Teotihuacan

Five star site. Do not miss this one. Take several days to fully enjoy. Try to find the mica lined crypt. Check at the entrance to get the location and the schedule for the vault door to be open. Stay at the Hotel Archaeologico on the loop road around the site. The decor is colonial, all adobe, rooms open onto large patios and a pool. Reconstucted sunken patio ruin on hotel property. One of the best yet affordable eateries in Mexico. This was a Club Med facility until last December.
Teotihuacan is located in the San Juan Teotihuacán municipality in the State of Mexico, approximately 27 miles northeast of Mexico City. The site covers an area of 83square kilometers. Teotihua can was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

Teotihuacan is one of the largest archaeological sites in the Valley of Mexico.

Staircase and carved serpent head of the Palace de Quetzalpapalotl at the SW corner of the plaza de la Piramide de la Luna.The site contains second and fourth largest by volume pyramid structure known in the world, Piramide del Sol and Piramide de la Luna. The largest is the pyramide structure is at Cholula. This is also known for its large residential complexes, the Calle de los Muertos, the Ciudadela complex, the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, the Edificiios Superpuestos, the Grupo Viking the satilite residential areas of (Teopancalco, Atetelco, Tetitla, Zacaula, Teoantitla) and its colorful well-preserved murals.

Permanent sites of cluster of houses within compound walls were present in and around the current site of Teotihuacan as early as 900 BC. In the early stages of developement, Teotihuacan was in direct competition with Cuicuilco in the far southern portion of the Basin of Mexico, over the local raw materials and control over the long distance trade route.

Looking NW from center of the patio of the Palace de Quetzalpapalotl at the bas-relief columns and the mural covered cornic supporting repeatative sculptures. The middle sections of each column depicts the mystical creature "plumed butterfly" The eruption of the Xitle volcano around 40 AD caused Cuicuico to be abandoned. From this point Teotihuacan grew rapidly in size, power and population until the great fire around 650 AD. It is estimated that only 50,000 individuals remained in teotihuacan after the great fire. The community continued to conduct trade, manufactor good and continued with their arts. Some of the best mural examples are from this time period. However, the population began to move away. no new major construction occured. The competing areas of Xochicalco, El Tajin and Cholula began to grow in population. By 900 Ad there is little to no evidence of trade goods entering or leaving Teotihuacan. It is likely that the site was never total abandoned until after the arrival of the Spanish.

If you're visiting Mexico City and you want a taste of pre-colonial Mexico, hop on a bus to Teotihuacan and engage with the grandeur of the Aztec 'City Of The Gods'

There are two large pyramids, each representing the sun and the moon. Just looking at them will take your breath away and if you decide to climb them make sure you bring water and some good shoes because the climb is steep!

Once you reach the top you can see for miles and the views are amazing, the sky is also very blue and look out for butterflies circling the top of the pyramids.

I highly recommend a day trip here, there are plenty of mobile vendors who will sell you crystals, hats and lots of beautiful Mexican craft work. Always haggle my friend!

Also, it´s very cheap to get in and Mondays and Tuesday are free! (Like most national Museums)

You can catch the bus to the "piramides" at the TERMINAL de AUTOBUSES DEL NORTE (on the right side of the terminal as you walk in, you'll find the buses that go to various cities in mexico; on the left side is where you'll need to go to find the bus that goes to Teotihuacan). The cost is CHEAP; we paid less than 6 bucks per person (sorry folks no a/c) to the great pyramids. The bus ride was uneventful and took about 45 minutes to get there. Once there we paid a nominal entrance fee (if anything) to enter the site (TIP: KEEP YOUR CAMERA OUT OF SIGHT, if the cashier see's it, they'll charge you a couple bucks more - keep it in your jacket and pull it out once you're at the pyramids or once they can't see you).

The walk to the pyramids isn't bad. But on the way there, most visitors will get bombarded by vendors selling blankets, souveniers, and other trinkets - especially if they don't look mexican.

Once you turn the corner, the site itself is one to behold. Pictures don't do it justice - they are huge!! The walk up the pyramid (the Sun) is tough - then again, i'm outta shape - but it's doable. The second pyramid is a bit shorter, but still takes some work to climb.

Once you've finished touring the site and make your way out front to where the bus dropped you off, you'll want to wait across the street to pick up the bus for your return trip. It's best if you go early (leave by 4pm), to make sure you don't miss the bus back to the terminal.

