"Misantla, Veracruz, Mexico" Misantla by Brangus10

At first glance, Misantla doesn't look like much, but its history precedes that of most North American cities north of the Rio Bravo (a.k.a. the Rio Grande).

The city is thought to have been founded by the Spaniards between 1540 and 1545, and Totonac people inhabited it long before that. In fact, ruins of their ancient pyramids dot the region, with the best example at the nearby village of Morelos. Many ancient monoliths from Misantla can be found in the beautiful Museum of Anthropology in the capital city of Xalapa (also spelled Jalapa), which is about 2 hours away by car.

Up until the Mexican Revolution of 1910, the coffee and vanilla trades drew many foreigners to the area. One of them, an American named Charles M. Flandrau, wrote "Viva Mexico," which for decades was considered the best travel book about Mexico.

In the mid-20th century, the city produced a number of popular musicians and songwriters, including Los Hermanos Martinez Gil.

From a culinary standpoint, rumor has it that the chipotle pepper -- a smoked jalapeno -- originated in the region.

This central Mexican city lies between the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern Sierra Madre mountain range. The weather is tropical, with an average temperature of about 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit). It turns particularly warm, rainy, and humid in late summer.

This structure features a tunnel, as shown above.

Ruins from the indigenous Mexican Totonac culture can be found 10 kms (6 miles) northeast of Misantla, in a village called Morelos. The site is named Paxil (pronounced "PAH-shill"), which means "river of rubble" in Totonac.

In spite of Mexico's struggling economy, restoration began in the 1990s and the project earned a national prize in 1996. The ruins are located on private pasture lands where cattle often graze, and it may be necessary for visitors to duck through some barbed-wire fencing,

These are not large-scale ruins, and the buildings seem small in comparison with well-known Mexican archaeological sites, but it is interesting to see a fairly raw environment where grass, vines, and trees still cover many structures in the area.

The spot remains well hidden off a stretch of rough dirt road, with no road signs indicating ruins nearby.

• Pros:the happy citizens
• Cons:not much to do
• In a nutshell:a town that the government forgot