Tour of Teotihuacan, Mexico

Teotihuacan is an ancient Meso-American city dating as far back as 400-100 BCE and continuing until 600-750 CE. That’s 2000-2500 years ago! The name Teotihuacan came from the Aztecs and means “the place where the Gods were created.” But the Aztecs weren’t the first to inhabit Teotihuacan. They actually arrived several hundred years later in the 1400s. Teotihuacan was likely built by the Toltec or Totonac civilizations, but it still remains a mystery. The city is famous for being one of the largest and most well preserved cities for its time and for the Pyramid of the Sun, one of the largest pyramids in the world. And it is absolutely worth a visit!

Read on to find out how we recommend visiting Teotihuacan!

How do you get there?

Teotihuacan is approximately 48.6 km or an hour drive northeast of Mexico City. 

There are several ways to get there. The following options are organized from least costly/least convenient to most costly/most convenient. You can: 

• Take public transportation
• Take an Uber
• Rent a car
• Go with an organized group

Public Transportation

The most cost effective way to get to Teotihuacan is by taking public transportation, but this can also be a little trickier navigating the metro and bus system. But if you’re familiar with this sort of thing and have done it before, it should be no problem!

First, you’ll want to take the Yellow Line 5 Metro to the Autobuses del Norte Metro Station. This should cost about $5 MXN ($0.25 USD). 

Once there, look for a sign saying “Puerta 8” and a booth saying “Piramides” where you can purchase your tickets. Bus tickets to Teotihuacan cost approximately $52 MXN ($2.60 USD) each way. 

You can either purchase a round trip ticket or pay for your return ticket directly on the bus from Teotihuacan. 

After you’ve purchased your ticket, head out through Exit 8. Outside you’ll see a lot of buses. So make sure you get in the queue for the right one. If you’re unsure, just check with someone who works there. 

Once on the bus, there may be more than one stop. So make sure not to get off until the driver announces that you’re at the “piramides.” 

Prices may change, so make sure you can confirm before you go. 

Uber

Ubers from Mexico City to Teotihuacan cost approximately $300-500 MXN ($15-$25 USD) each way, but of course prices fluctuate with demand. So look out for differences there! Throughout the day, we noticed prices ranging from ~$350-425 MXN to get back to Mexico City from Teotihuacan.

Be sure to put the correct destination! You’ll want to make sure you’re headed toward the Zona Arqueologica Teotihucan. There are a bunch of streets called Teotihuacan that might pop up if you’re not careful. You really don’t want to end up in the nearby town of San Juan, then have to find a new way to get to the ancient city.

If you search for “Teotihuacan Pyramid of the Sun” on Google Maps, you’ll be good! If you want to start where we did, here’s the directions to the gate we went into.

Renting a Car

A third option is to rent a car and drive yourself. This might be preferable if there are a few day trips you want to make outside the city. As mentioned above, it’s better to set your destination to ‘Pyramid of the Sun’ rather than Teotihuacan, because there are multiple Teotihuacan destinations. You’ll basically be following México 85 to México 85D. Then México 132D to México 132 and following signs for México Pirámides. You’ll need to bring cash for tolls. You can pay in MXN or USD. You can rent a car for approximately $30-$50 USD/day. Parking at Teotihuacan is $45 MXN.  

Organized Group

Last but not least, you can go with an organized group. This is generally more expensive, but also the most convenient option. You don’t really have to do much planning or worry about navigating an unfamiliar area. You just let them pick you up, transport you, and drop you off again. The only other downside aside from paying a bit more is that you’re on a set schedule. So if you’re bored and want to leave early or are fascinated and want to explore more, you may not be able to. Unless you schedule a private group. Then it’s a little more flexible. If this is the route for you, just type “Teotihuacan” into Tripadvisor or Viator and you’ll find plenty of options.

Hours & Entrance Fees

Teotihuacan is open daily from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, with the last entry at 3:00 PM. 

