Located about 35 miles from Mexico City lie the ruins of Teotihuacan. Best known for the huge Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, visitors find much more: a significant amount of a city that, in the first centuries of the common era, was home to roughly 200,000 people, before being abandoned around the year 700.

Not much is known about these people. We don’t know what they were called, what they called their city, what language they spoke, or the names of the landmarks they built. The names, therefore, are those given to the place and the sites by the Aztecs, who found the mostly abandoned city more than 600 years after its builders vanished.

The most recognizable landmark is the Pyramid of the Sun (although current theories of its use believe it was dedicated to the god of rain due to the moat around it). Completed around the year 250, it is a solid structure more than 200 feet high. Visitors can climb the stairs to the top. It is steep, but the view is worth it!

The Temple of the Moon sits at the other side of the city, and is able to be climbed part-way. Before the temple stands a vast plaza and platform, used for religious ceremonies. 

Signage at the site is good, and includes English – something many museums in Mexico City are lacking. Many of the structures can be climbed, and excavation and restoration are going on rapidly to open others.

It is truly amazing to see the sophistication of a people living so long ago, especially after visiting the Templo Mayor in the Historical Center and the Museum of Anthropology in Chapultepec Park. If you come to Mexico City, this is an excursion that MUST be on your list!