Pyramid of the Sun

What is the Pyramid of the Sun?

The Pyramid of the Sun is about 65 m high on a base of 222 by 225 m, the largest building at Teotihuacan. It stands on the east side of the Avenue of the Dead, the Calzada de los Muertos. The west stairway has 248 steps.

Radiocarbon dates from the 2008 to 2011 excavations put the main body at 170 to 310 CE. The west face points at the sunset on 30 April and 13 August. Those dates are 260 days apart.

What you see today is five stepped tiers. The original had four, under thick painted plaster. Leopoldo Batres added the fifth in his restoration of 1905 to 1910. He also stripped the facing stones. A temple stood on the summit. Nothing of it is left.

Can you climb the Pyramid of the Sun?

No. You cannot go up: INAH’s 2026 visitor guide lists climbing the Pyramid of the Sun as prohibited. The 248 steps have been closed since 2020. In May 2026 INAH said the ban stays for the 2026 World Cup, because of wear from constant foot traffic.

You can stand at the foot of the stairway and walk the plaza in front of it. The Pyramid of the Moon is the one you can climb, to its first platform only. INAH set that rule on 19 May 2025.

In May 2026 INAH said the Pyramid of the Moon was the only pyramid open to climb. The dated rules for both pyramids are on the climbing page.

How to get to the Pyramid of the Sun from Gate 2

From the gate: Gate 2, Puerta 2 on INAH’s map, 530 m and 7 minutes to the foot of the Pyramid of the Sun. The metres and minutes on this page are measured on the map, not INAH figures.

From Gate 2 the pyramid is directly in front of you, across the Avenue of the Dead. Cross the 40 m of the Avenue and the plaza in front of the pyramid, and you stand at the west stairway. Since late April 2026 every gate has bag checks.

Tickets are sold at the booth: MX$210 for international visitors and MX$105 if you carry a Mexican ID. Sundays are free for nationals and residents; the tickets page has the full list of exemptions. Buses from Terminal del Norte, the Terminal Central de Autobuses del Norte, stop at Gate 2. The return bus leaves from the same gate.

Gate 5, on the museum side, is 840 m and 11 minutes from the pyramid. The Pyramid of the Moon is 1.0 km and 14 minutes further north. The official Quick Trail runs Gate 2, Pyramid of the Sun, Puma Mural, Pyramid of the Moon and out at Gate 3. It is 2 km, 45 minutes to 1.5 hours.

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

Go in at 08:00 when the gates open; INAH puts the hottest hours at 11:30 to 15:30. Last entry is 16:30; closing is 17:00. INAH lists Tuesday and Wednesday as the quieter days and tells you to avoid the spring equinox.

By the sun: in at Gate 2 at 08:00, the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon by 09:00, the Museum of Teotihuacan Culture by 11:30. The museum is 7 minutes from the stairway. It has water, toilets and seating. Water is also sold at Gate 3, by the Pyramid of the Moon.

INAH asks you to bring a reusable bottle, sunscreen and a hat. Toilets: Gate 2, Gate 3 and the museum.

What is inside the Pyramid of the Sun?

A tunnel 103 m long runs under the Pyramid of the Sun to a four-lobed chamber below its centre. It was found by accident in 1971. It dates to 140 to 240 CE, older than the pyramid above it. Whether it is a natural cave or dug by hand is still argued: INAH’s guide says natural and modified, the 2013 excavation says built.

Its objects were broken and scattered by looters in antiquity. The tunnel is on no INAH visitor trail. No public opening has been announced.

In 2011 a dig under the centre found a greenstone mask and three greenstone figurines. In 2013 a covered pit at the summit held two pillars and a figure of Huehueteotl, the Old Fire God. INAH records the remains of 16 sacrificed children at the corners of its levels. The question page has the longer answer.

Museum of Teotihuacan Culture next to the Pyramid of the Sun

The Museum of Teotihuacan Culture is 530 m and 7 minutes south of the Pyramid of the Sun, by Gate 5. Your MX$210 ticket includes it. It opened in 1994 and shows more than 600 objects in eight galleries.

The visit ends at a large window framing the pyramid, above a model of the whole city. Hours are 09:00 to 16:00, every day.

All three site museums are on the museums page. The INAH visitor guide has the trails and map.