Things to do in Teotihuacán
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La Ciudadela
The expansive, square complex called the Citadel is believed to have been the residence of the city's supreme ruler. Four wide walls, each 390m long and topped by 15 pyramids, enclose a huge open space, of which the main feature, to the east, is a pyramid called the Templo de Quetzalcóatl. The temple is flanked by two large complexes of rooms and patios, which may have been the city's administrative center.
The temple's most fascinating feature is the facade of an earlier structure (from around AD 250 to 300 - the temple was built sometime in the following century), which was revealed by excavating the more recent pyramid that had been built on the same site. The four su…
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Pirámide del Sol
The world's third-largest pyramid, surpassed in size only by Egypt's Cheops and the pyramid of Cholula, overshadows the east side of Calzada de los Muertos. The base is 222m long on each side, and it's now just over 70m high. The pyramid was cobbled together around AD 100, from three million tons of stone, without the use of metal tools, pack animals or the wheel.
The Aztec belief that the structure was dedicated to the sun god was validated in 1971, when archaeologists uncovered a 100m-long underground tunnel leading from the pyramid's west flank to a cave directly beneath its center, where they found religious artifacts. It's thought that the sun was worshiped here befo…
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The Pyramid of the Moon
The Pyramid of the Moon, at the north end of Calzada de los Muertos, is smaller than Pirámide del Sol, but it's more gracefully proportioned - far more aesthetically pleasing and not nearly as hulkish. Completed around AD 300, its summit is nearly the same height, because it's built on higher ground.
The Plaza de la Luna, located just in front of the pyramid, is a handsome arrangement of 12 temple platforms. Some experts attribute astronomical symbolism to the total number of 13 (made up of the 12 platforms plus the pyramid), a key number in the day-counting system of the Mesoamerican ritual calendar. The altar in the plaza's center is thought to have played host to reli…
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Palacio de Tetitla & Palacio de Atetelco
Another group of palaces lies west of the site's main area, several hundred meters northwest of Gate 1. Many of the murals, discovered in the 1940s, are well preserved or restored, and perfectly intelligible. Inside the sprawling Tetitla Palace, no fewer than 120 walls are graced by murals, with Tláloc, jaguars, serpents and eagles among the easiest figures to make out.
Some 400m west is the Atetelco Palace, whose vivid jaguar or coyote murals - a mixture of originals and restorations - are in the Patio Blanco (White Patio) in the northwest corner. Processions of these creatures in shades of red perhaps symbolize warrior orders.
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Palacio de Tepantitla
This priest's residence, 500m northeast of Pirámide del Sol, is home to Teotihuacán's most famous fresco, the worn Paradise of Tláloc. The mural flanks a doorway in a covered patio, in the building's northeast corner.
The rain god Tláloc, attended by priests, is shown on both sides. To the right of the door appears his paradise, a garden-like Eden with people, animals and fish swimming in a mountain-fed river. To the left of the door, tiny human figures are engaged in a unique ball game. Frescoes in other rooms show priests with feather headdresses.
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Museo Manuel Gamio
Situated just outside Gate 5, Centro de Estudios Teotihuacanos is home to the interesting Museo Manuel Gamio, sponsored by the Instituto de Antropología e Historia (INAH), which presents bimonthly cultural exhibitions, and has a permanent exhibition exploring the history of pulque, complete with a full-scale replica of a traditional pulquería, an elite establishment where nobles would ritually drink pulque, an alcoholic extract of the maguey plant. Admission to the museum is included in the site ticket.
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Restaurant Techinanco
A fair walk from Gate 3, behind the Pirámide de la Luna, this homey restaurant serves excellent home cooking at comparatively reasonable prices. The small menu takes in local favorites from tacos fritos (fried tacos) to enchiladas, authentic homemade moles (chili-sauce dishes) and other traditional fare. Ask the ebullient owner, Emma (nicknamed Maya), about her curative massage (from M$600); call 24 hours in advance to arrange a temascal for up to 10 people (around M$3000).
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Ruins
Crowds at the ruins at Teotihuacán are thickest from 10am to 2pm, and it is busiest on Sunday, holidays and around the vernal equinox. Due to the heat and altitude, it’s best to take it easy while exploring the expansive ruins. Bring a hat and water – most visitors walk several kilometers, and the midday sun can be brutal. Afternoon rain showers are common from June to September. There’s a M$35 fee for the use of a video camera and parking costs an additional M$40.
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Museo del Sitio
Further north along the Calzada de los Muertos toward the pyramids, across the river, a path to the right leads to the site museum, just south of the Pirámide del Sol. It’s a refreshing stop midway through a site visit, and admission is included in the ticket. Nearby are the Jardín Escultórica (a lovely sculpture garden with Teotihuacán artifacts), a botanic garden, public toilets, a snack bar, picnic tables and a bookstore.
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Temple of the Plumed Conch Shells
The Temple of the Plumed Conch Shells, entered from the Palacio de los Jaguares' patio, is a now-subterranean structure of the 2nd or 3rd century AD. Carvings on what was its facade show large shells - possibly used as musical instruments - decorated with feathers and four-petal flowers. The base on which the facade stands has a rainbow-colored mural of birds with water streaming from their beaks.
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Calzada de los Muertos
Centuries ago the Avenue of the Dead must have seemed incomparable to its inhabitants, who saw its buildings at their best. Gate 1 brings you to the avenue in front of La Ciudadela. For 2km to the north, the avenue is flanked by former palaces of Teotihuacán's elite, and other major structures such as the Pirámide del Sol. The Pirámide de la Luna looms large at the northern end.
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Palacio de los Jaguares
The Palacio de los Jaguares and Templo de los Caracoles Emplumados (Temple of the Plumed Conch Shells) are behind and below the Palacio de Quetzalpapálotl. The lower walls of several chambers off the patio of the Jaguar Palace display parts of murals showing the jaguar god in feathered headdresses, blowing conch shells and apparently praying to the rain god Tláloc.
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Restaurant la Gruta
Set in a vast cave a short distance from Gate 5 (don’t be put off by the sign on the path that says it’s 500m away; it’s a misprint), this white-tablecloth, tourist-centric restaurant is unapologetically gimmicky. Yet the food, while pricey, is surprisingly good and there’s live music on weekend afternoons. Reservations are worthwhile.
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Palacio de Quetzalpapálotl
Off the Plaza de la Luna's southwest corner is the Palace of the Quetzal Butterfly, reckoned to be the home of a high priest. A flight of steps leads up to a roofed portico with an abstract mural, and nearby a well-restored patio has columns carved with images of the quetzal bird or a hybrid quetzal butterfly.
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Zacuala and Yayahuala
About 100m northeast of the Palacio de Atelelco are Zacuala and Yayahuala, a pair of enormous walled compounds that probably served as communal living quarters. Separated by the original alleyways, the two structures are made up of numerous rooms and patios, but few entrance ways.
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Museo de la Pintura Mural Teotihuacana
On the ring road between Gates 2 and 3, this impressive museum showcases murals from Teotihuacán, as well as reconstructions of murals you'll see at the ruins. Explanations of the exhibits are in Spanish only, but it's definitely worth a stop.
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Teotihuacan Site Museum
The site museum has excellent displays of artifacts, fresco panels, and an impressive large-scale model of the city set under a transparent walkway.
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Jardín Escultórica
Near the Museo del Sitio is the Jardín Escultórica, a lovely sculpture garden with Teotihuacán artifacts.
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