Teotihuacan: City of the Gods
A curated tour of Teotihuacan — the largest pre-Columbian city in the Americas at its peak, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located 50 km northeast of Mexico City, and one of the most awe-inspiring archaeological sites in the world.
Trip Stops
- 1
The ideal entry point to the site — a massive walled compound whose courtyard was large enough to hold the entire adult population of Teotihuacan (around 100,000 people) at one time. It encloses the Temple of the Feathered Serpent and served as the city's administrative and ceremonial hub. Fun fact: in 2003 a hidden tunnel was discovered beneath it, sealed around 200 AD, leading to three underground chambers filled with thousands of ritual offerings.
📍 San Juan Teotihuacán, Estado de México, Mexico
- 2
The third-largest pyramid at Teotihuacan and its most ornately decorated — its six surviving platforms are studded with sculpted heads of the feathered serpent Quetzalcóatl alternating with the rain god Tlaloc, each weighing around 4 tonnes. Over 200 sacrificial victims were found buried around it. Fun fact: the Aztecs who later visited the abandoned city gave the feathered serpent deity its famous name; what the Teotihuacanos themselves called it remains completely unknown.
📍 San Juan Teotihuacán, Estado de México, Mexico
- 3
The great ceremonial spine of Teotihuacan — a 4-kilometre boulevard running north–south through the heart of the city, flanked by temples, platforms, and palaces. Walking it is the best way to grasp the city's vast scale. Fun fact: the Aztecs named it 'Avenue of the Dead' believing the platforms alongside it were tombs; they were actually bases for temples and ceremonial buildings — a spectacular case of mistaken identity that stuck for centuries.
📍 San Juan Teotihuacán, Estado de México, Mexico
- 4
Located beside the Pyramid of the Sun, this on-site museum is essential context before climbing the pyramids. Highlights include a stunning large-scale model of the entire ancient city, ritual offerings, obsidian blades, ceramics, and skeletal remains. Fun fact: the museum offers a rare window into Teotihuacan's biggest mystery — the identity of its builders remains unknown, as no writing system has been deciphered and no royal tombs have ever been found.
📍 San Juan Teotihuacán, Estado de México, Mexico
- 5
The largest building at Teotihuacan and the third-largest pyramid in the world — 65 metres tall with a base of 225 × 222 metres, built around 200 AD. Its 248 steps lead to a summit with panoramic views across the entire Valley of Mexico. Fun fact: directly beneath it lies a 100-metre-long natural lava tunnel shaped like a four-leaf clover, which the ancient city was deliberately built around — the pyramid may have been a sacred mountain over a portal to the underworld.
📍 San Juan Teotihuacán, Estado de México, Mexico
- 6
An elite residential compound just east of the main site, housing some of the finest and best-preserved murals in all of Mesoamerica. The famous 'Great Goddess' mural — showing a deity presiding over a paradise of people, plants, and water — has been called the Teotihuacan equivalent of a religious icon. Fun fact: the colourful 'Paradise of Tlaloc' mural here depicts tiny human figures swimming and playing, giving a rare glimpse of everyday joy in the ancient city.
📍 San Juan Teotihuacán, Estado de México, Mexico
- 7
The most elegant surviving palace at Teotihuacan, thought to have been the residence of a high-ranking priest or dignitary. Built around 450–500 AD, its pillared courtyard is carved with stunning relief images of the 'Quetzal butterfly' — a hybrid creature combining the quetzal bird and the butterfly — with original paint still visible in places. Fun fact: it was built directly over an even older palace, the Palace of the Jaguars, whose murals of prowling jaguars can still be seen below.
📍 San Juan Teotihuacán, Estado de México, Mexico
- 8
The second-largest pyramid at Teotihuacan, positioned at the northern end of the Avenue of the Dead and deliberately designed to mirror the outline of the sacred mountain Cerro Gordo behind it. Its summit offers the best panoramic view of the entire site. Fun fact: excavations inside revealed seven successive burial phases, each containing sacrificed humans and animals including wolves, jaguars, pumas, serpents, and eagles — all bound and offered as dedications to each new building stage.
📍 San Martín de las Pirámides, Estado de México, Mexico
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