A City with 22 Centuries of History
From farming village to metropolis: the fascinating story of a city that has never stopped reinventing itself.
Welcome to the city of the gods
Over two thousand years ago, in central Mexico, one of the largest and most sophisticated cities of the ancient world emerged. Its builders brought urban planning to a remarkable level of refinement: the layout followed precise astronomical principles and organized more than two thousand residential compounds into neighborhoods defined by trade, ethnic origin, and other criteria—many with their own temple and plaza. At its height, Teotihuacan was home to somewhere between one and two hundred thousand people, and maintained active ties with numerous cultures across Mesoamerica. Yet despite everything that is known today, the city is still shrouded in mystery. Teotihuacan is not a solved enigma; it's a living place, constantly being rediscovered—and you, visiting it now, are part of that ongoing story.
After centuries of activity, the city was abandoned. We do not know exactly why—multiple factors likely contributed to its decline. Even the original name of its builders and the language they spoke have been lost to history. What is known is that when Nahua groups arrived long afterward, they were confronted by something unlike anything they had ever seen. The scale of the city was so overwhelming that they reached for the only explanation that made sense to them: the gods themselves must have built it. The name they gave it has endured ever since: Teotihuacan, the city of the gods.
What remains are its monumental structures and distinctive architecture, its extraordinary murals and buried offerings: masks, incense burners, and all kinds of objects depicting animals, deities, symbols, as well as tunnels sealed for centuries and burials revealing trade networks that extended across thousands of kilometers. All of this, along with what still lies undiscovered, adds another piece to an unfinished puzzle.
No photograph can truly convey the immense scale of the site, what it feels like to walk along a kilometer-long avenue that defines the entire city's axis or to stand before a temple built above a cave believed to be the origin of the world itself. Some experiences can only happen here.
This guide is designed to accompany your journey: thematic routes, fascinating details, practical tips, historical context, symbolism, and cultural background—all intended to make your experience here as rich and meaningful as possible.
Welcome to Teotihuacan.
On the Mural Painting of Teotihuacan
The walls of Teotihuacan were not bare: they were covered in vivid red, green, and blue, filled with jaguars, serpents, water deities, and scenes of everyday life.
Astral Architecture: Teotihuacan in Synchrony with the Cosmos
More than a city, a cosmogram. This is the story of how the Teotihuacans may have inscribed the movements of the cosmos in stone.
A brief guide to Symbols of Teotihuacan
These are some of the symbols that appear most persistently throughout Teotihuacán.
Conservation and heritage
Teotihuacan is a shared heritage of humanity, and as such we have a responsibility to preserve it.
The Teotihuacan Valley Today: A Cultural Landscape Beyond the Pyramids
Layer upon layer of history, culture, and identity is what defines the Teotihuacan Valley beyond the great ancient city.
Churches, Chapels, and Convents of the Teotihuacan Valley
Ex-convents, murals, and the atrium where the Christmas posadas were born form part of this route filled with history, faith, and architecture.
Traditional Crafts of the Teotihuacan Valley: The Knowledge That Is Not Written Down
The Teotihuacan Valley holds in its traditional crafts a body of knowledge that is organic, transgenerational, and fully rooted in the territory.
Delights of the San Juan Teotihuacan de Arista Market
The San Juan Teotihuacan market works as an edible map of the valley.
