Colima state is small, but there are a lot of things for tourists to
see. I am talking about the archaeological zones. We can find a lot of these sites around the state: El Chanal and
La Capacha which are in Colima city, La Campana in Villa de Álvarez, Los Órtices in Asmoles (on
the way to Manzanillo), and Noguera near Comala. Because Colima is located in the west, all of these places
have the same cultural characteristics (architecture, figures, constructions, etc). I will tell you more about these.
"El Chanal" (1,100-1,400 years after Christ) is one of the most
famous archaeological zones in Colima. It is located near the green river in Colima city, about five kilometers from the urban
zone. The size of that site was very big -- one hundred fifty hectares -- now most of the territory is Villa de Álvarez and
Colima. There are thirteen amazing pyramids (not very tall), five "Tumbas de Tiro" (graves), small figures (the little
dogs), monoliths, wall paintings, ornaments, gardens, wonderful engineering constructions, and more. Almost all the figures
are in the regional museum, located at Calzada Galvan #233. Aniceto Castellanos found this ruin in 1944. If you want to know
more about the history of "El Chanal," don't worry, there is a man who knows everything about that, his name is Leonardo
and he always is in the offices, so I am sure that he will answer all the questions that you have.
The biggest and the oldest archeological zone in the state is "La
Campana" (600-900 after Christ). La Campana is located in Villa de Álvarez between ITC (tec de Colima) and "La Comercial"
(a mall). You can take a bus, a taxi or drive there (it is not far). But La Campana is not the real name of that place: an archeologist
named the zone that because one pyramid has the shape of a bell (still now there are no clues to know what is the real name).
La Campana has the only "Tumba de Tiro" open to the public in Colima, that's why this site is better than the others.
Inside the grave we can see handmade figures (like the little dogs) and old instruments realized with mud and obsidian. There
are fifteen squares surrounded by big constructions and pyramids. If you want to visit this place you need to be lucky because
the custodian who has the keys is not always there (his phone number is 31 4 45 11).
If you want more, there are other interesting sites in Colima that
you can visit. "Los Órtices" is a small town located twenty kilometers down south of Colima city (ten minutes in
car) next to Los Asmoles. There are big monoliths (one meter tall) with different shapes such as: turtles, dogs, men, women
and jaguars. Bring your camera to take pictures.
Another place that you should go is the museum of Alejandro Rangel in
Noguera (three kilometers from Comala). There are almost all the Christmas painting and ancient artifacts collection of Alejandro
Rangel, whose art is famous in all the world. "La Capacha" is another famous archeological zone, two kilometers past
the English College. It is very small but amazing, because the pyramids and the constructions are perfect. You should go to
see it.
The little dogs represent the culture of Colima and I am sure that
you want to know what do they represent. First the name of these curious dogs is "Choloesquincles", it means in Nahualt
"perro pequeño" and little dog in English. The function of the dogs is to accompany the dead people to the heaven.
That's why there always are dogs in the graves. The regional museum sell dogs (if you want to buy one), the smallest cost
five hundred pesos each one and the biggest are more expensive.
That's almost all the archaeology (aside from "el chivato"
and a few other less important sites) you can see and visit in Colima state. I recommend that you come here and go to all
places that I mentioned, you will improve your knowledge and have fun at the same time. Come and enjoy it.
