There are two ways to experience the Pyramid of the Moon. The first is from below, standing along the Avenue of the Dead as the silhouette of Cerro Gordo rises perfectly behind it. The second is from the top, where you will notice that, although the structure is considerably smaller than the Pyramid of the Sun, the natural elevation of the terrain places you at almost the same height. Neither of these effects is accidental. At Teotihuacan, nothing seems to be accidental.

It is the second-largest structure on the site—standing more than 45 meters tall, and measuring roughly 140 by 150 meters at its base. But the Pyramid of the Moon did not always have these dimensions. Over the course of nearly 600 years, new constructions were built over earlier ones, layer upon layer, until the monument reached its final form. What we see today corresponds to the seventh and final construction stage.

Urban axis and symbolic heart of the city

The Pyramid of the Moon stands at the northern end of the Avenue of the Dead—a position that gives it unrivaled visual prominence. It was likely the starting point for at least one phase of Teotihuacan's urban planning. Rather than ending at the pyramid, this part of the city appears to have begun here, with the layout extending southward from this point.

At its base stretches the Plaza of the Moon, remarkable for the precision and harmony of its design. It includes 13 platforms, all of them once fully painted, and at its center stands Structure A. Divided into four rectangular bodies, four diagonal ones, and a central element, it forms what is known as the Teotihuacan Cross. These nine altars are thought to represent the cardinal and intercardinal directions, as well as the center of the universe.

In the early 21st century, four burial-offering complexes were discovered within the pyramid. One contained a funerary chamber with three seated, richly adorned individuals. Another held a person with bound hands, surrounded by animals evoking mythic power and military supremacy: a wolf, a falcon, pumas, eagles, and rattlesnakes. These funerary contexts reinforce the central role this building played in the city's religious life.

The goddess

The popular name—Pyramid of the Moon—comes from colonial-era chronicles, which recount that local inhabitants told Friar Bernardino de Sahagún the site's great elevated structures were known as the mound of the Sun and the mound of the Moon. 

The Mexica called it metztli itzacual, or "enclosure of the Moon", but the people of Teotihuacan themselves appear to have dedicated it to a female deity of water and fertility. Two stone representations of this goddess discovered in the plaza support this interpretation. One, carved from andesite, stands over three meters tall and weighs more than 16 tons; it is now displayed in the Teotihuacan Hall of the National Museum of Anthropology. The other remains at the site, near the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl, visibly marked by the passage of time.

Its relationship with the stars and the landscape

Like the rest of the city, the Pyramid of the Moon is fundamentally connected to its environment—to the stars, the hills and volcanoes of the surrounding region, the San Juan River, the caves, and the landscape around it. One of these connections is especially striking: its relationship with Cerro Gordo. From certain vantage points, the pyramid appears to be a natural extension of the mountain rising directly behind it.

In terms of its astronomical alignments, archaeoastronomers confirmed in 2024 that the vertices of the Pyramid of the Moon align with the points where the sun rises during the summer solstice—over the Xihuingo volcano to the northeast—and sets during the winter solstice, behind Cerro Maninal to the southwest.

Visiting today

From the first platform of the Pyramid of the Moon, looking south along the Avenue of the Dead, one of Teotihuacan's finest views unfolds before you. Take a moment to absorb it.