OT Staff
The ancient Mayan city of Coba is home to two pyramids—the Iglesia and the Castillo. Half-ruined and covered in plants, both structures look as if they’ve recently been unearthed.
With its nine stepped platforms, El Castillo is the centrepiece of Chichén Itzá, a Mayan city that flourished from around 700 to 900 CE. The pyramid functioned as an enormous calendar.
The Pyramid of the Magician is a Mesoamerican step pyramid located in the ancient Mayan city of Uxmal. It was built in the puuc style which is known for its highly stylised motifs and decorative richness.
This is the largest Mesoamerican stepped pyramid structure at the pre-Columbian Maya civilisation site of Palenque. Inside, a stairway leads to the crypt containing the sarcophagus of Pacal the Great.
One of the earliest pyramids known in Mesoamerica, the Great Pyramid is 34m high and contains an estimated 100,000 cubic meters of earthfill. Since it was built of clay instead of stone, its original rectangular shape has been softened by the ages.
Oaxaca’s “truncated” pyramids, which look like raised platforms topped by temples, as well as its famous tombs and stone carvings can be seen at the Monte Albán site.
This is the third largest pyramid at Teotihuacán, a pre-Columbian site in central Mexico. The outside edges of each level in this six-level step pyramid are decorated with feathered serpent heads that alternate with those of another snake-like creature.
These two pyramids served as focal points for Teotihuacán’s urban layout and are found in the municipality of San Martín de las Pirámides. They are situated along the 4km-long Avenue of the Dead.
Also known as Tlachihualtepetl, Cholula's pyramid is the largest by volume known to exist in the world today. Visitors can access some of the restored sections of this adobe brick temple.
This temple was of great symbolic importance to the people of El Tajín—it once contained exactly 365 niches that marked its connection to the solar year. The pyramid is relatively short at 17.98m and consists of six platforms.