Teotihuacán
Zona ArqueolóGica (INAH) · San Juan Teotihuacán, Estado de México
The largest city in the Americas before the Spanish came, built between about 100 BC and AD 250 on a plain northeast of Mexico City and abandoned centuries before the Aztecs found it. They named it Teotihuacan, the place where the gods were created, because they did not know who built it, and we still cannot say with certainty. The Avenue of the Dead runs about 2.5 kilometres between the Pyramid of the Moon and the Ciudadela, passing the Pyramid of the Sun, among the largest pyramids on earth by volume. UNESCO inscribed it in 1987, and it drew about 1.18 million visitors in the first half of 2024 alone. It is an easy day trip, about an hour from the capital, but shade is minimal, the altitude is 2,300 metres and the pyramids may be closed to climbing. Spend three hours on foot rather than two, and go at opening, wear a hat, pick the right gate and bring pesos in cash for the ticket and parking.
Zona Arqueológica de Teotihuacán, Carretera México-Tulancingo, San Juan Teotihuacán, Estado de México, 55829, Mexico
Open daily, generally from early morning to late afternoon, with a single INAH federal admission - ⚠ simpler than Chichén Itzá, which charges twice. Parking is charged separately and varies by gate. ⚠ THE SITE HAS FIVE ENTRANCES and which one you use decides where you park and how far you walk - agree it with a driver in advance. LICENSED GUIDES ARE AVAILABLE AT THE GATES and are strongly recommended; on-site interpretation is minimal. ⚠ ACCESS TO THE MAIN PYRAMIDS IS RESTRICTED AND HAS CHANGED REPEATEDLY in recent years as conservation closures have opened and shut the stairways - CHECK CURRENT ACCESS WITH INAH RATHER THAN TRUSTING ANY PHOTOGRAPH OR GUIDEBOOK, INCLUDING THIS ONE. Interior tunnels are closed. ⚠ TRIPODS AND PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT NEED AN INAH PERMIT AND DRONES ARE PROHIBITED without written authorisation. ⚠ THERE IS NO SHADE ON A 2.5 KM AXIS AT 2,300 METRES and the altitude sun is deceptive because the air stays cool - carry water and sun protection from the start, and arrive at opening.