It has a lovely main square and one of Mexico's most ornate baroque churches - the Iglesia de San Francisco Javier, accessed via the adjacent huge monastery. The church and monastery combine to form the Museo Nacional del Virreinato - a collection of religious paintings, statues, chalices and furniture.

Guided tour of the city centre and Teotihuacan.  The arrival of the Spanish conquistadores was seismic event in the story of the Aztec people.  Their magnificent causewayed city was razed, and the invading Spaniards rebuilt it in their own style; the development fuelled by silver mining.  This is all reflected in the cultural vestiges apparent all over the modern-day city which you’ll see during your guided tour. Visit the zócalo, or main square, monumental Metropolitan Cathedral and National Palace with its murals by Diego Rivera.

Later, head into the countryside towards the megalithic archaeological site of Teotihuacan. Dating back over 2,000 years, it was once one of the largest cities in the world. It is hugely influential in the historical narrative of modern Mexico and, although abandoned by the time of the Aztecs, even this great empire held it in awe. Stroll along the imposing Avenue of the Dead, leading to the vast Pyramid of the Sun, and climb its vertiginous steps for a panorama of the ruins.

If you have time we suggest you visit the world-class Museum of Anthropology, exhibiting remarkable, well displayed Aztec artefacts alongside items from other ancient civilisations. There’s also a scale model of the lake-city Tenochtitlán. It’s a fantastic introduction to the superb and sometimes grisly artistic achievements of Mexico’s early inhabitants.

A conservative, strongly catholic and very traditional community, it took the ' wrong' side in the War of Independence and has been involved in some bloody battles.

Visit the hilltop pre-Columbian site of Cholula. This huge pyramid is larger than the Egyptian Pyramid of Cheops, but today is not much more than a grassy mound. Drive on to the city of Tlaxcala where highlights include the government palace with its vivid murals, the beautiful pilgrimage site of the Shrine of our Lady of Ocotlán, and San Francisco Monastery.

Leave the capital by road and travel southeast towards the southern highlands and the city of Oaxaca, set among arid mountains. The population in this area is still dominated by Zapotec and Mixtec Indians, but the town has many examples of well-preserved Spanish colonial architecture, some fine museums and a thriving artistic community, as well as a wonderful climate. The peace and quiet of the cobbled streets is a welcome contrast to the busy capital.

ead out of town to nearby Monte Albán, the grand Zapotec ceremonial centre. Strategically located on an artificially levelled hill where three valleys meet, the site has superb views over the surrounding area. There is time to explore the pyramids, steep staircases, walls covered with strange carvings, burial chambers and temples. Although there is a theory that the main plaza was a religious ceremonial site, most of the imagery all over the place is decidedly militaristic, featuring tortured captives and devastated conquered settlements.

On the return trip, stop at the huge 2-3,000-year-old ahuehuete tree, one of the oldest in the world, which dominates the parish church of Tule village. With a girth of 42m and a diameter of 14m, it also claims to be the widest tree in the Americas.

A final stop will be at a mezcal distillery to learn about the production process of this agave-based spirit, made only in Mexico and mostly in Oaxaca.

Mérida then became an immensely wealthy city, described as the ‘Paris of the New World’. Its money came mainly from the production of sisal, cactus fibres that are used to make rope, and it was culturally and geographically isolated from the rest of the country until transport infrastructure reached it in the 1950s.

Today Mérida retains a lovely colonial centre, with a mix of opulent and crumbly buildings but it is a modern, bustling, thriving city, with lots of local character, some excellent places to eat and good shops and markets. The inhabitants, descendants of the Maya and the colonists, love a good fiesta, and you may well find one going on, with live music and market stalls, while you are there.

The site hosts the largest and best-preserved ball court in the Americas, the venue for an ancient ritual game that was played throughout the continent, but which is still not fully understood. Archaeologists have not been able to determine whether it was the losers or winners who were decapitated, but judging from the gory carvings along the base of the court’s walls, someone certainly came to an unpleasant end. There is also a huge sacred well.

Continue to Kabah, with its incredible Palace of Masks, with intricate mosaics representing the face of Chac the rain god 260 times.

Fly to Villahermosa, from where you continue to Palenque by road. Palenque is the jumping off point to visit the splendid Mayan ruins just east of town, as well as the lesser visited sites of Bonampak and Yaxchilán. It is essentially a relaxed, modern town with some colourful buildings and a good range of accommodation, restaurants and shops. 

Return upstream to the small town of Bethel in Guatemala, 45mins away on the other side of the river. Continue by road to Flores, in the dense sticky jungles of northern Guatemala, and from here you continue to your lodge.

Tikal was one of the largest and most important Mayan city states, reaching its peak around AD800 prior to its mysterious demise. The pyramids and temples seem frozen in time, but you’re brought back to the present by the roar of curious Howler monkeys and lithe Spider monkeys as they swing through the trees; and by flashes of colour as toucans and parrots take flight.

The 3m-high columns stand among temples, ball courts and the renowned hieroglyphic stairway with 1,250 blocks carved with glyphs - the longest inscribed text in the New World.  Copán is believed to have been in its 'golden era' between 553AD and 738AD, before falling into decline soon after.