Standard entry is $80 MXN ($4 USD / person).  

Currently, you cannot purchase standard entry tickets in advance. The only way to reserve tickets in advance is by booking a guided tour or purchasing a combined Mexico City transportation + fast-track entry ticket. 

You can purchase guided tours in advance for about $35 USD / person or combined transportation + entry tickets for $38 USD / person. 

You can also get tickets in advice by booking an organized tour through sites like Tripadvisor or Viator, or purchase a combined hot air balloon + Teotihuacan experience. Check out our hot air balloon experience to learn what that’s like!

What’s there to see?

There are several attractions at Teotihuacan: The Papantla Flyers, The Ciudadela (“Citadel”), The Temple of Quetzalcoatl (The Feathered Serpent), The Pyramid of the Sun, The Pyramid of the Moon, The Palace of Quetzalpapalotl, the Teotihuacan Museum of Culture, the Teotihuacan Museum of Murals, and the Botanical Garden. 

Pay attention as you approach the complex. In the parking lot near gate 1, you may see the Papantla Flyers. These are men dressed in traditional clothing that fly upside down around a pole. Think of this like a rain dance. It’s an old ritual performed to request water from the Gods. The men falling from the pole symbolize rain falling from the sky. After the ritual, the men come around to request tips for their performance. 

If you enter the archeological complex through the main entrance at Gate 1, the first section you’ll visit is La Ciudadela (“The Citadel”). La Ciudadela was a large plaza that held most of the people of Teotihuacan.  

The Temple of Quetzalcoatl (“The Feathered Serpent”) is located in The Citadel. It’s the 3rd largest pyramid on the complex and is known for the stone serpent heads lining the temple. While excavating the complex, archeologists also discovered a mass grave here. The bodies were surrounded by weapons and necklaces made of human teeth, suggesting they may have been warriors who had been sacrificed for the temple. 

The Pyramid of the Sun is the largest at Teotihuacan, standing at 65 meters, and dates back to approximately 200AD. It’s actually one of the tallest pyramids in the world and is composed of 6 pyramids nested together like a Russian doll. And it’s said it was once topped with gold to look like the sun. 

The Pyramid of the Moon is the second largest pyramid at Teotihuacan. It has 7 distinct layers and stands at 43 meters tall. From the ground, it looks like the Pyramid of the Sun and Moon are the same height, but the Pyramid of the Moon is actually on higher ground. Human and animal remains found here suggest it was an important spot for sacrifices and religious ceremonies. The top of the Pyramid of the Moon was once painted silver to reflect the color of the moon. 

Guests used to be able to climb up the Pyramid of the Sun and Moon. But unfortunately, this was restricted during Covid. 

The Palace of Quetzalpapalotl sits to the left of the Pyramid of the Moon. It’s not as impressive as the other structures in size, but the cool thing about the palace is that the murals inside have been restored to look like they would have in pre-Hispanic times. The exact purpose of the palace is unknown, but historians think it may have belonged to a high ranking priest.  

There are two museums at Teotihuacan, the Museum of Culture and the Museum of Murals. The Museum of Culture is located near the Pyramid of the Sun and the Museum of Murals is located near the Pyramid of the Moon. If you don’t pay for a guide, I’d recommend visiting the Museum of Culture first, so you can learn about the history before exploring. They don’t really have placards with history posted around the site. So it’s nice to know a little about what you’re looking at beforehand. You’ll also get to see some artifacts discovered at the site and models of how the city may have looked at its height. The Museum of Murals contains murals restored to look like they may have at their height before being faded by the sun and other elements. Unfortunately, it looks like the Museum of Murals is temporarily closed, but hopefully it will be open again for your next visit! The museums may also be a nice break from the sun.

There is also a Botanical Garden located near the Museum of Culture that has a variety of local vegetation, including aloe, avocado, agave, and giant cacti, among others.

Tours of Teotihuacan

You can choose to explore the ruins on your own or pay for a guided tour. 

