Pyramid of the Moon

What is the Pyramid of the Moon?

The Pyramid of the Moon is 45 m high on a base of 140 by 150 m, the second-largest building at Teotihuacan. It closes the north end of the Avenue of the Dead, the Calzada de los Muertos. The main stairway faces south, down the Avenue.

Seven building stages lie one inside the other, from about 100 CE to 650 CE. The oldest, Building 1, is 23.5 m square. It sits on the axis of the Avenue. What you see is the seventh: five stepped tiers. The Adosada platform stands in front, facing the Plaza of the Moon.

The Plaza of the Moon has 13 platforms around it, once painted, and an altar called Structure A at the centre. From the first platform you look south along the 2 km of the Avenue that is open. The Avenue rises about 27 m from the Ciudadela to the plaza, so all of it lies below you.

Can you climb the Pyramid of the Moon?

The climb stops at the first platform, under a rule INAH set on 19 May 2025. The climb had been closed since 2020. INAH advises people with heart problems, high blood pressure or recent surgery not to go up.

The rule has changed twice since. On 21 April 2026, the day after a shooting on the pyramid, INAH said the climb was closed until further notice. On 22 April 2026 the first platform reopened. On 22 May 2026 the Pyramid of the Moon was the only pyramid at Teotihuacan open to climb, first platform only.

The Pyramid of the Sun stays closed. Its 248 steps have been shut since 2020. In May 2026 INAH kept that ban for the 2026 World Cup. Since late April 2026 every gate has a metal detector and a bag check. The climbing page keeps the dated rules for both pyramids.

How to get to the Pyramid of the Moon from Gate 3

From the gate: Gate 3, Puerta 3 on INAH’s map, 530 m and 7 minutes to the foot of the Pyramid of the Moon. The metres and minutes are measured on the map, not a published INAH figure.

Gate 3 is the west gate for the Plaza of the Moon, the Palace of Quetzalpapálotl and the Museum of Teotihuacan Murals. You buy tickets at the Gate 3 booth: MX$210 for international visitors, MX$105 with a Mexican ID. Sundays are free for nationals and residents; the exemptions are on the tickets page. Toilets and water for sale are at the entrance.

The Palace of Quetzalpapálotl is 200 m and 3 minutes from Gate 3, off the south-west corner of the plaza. INAH’s Family Trail starts at Gate 3 and ends at Gate 5 past the Pyramid of the Sun: 1.5 km, 1.5 to 2 hours.

The bus from Terminal del Norte, the Terminal Central de Autobuses del Norte, drops you at Gate 2, by the Pyramid of the Sun. From the Pyramid of the Sun it is 1.0 km and 14 minutes north along the Avenue. The Puma Mural is on the east side, 100 m before the plaza. Your return bus leaves from Gate 2 too.

When is the best time to visit the Pyramid of the Moon?

Go in at Gate 3 at 08:00, when the gates open; you reach the foot of the pyramid in 7 minutes. INAH gives 11:30 to 15:30 as the hottest hours. Last entry is 16:30. The zone closes at 17:00. INAH names Tuesday and Wednesday as the quieter days and tells you to skip the spring equinox.

By the sun: in at Gate 3 at 08:00, the first platform and the plaza before 09:00, the Palace of Quetzalpapálotl next. Then 1.0 km and 14 minutes south to the Pyramid of the Sun. Out at Gate 2 for the bus before 11:30, when the heat starts.

Water is sold at entrance 3 and at the Museum of Teotihuacan Culture by Gate 5. INAH tells you to bring a reusable bottle, sunscreen and a hat.

What was found inside the Pyramid of the Moon?

The Moon Pyramid Project of 1998 to 2004 found seven buildings one inside the other and five burial complexes in the Pyramid of the Moon.

Burial 4 held 17 decapitated human skulls. They were an offering to Building 6, of about 350 to 400 CE. Burial 5 held three elite individuals buried with jade. Burial 6 held 12 people, 10 of them decapitated, with their hands bound behind their backs. The same chamber held more than 100 animals. Among them were 18 golden eagles.

In 2017 an electrical survey by INAH and UNAM found a cavity about 15 m below the pyramid; the result was published in 2020. It is a natural cavity, where the tunnel under the Temple of the Feathered Serpent was dug by hand. You cannot visit it.

A 2024 INAH study lines the corners up with the summer-solstice sunrise in the north-east and the winter-solstice sunset in the south-west. INAH presents it as a proposal.

Museum of Teotihuacan Murals at Gate 3

The Museum of Teotihuacan Murals is at Gate 3, by the entrance, and your MX$210 ticket includes it. It opened in 2001. The collection is 73 pieces. They are mural fragments, whole taludes and tableros, and painted wall sections.

INAH names one piece: the Mythological Animals mural from the Avenue of the Dead, feathered serpents fighting jaguars. Hours are 09:00 to 16:00, every day.

The other two site museums are on the museums page. INAH’s free digital guide has the seven trails, audio and the map.