I visited Teotihuacan in early October of 2008. Just a few weeks ago. I flew into Mexico City by getting a really inexpensive last minute flight from Mexicana Airlines out of LAX. $230 US dollars which was a steal for a direct flight from here. In Mexico City I took the metro subway to my hotel for .20 cents. You can take it anywhere it goes for that price. I took the subway Metro out to Autobuses del Norte on line 5; you'll end up at a bus station. Face the main entrance to the station and all the ticket counters, walk all the way to the left side, where you find buses selling tickets to "Piramides". The bus takes the highway and lasts about an hour. The round trip bus from here was no more than $6-$7 US dollars. It pulls right up to the south Gate 1 entrance where you get out and walk right into the site through the south parking area. Entrance fee was no more than $7 US dollars. Up the road a bit and there's the Avenue of the Dead. You could take a taxi there for $30 US or even book a tour through a hotel for around the same if not more. But you don't have to! This is a safe and affordable way to go. Buses stop running at around 6pm so get there early as you will spend the entire day there. Take water to drink as it was very warm and a hat as there was a lot of glare during the day. The pyramids are amazing. There is so much to see. You could easily spend a couple days exploring here. I went through every structure and climbed everything I was allowed to climb. It wasn't very busy on a Monday which was great. Couldn't have been more than a couple hundred people scattered throughout the day all around. That is not bad! There is a museum around the Pyramid of the Sun and across the Temple of Quetzalcoatl there is a photographic museum of Teotihuacan. The colors of the murals in the Temple of the Jaguars and the Temple of the Butterflies and the Temple of the Conches...are amazingly bright and colorful after all of this time! So interesting that we still don't know who built these pyramids and why. A grand and beautiful mystery!

Teotihuacan is the ancient city built around 150 BC. It's about 30 miles outside of Mexico City, and I recommend the visit if you'll be in the area. It is a lot of walking and climbing especially if climbing the sun and moon pyramids. To look toward the top of the Pyramid of the Sun from the bottom, the climb can seem intimidating (about 65 m), but I was surprised to find that it's not too tiring if you stop a few times on the way up. The views and the energy you receive along the way are well worth the climb.
The Sun Pyramid represents the male and it is said that energy is released and visitors can receive this energy. Once at the top of the Sun Pyramid, the center is marked where you can touch to receive energy (from the left hand.) Try to ignore the noise of the people and feel the energy, it is really an incredible feeling.
The Pyramid of the Moon represents the female and receives energy from the outside. Visitors are only permitted to climb to the first level currently because it is "closed for investigation." From the Pyramid of the Moon, you can notice the symatry through the city and the significance of balance to ancient civilizations. It is really cool how from every corner and level of the city there is a unique view and feeling of closeness to the civilizations inhabiting the city years ago.

The avenue, called "Avenue of the Dead" includes impressive ceremonial architecture, including the immense Pyramid of the Sun (second largest in the New World after the Great Pyramid of Cholula) and the Pyramid of the Moon. Along the Avenue of the Dead are many smaller talud-tablero platforms. The city during its existence was larger than any European city of the same era, possibly including Rome! AMAZING must-see!

The first time I went to Mexico my stepfather took us to a couple of nice places that we really enjoyed. They were both located less then an hour from Downtown Mexico City. The first attraction is the Pyramids of Teotihuacán which include two pyramids the "Pyramid of the Sun" and the "Pyramid of the Moon". They are both quite high we didn't have the energy to go all the way up, we only did half of the walk up. But even just halfway up you get to see this beautifull view of the valley and mountains. They have plenty of souvenirs being sold at the entrance and by the Pyramids. And also after the long walk I am sure you will be hungry so there are plenty of restaurants located right in front of the Entrance. Just be prepared to spend the whole day there.

The second attraction is in XoXimilco, in Mexico City. They are colorful boats with a long table and chairs with a guide that moves the boat with a long stick. You ride along this river and on the way there are other boats with the locals selling food, beer and drinks. Also you can stop on the way and have a good meal served and you just eat as he rows the boat. Then you will find a boat with mariachi's they will stop and ask if you want music played for a fee. (not expensive) We enjoyed this ride very much, it is quite relaxing.

The Pyramids at Teotihuacan are some of the most impressive pyramids in the world. The city of the gods (Teotihuacan) is layed out in a geometric fashion with the axis aligning to the route of the sun on the vernal equinox. March 21 is an extraordinary day to venture out, as you will join hundreds of thousands of modern sun-worshipers dressed in white, hoping to chanel some of the "energy" from the sun at this momentous occasion. Other than the pyramid of the Sun and the Moon, the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl (the Plumed Serpet) in the Ciudadella section of the city is especially interesting, as is the temple of Quetzalpapltl (the plumbed butterfly) on the other end of the Avenue of the Dead. The small museum is informative.

I visit my hometown of Mexico City twice a year. I've gotten a gun pointed twice, a brand new laptop stolen, and two watches (Kenneth Cole)stolen. So I know how things work in Mexico City. My favorite place in Mexico is Teotihuacan. One of the largest city of ancient Aztec time to have been built by the Aztec culture. The Pyramids are amazing and huge. I've been to other pyramids in Mexico smaller than the ones in Teotihuacan. It's a must see for visitors in Mexico City.