Xochicalco sits on a terraced hilltop south-west of Cuernavaca, and from the top you understand immediately why someone built a city here: the view runs over the valleys of Morelos in every direction, to the lakes, the hills and, on a clear day, the snowy shoulders of Popocatépetl far to the east. The city rose after the fall of Teotihuacan, flourishing roughly between AD 650 and 900, a time of upheaval when fortified hilltop centres grew strong by controlling trade. It was protected by moats, walls and ramparts, and its people mixed influences from the Maya, the Gulf Coast and central Mexico in a way that makes it unique.
The most famous building is the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, its lower walls carved with great undulating serpents, seated figures and glyphs that some scholars read as a record of a meeting of astronomers correcting the calendar. There are ball courts, palaces and a remarkable observatory: a cave with a vertical shaft cut through the rock, through which the sun shines straight down at its zenith in spring and summer, lighting up the floor. A good site museum at the entrance explains it all, and the site is a World Heritage site in its own right.
The riding around here is a good mix. From Mexico City, the highway south climbs over the mountains past the lakes of Zempoala before dropping into the warmer valley of Cuernavaca, the city of eternal spring. From there, smaller roads lead to Xochicalco and on to the lakes and the town of Taxco, famous for its silver and its steep cobbled streets, along a road that twists through dry hills. East of Cuernavaca, a route leads to the sixteenth-century monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl, also a World Heritage site. Watch out for topes, the speed bumps that guard every village, and avoid riding at night.
The site is open in the daytime and the heat in the afternoon can be intense, so arrive early with water and a hat. The nearest villages have basic shops, and Alpuyeca, on the highway, has fuel, as do the towns along the road to Cuernavaca. Try cecina from Yecapixtla, salted thin beef, a speciality of Morelos, and the fresh fruit sold at the roadside stalls.