La Pirámide del Sol

Introduction

The Pyramid of the Sun is the core monument of Teotihuacan, built around the 1st-2nd century AD: about 65 m tall with a base of roughly 225 m per side, some 1.2 million cubic metres of adobe and rubble fill faced in stone, making it the world's third-largest pyramid by volume. It stands on the east side of the Avenue of the Dead, above a natural ritual cave found in 1971. Who built the city, and what they called it, remains unknown. The Aztecs arrived centuries after it was abandoned and named it Teotihuacan, 'the place where the gods were created'. This was not an Aztec city; its rise and fall both predate them. The whole city became a World Heritage Site in 1987. To slow erosion, climbing has been banned since 2020, with fines up to 20,000 pesos and no published reopening date, but walking around its base and up the Avenue of the Dead to the Moon Pyramid remains an irreplaceable experience. The avenue is about 40 m wide and runs some 2.5 km through the site, beginning at the Ciudadela's sunken plaza and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent in the south and closing at the Plaza of the Moon with the Quetzalpapalotl palace complex in the north. The recommended route is to enter at Gate 1 for the feathered serpent temple, then walk the avenue north with the Sun Pyramid partway, finishing at the north end; two to three hours at an unhurried pace. Two recent developments matter. First, the Moon Pyramid's lower platform reopened on 19 May 2025, but only to the first section: five platforms and about 47 steps, with the upper levels still closed. That viewpoint is the classic postcard angle, looking straight down the avenue at the Sun Pyramid, but access is suspended whenever conservation or security requires, and the only answer that counts is the notice posted at the ticket booth on the morning you visit. Second, the site suffered a fatal shooting in April 2026 and reopened on 22 April under a reinforced security protocol coordinated with the National Guard, with metal detectors now installed at the entrance; similar screening has been introduced at Chichen Itza, Monte Alban, Palenque and Tulum. With no lockers inside and screening at the gate, travel light. The site sits at about 2,300 metres with almost no shade, so water, a hat and sunscreen are necessities. The cheapest way in is the Autobuses Teotihuacan service from Central de Autobuses del Norte in Mexico City, 60 pesos one way every 15 minutes, about an hour, alighting at Gate 2; ask for Piramides rather than Teotihuacan, which is also the name of the town three kilometres short.

✨ Highlights

🛈 Practical Info