In our opinion, you should definitely go with a guided tour. And prices were very reasonable. We went with a tour guide named David, who was recommended by our driver. It can be a little dodgy taking a random recommendation, but David was fantastic! He was very knowledgeable on the history and had an ipad with pictures and additional information to aid in his explanations and our understanding. He was also very professional and considerate, checking on water and bathroom breaks, and helped mom up and down the steps. 

We started with a 2 hour tour, but enjoyed it so much that we paid to extend it by another hour for a total of about 1300 pesos total. Not bad at all for the value we got out of it.

You can book tours in advance or hire them at the door. So no need to worry if you’re not sure. You can always wait and decide the day of

A bit of history!

Thinking ahead, the Teotihuacans built their city near an extinct volcano. Why you ask? Because this provided them with a large supply of rock to construct their city. Not only that, but volcanic rock was a particularly good choice. It’s porous making it lighter than other rocks and easier to carry, but also crystalline and extremely strong. 

At its height, the buildings were painted in a variety of colors, including red, white, blue, yellow, and green. The colors used most often were red and white, which archeologists believe was to represent the blood and bones of the body. Today, most of the color has faded from the buildings, but there were some spots where you could still see remnants of red and white paint, as well as a fully intact jaguar mural. Which is amazing given it’s thousands of years old.

Archeologists also proposed the city may have been constructed in such a way to resemble the human body, with the Pyramid of the Moon representing the head, the main thoroughfare (the Avenue of the Dead) representing the spine, and the other buildings representing arms and legs.

Historians believe the people who built Teotihuacan were big on astrology, the calendar year, and the life cycle, and that the city was built with this in mind. They believe the number of buildings in the city, as well as the number of steps on each building, relates to the calendar year. 

Some of the temples in the city are also encased by other temples, with some having up to 7 layers. And each layer was built approximately 100 years apart. 

The Teotihuacans had 2 calendars: one for males and one for females. The male calendar was similar to our modern day calendar, while the female calendar was 260 days, the length of a pregnancy. 

And one of my favorite things I learned about the Teotihuacans is that both men and women could become priests, very progressive! But they had to wait until age 52, when they’d gained enough wisdom and when the male and female calendars aligned.

Now you might be thinking 52, wow that’s pretty old for the period. And you’d be right! The average life expectancy around that time was somewhere around 25-40. But the Teotihuacans supposedly lived to about age 65!

The life cycle was very important to the Teotihuacans. Archeologists discovered stone boxes containing babies’ umbilical cords and birth information and believe people were buried in the same place they were born. 

For sustenance, the Teotihuacans ate many foods used in current Mexican cuisine like corn, tomatoes, and chilis, but they didn’t have many of the animals we consume for meat. They occasionally ate turkey and dogs, but much of their protein came from mosquito eggs, ant eggs, and agave worms!

The Teotihuacans were very ingenuitive. They built dams and made their own river and aqueducts from mountain water. They also created large pools, which archeologists think were not used for drinking or bathing, but rather to use the reflection on the water to study the sun and moon, without looking up and straining their necks. 

And based on lab data from pottery, historians also believe the Teotihuacans were fairly hygienic, using bowls to relieve themselves and putting them on the roof to evaporate, rather than spoiling the house or streets. 

And finally, going back to the importance of the calendar / life cycle, historians believe the city was abandoned not because of disease, war, or famine, but because the people believed the city had completed its life cycle. Of course other historians believe it may have been burned or invaded, so jury’s out on that one.

Final Tips

• It can get very hot in the afternoon, and shade is limited. So bring sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses!
• Bring or buy water to stay hydrated.
• Pay a little extra for a guided tour. It’s worth it! You’ll get a lot more history and gain a deeper appreciation for the ruins and the people who built them.

Note: Prices reflect when we visited and when this article was written. Prices may vary over time. 
Click here to read our article on Soaring Over the Pyramids in a Hot Air Balloon!