, or Zócalo, and Biblioteca Palafoxiana, a library dating from 1646.
In the afternoon, we will drive to Cholula, one of the most important ceremonial centers in the area after the fall of Teotihuacan around 600 AD. Begun in the 3rd century BC, the huge temple was built and rebuilt and is now 181 feet high.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, it is the largest pyramid as well as the largest monument ever constructed anywhere in the world. When the Spanish conquered the area in the 16th century, a church was constructed on the top of the mound. Return to Pueblo for the night. Dinner will be in one of the city’s excellent restaurants. (B/L/D)
This morning’s drive takes us to Chalcatzingo. Rising dramatically from the expansive plains of Morelos is the spectacular volcanic mountain upon which the site is situated. In ancient cosmology, the cleft mountain represents the emerging place, and Chalcatzingo was the earliest mountain of creation.
Its magnificent Olmec bas-reliefs carved on the talus slopes are the iconographic foundations for all later Mesoamerican mythology, and we will hike up a massive outcrop to see them.
Move on to Mexico City and overnight for two nights at the Hotel Zocalo Central, located in the colonial center of Mexico City, a UNESCO Heritage Site. Dinner is on our own this evening. (B/L)
The Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology, is not just the finest museum in the country but among the greatest internationally. The world-renowned repository of some 600,000 artifacts, the museum is spread out over two immense floors.
The permanent exhibitions on the ground floor cover all pre-Columbian civilizations. We will spend the morning viewing the museum’s great collections, with emphasis on the Olmec Civilization.
After time for an early lunch on our own at the museum café, drive back to the Zócalo, the plaza in the center of the historic area, where the afternoon will be spent in the magnificent Templo Mayor, one of the primary temples of the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlán, now Mexico City.
At the summit of this immense stone edifice were found twin pyramids of the two important gods of Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, both frequently nourished by the Aztecs with the blood of human sacrifices.
Within the spectacular Templo Mayor Museum are artifacts found in the excavations. Here, see the monumental carved disk that portrays the death of Coyolxauhqui, the moon goddess. Gather this evening for our farewell dinner party in one of the city’s exceptional restaurants, where the chef puts a hip spin on traditional Mexican cuisine. (B/D)
Transfer to the airport for our flights back home. (B)
