A visit to Mexico City would not be complete without visit to Teotihuacán. The vast archaeological ruins, situated less than 50 kilometers northeast of the city, are all that remain of what was perhaps one of the Western Hemisphere’s first great cities, pre-dating the Aztecs by more than a thousand years.
Rather than taking a tour, we decided to go there on our own so that we could take as much or as little time as needed. Armed with a bit of online research, I sketched out our game plan: leave the hotel by 7:30 in order to arrive at the bus station around 8:00, take the roughly hour-long bus ride and be there close to opening time at 9:00, spend several hours exploring the site, make the return trip in the early afternoon so as to avoid rush hour.
Monday arrived and after a quick breakfast at the hotel, we were out the door and in our Uber. At that time in the morning, there was very little traffic (most traffic was coming into the city center) and we arrived at the Autobuses del Norte bus station around 7:50. We hopped out near Door 1 and walked to Door 8, located at the opposite end of the terminal. The station was crowded but we had no problem finding Door 8 and the booth for Autobuses Teotihuacan.
We bought roundtrip tickets to save us the hassle of purchasing tickets on the bus later on, and went through the doorway to the left of the ticket counter (if you are facing the counter). They were boarding the bus, but when I showed the conductor our ticket, he told us that it was for the next bus departing at 8:12. I guess the woman who sold us the ticket didn’t think we could make the earlier one. Oh well. At least it was a short wait.
The bus was pretty comfortable and wasn’t crowded. However, it made a few stops as we made our way out of the city and picked up a lot of people. When the bus hit the freeway it finally picked up speed. I knew we were getting closer to Teotihuacán when I saw hot air balloons in the distance.
My original plan was to get off at Puerta 1 and see the site from south to north, starting with The Citadel (La Ciudadela) and Temple of the Feathered Serpent (Templo del Quetzalcóatl), however, the bus driver told me that he wasn’t stopping until Puerta 2. Sure, we’re flexible. I guess this worked out better because we’d see the Pyramid of the Sun (Pirámide del Sol) first before the crowds gathered.
After getting off the bus, we crossed the street and bought our tickets for MXN 90 per person. Then we walked through the parking lot and into the site, the Pyramid of the Sun looming large in front of us. It was just after 9:30.
We spent 40 minutes slowly walking clockwise around the base of the pyramid. On one side we saw workers pulling weeds that were growing rampantly from every inch of the rock face. Surely, this would be a losing battle. While they no longer allowed people to climb the pyramid (a good move to hold back human destruction of the millennia-old material), it seemed like mother nature might eventually take it back.
From there we walked along the Avenue of the Dead (Calzada de los Muertos) towards The Citadel and Temple of the Feathered Serpent. We climbed up the steep steps to the top and then down the other side to see the beautifully carved images of the feathered serpent deity. From here we also got really good views looking north towards the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon.
We exited The Citadel back onto the Avenue of the Dead and proceeded north, stopping to explore a cluster of temples on the left side after which we sat under the shade of a tree with nice views of the Pyramid of the Sun. Wanting a bit of respite from the wind and sun, we went to the museum.
The museum was interesting and provided a good overview of the various stages of development at Teotihuacán and insight into the lives of the people that had lived here. It had a model that really highlighted just how large the city was at its peak. We spent about 30 minutes inside, before having our lunch (we had bought pastries the day before to bring with us) at picnic table outside.
Rested and refueled, we continued our walk, cutting through the Sun Plaza (Plaza del Sol) and back onto the Avenue of the Dead. It was definitely more crowded now. We arrived at the Pyramid of the Moon (Pirámide de la Luna) and walked through the plaza facing it before heading towards the Palace of Quetzalpapálotl (Palacio de Quetzalpapálotl), the final stop on our tour. Inside we saw beautiful murals, the red paint still striking after all this time.
It was now around 2:00 P.M. and we decided to call it a day. We wanted to make it back to Mexico City before rush-hour traffic peaked. We exited at Puerta 3, walked across the parking lot, and waited for the bus on the other side of the street. We didn’t have long to wait before the bus came. Fortunately, the bus wasn’t full, but as the bus made its journey, more people piled on and soon it was standing room only. The air conditioner wasn’t working very well and it was hot and stuffy. The combination of an early start and the heat put me to sleep which was just as well. I woke up sweating.
The bus pulled into the station a little after 3 and we decided to take a prepaid taxi back to the hotel. Another 30 minutes later and we were back at the hotel, a successful end to our day’s adventure.
Coda
While the pyramids of Teotihuacán aren’t as old or large as the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, they are a gem of the Western Hemisphere and worth a day trip from Mexico City. It’s also fascinating to me how the builders of Teotihuacán, separated by so much time and distance from the Egyptians, independently came up with the same shape.
Taking publication transportation worked out well for us. It’s probably not as comfortable as taking a tour bus, but for us it was part of the adventure. I also speak and read Spanish so had no apprehensions about striking out on our own.
Additional Info
- Teotihuacán is open everyday but because it’s free to locals on Sunday, and many Mexico City museums are closed on Mondays, we decided to go on a Monday.
- Taking Uber at 7:30 in the morning to the Autobuses del Norte bus station was fast (20 mins) and cheap (USD 4 for two of us). It made more sense to us than mucking around with the subway or taking a taxi.
- Bus tickets to Teotihuacán can be purchased from the booth called Autobuses Teotihuacan located at Door 8 of the station. A one-way ticket cost MXN 52 (as of January 2023).
- The bus takes a little over an hour. At the time we did this trip, the bus did not make stop at Puerta 1. We had to get off at Puerta 2, near the Pyramid of the Sun.
- Climbing was not allowed on any of the pyramids except for the Temple of the Feathered Serpent (Templo del Quetzalcóatl).
- We caught the return bus at Puerta 3.