When you are a lover of pyramids, you just need the visit the archeological site of Teotihuacan, where you can find the third largest pyramid in the world, the pyramid of the sun.
When we drove into San Juan de Teotihuacan, the village closest to the pyramids, I expected it to be a over the top touristy place. But I was wrong. Obviously it was more touristy than some other villages we´ve visited, but with a friendly village vibe.
We found a safe parking space for the RV on a large parking lot, right behind the center of the village. It is clear people here are used to tourists, but they were not pushy and mainly very friendly. We felt safe doing our groceries and walking the streets at night.
To The Pyramids
Early morning we made our way to the village square to get a taxi to the site. It´s a on walking distance, but a taxi only costs 50 pesos (2,5$) and believe me when I say you will need all your energy for the pyramids.
The Teotihuacan site is a somewhat different site from all other Mayan and Aztecan sites. Actually, the real name for this civilization was never found. Often they are mistaken for Mayas or Aztecs, but they were most probably one of the bigger civilizations of their time, with somewhere between 100.000 and 200.000 people living there, almost 1000 years before the Aztecs ruled over Mexico.
The name Teotihuacan is most probably given to the civilization by the Aztecs out of respect for this once so powerful civilization. The meaning of Teotihuacan is as far as we know City Of The Gods or City Of The Sun.
The Teotihuacan civilization appears to have existed roughly between 300BC until 600AC. The reason why the once so powerful civilization ceased to exist is not clear. But recent excavations show signs of hunger within the population. But also signs of fire in the houses of the elderly and important people, which might indicate a war. It’s not clear if it was a war from the outside or within.
The Museum
Our first stop was the museum. Something most people skip, but very much worth a visit because it holds many artifacts from closed parts of the archeological site you would never see if you only visited the pyramids. One of the main exhibitions are the murals. Large parts of recovered bright red colored mural paintings can be seen in the museum.
Guided Tour
After the museum we had a guided tour though the “city”. Knowing and partly seeing the enormous pyramids are right behind this, it’s easy to skip this part you can only visit with an official guide, but it gives you a glimpse of the daily life of the Teotihuacan people. And although most colors are fainted, when you listen to the guide and make an impression of the colorful houses in your mind, you get a better picture of how they used to live.
One of the incredible genius things they had created was a system where the sunlight, lighted up the rooms.
All houses were build around a central patio. This patio basically was a big bath tub. It was filled with a few inches of water, which reflected the moonlight into the rooms at night so they had light.
A lot of the structures, including the pyramids, are restored. But your guide will tell you how to see the difference between original and restored. Merely getting that information is worth the extra money for a guide. Because you will look at the structures with complete different eyes. It makes it so much more real and breathtaking.
The Avenue Of The Death
Leaving the city structures, we reached the Avenue Of The Death. Yes, the Teotihuacan civilization sacrificed humans. Most probably they were captured soldiers from other cities as skeletons were found with their hands tied behind their backs. There is proof of sacrifice by decapitation and by burial alive.
The Avenue Of The Death is about 40 meters (120ft) wide and 4 kilometers (2,5 miles) long. On one end, there is a square and the Pyramid Of The Moon. Roughly halfway you will find the Pyramid Of The Sun and at the other end the ruins of the Palace Of The Feathered Serpent. On either side of the avenue you will find smaller structures.
The Pyramid Of The Moon
The first thing that came in my mind when I looked at the pyramid of the moon from the square, especially since I´d never seen a Pyramid for real before, was WOW!
Its huge, how did they construct that in those days. It was amazing and I just needed to climb it. Jochem, our eldest son already was on his way. Like a real mountain goat he took the staircase up. I followed behind him, trying to keep up with him, the rest following us in the distance.
Halfway the climb, when Jochem already was at the top, it started to become difficult but I continued climbing. The last steps I needed to do with hands and feet. Once I reached the top, the world started turning and I needed to sit down. 248 steps and 36 degrees celsius (97F) and the burning sun on my head almost had me faint. Luckily all of us brought water with us.
But it was worth it!
From the top, the pyramid is even more impressive. From 43 meter (141ft), about 14 floors high, you look down over the whole avenue of the death. When watching it from the ground was impressive, from this height you can see the real magnitude of the site.
Left and right of the Avenue Of The Death, small pyramid like structures are restored, but from the top of the Pyramid Of The Moon, you can look behind them. As far as your eyes can see, you see unexcavated hills with the same forms. There are structures everywhere! All still covered up with grass, bushes and trees after being abandoned about 1400 years ago.
Seeing this, a feeling of respect for the archeologists came over me. Those who uncovered already so much with utter patience and respect for the site. They didn´t just find the pyramids and all those other structures. They found mountains and hills and with spoons and brushes they dug down the hills to uncover the pyramids. Impressive and a work that still continues every day since the beginning of the 19th century when it was discovered.
The Pyramid Of The Sun
After walking down the steps of the Pyramid Of The Moon, it’s still about a 1km (0.7 miles) to The Pyramid Of The Sun. There is hardly any shade on The Avenue Of The Dead during daytime when the sun is high above you, so after climbing the Pyramid Of The Moon, walking the Avenue Of The Dead, and seeing The Pyramid Of The Sun getting bigger and bigger as you come closer, I didn´t feel like climbing the 65 meters (216ft) to the top so much anymore.
Laura and me found a place close to a wall with some shade and the kids started to climb the pyramid. But soon I realized that I probably would never return here, and this was the only opportunity to climb the famous Pyramid Of The Sun. So I grabbed my bottle of water and started the climb. Not as fast and enthusiastic as the first one, stopping about 4 times to catch my breath and hydrate myself, but I made it!
Again, the view was astonishing and from this pyramid you could look down south seeing the remains of the Palace Of The Feathered Serpent. Unfortunately, that part of the site was closed for restoration and excavation works when we were there.
Mystical
Teotihuacan is a beautiful, amazing, breath taking experience. But it becomes even more interesting when you look into the history of the civilization. Many think they were Maya, but they weren´t. Actually the Teotihuacan army fought a well know Mayan civilization and conquered their pyramid. The world famous Pyramid Of Tikal in Guatemala.
Neither were they Aztec, as many think. The Aztecs civilization was almost a thousand years later. When the Aztecs found the Teotihuacan Pyramids, they were so impressed that they named the site and the civilization TEOTIHUACAN, meaning City Of The Gods.
So who were they?
Who build this?
Well, they don´t really know.
How mystical is that?
Enough reason to visit Teotihuacan in my opinion!