Teotihuacan Tour

By Suzanne Barbezat, About.com Guide

Teotihuacan is a large archaeological site located about 25 miles (40 km) north of Mexico City. It is famous for its large pyramids dedicated to the sun and the moon, but the site also contains beautiful murals and carvings and several museums through which you can explore the city's fascinating history.

Quick facts about Teotihuacan:

• Construction began on the site around 200 B.C.
• At its peak it was one of the biggest cities in the world, with around 200,000 inhabitants.
• The Aztecs considered Teotihuacan a sacred site even though it had been abandoned long before their time.
• Teotihuacan is the name that was given to the site by the Aztecs and it means "city of the gods" or "where men become gods."
• No one knows the ethnic group or the language spoken by the inhabitants of Teotihuacan, so they are called "Teotihuacanos."

Tips for travelers:

There are five entrances to the archaeological site. To do a full tour of the site, enter at entrance 1 at the south end of the site. You will walk the length of the Avenue of the Dead (about one and a quarter miles or 2km). For a shortened tour, many tour groups begin at entrance 2, level with the Pyramid of the Sun. This is a good option if your time is limited or you don't want to walk much.

Don't forget to take water, a hat and sunscreen!

Getting there:

Take the metro to the Central del Norte and take a bus from there to the ruins. The buses are marked "Piramides."

First stop on your tour of Teotihuacan: the Citadel and the Temple of Quetzalcoatl.