Mexico’s ancient civilisations are a key part of its history so it’s essential to see an ancient city whilst you’re here. A trip to Teotihuacán is an ideal day out from Mexico City.
What is Teotihuacán?
Teotihuacán is an ancient city dating from before the Aztecs. At one point in the distant past, it was the largest city in the Americas.
Teotihuacán is home to a series of square-based pyramids with flights of stone steps leading to their flat tops. A wide avenue – the Avenue of the Dead – connects the colossal Pyramid of the Sun at one end of the city with the equally colossal Pyramid of the Moon at the other. Long ago, both were sites of gory human sacrifice and burial.
Incredibly, the Pyramid of the Moon appears to have been built with the stars in mind. Its northwest and southeast corners are aligned with the sun’s movement at the summer and winter solstices. I found it amazing that this ancient civilisation had such a thorough understanding of the movement of the stars that they could reflect it in their architecture.
The third large pyramid at Teotihuacán is the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. You can climb the steep stairs up the outside of the pyramid to a platform where you find large, intricate carvings of dragons and snakes.
In short, Teotihuacán is one of the best and most advanced examples of ancient civilisation in Mexico.
Where is Teotihuacán?
Teotihuacán is to the north east of Mexico City. It’s the nearest pre-Columbian (i.e. before Columbus reached the Americas) site to Mexico City so, as I’ve said above, it’s an easy day trip out of the city.
Getting to Teotihuacán
You can get to Teotihuacán by bus, taxi or on a guided tour.
Bus
You can take a bus to Teotihuacán from Mexico City’s Terminal Central de Autobuses del Norte. It’s about 45 minutes each way, in addition to the time you spend getting to the bus terminal from your accommodation.
Taxi
Unless you’re doing a guided tour, the easiest way to get to Teotihuacán is by taxi. Ubers are very affordable in Mexico City. From La Condesa where we were staying, an Uber took about 45 minutes and cost about £25 each way.
Group tour
A group tour is a convenient way to see Teotihuacán without having to think about the logistics yourself. There are various tours on GetYourGuide, some combined with other ancient sites or hot air balloon rides over the pyramids.
Entrances to the site
Rather confusingly, there are several entrances to Teotihuacán which correspond with the numbered zones within the site. Not knowing any better, we chose to be dropped off at gate 1. This turned out to be a sensible choice, as zone 1 is a good place to start your trip around Teotihuacán.
Tickets for Teotihuacán
If you’re doing a guided tour, the price of your ticket will probably be included in the price of your tour.
If you’re doing a self-guided visit to Teotihuacán, you can buy tickets from the booth at the entrance.
The tickets cost 95 pesos as of December 2024 (£3.70 or USD4.60).
What to bring and wear
I advise wearing comfortable shoes as you’ll do a lot of walking around Teotihuacán.
As with many ancient cities, there’s very little shade, so bring sunglasses and a sunhat and wear suncream.
There is no restaurant or café at Teotihuacán (at least there wasn’t when I went in December 2024). There was only a vending machine which sold crisps, biscuits and chocolate bars. So if you want anything more substantial, you might want to bring some snacks. And bring plenty of water too.
How long do you need in Teotihuacán?
I would say three to four hours in Teotihuacán is sufficient. It’s a fairly large site but there is actually relatively little information about Teotihuacán’s ancient inhabitants, so you won’t spend a great deal of time reading information plaques.
That said, it’s certainly worth ensuring you have ample time to see the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. There are also some well-preserved murals around the site which are worth looking at.
If you arrive in Teotihuacán mid-morning, you should comfortably be able to get back to Mexico City by late afternoon.
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