Teotihuacán

The holy city of Teothiuacán ("the place where the gods very created") is a must-see attraction 50 km northwest of Mexico City in a mountain-ringed offshoot of the Valle de México. Built between the 1st and 7th centuries A.D. it is characterized by the vast size of its monuments - in particular; the Temple of Quetzalcoatl and the pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, laid out on geometric and symbolic principles. Teotihuacán was Mexico's biggest ancient city and the capital of what was probably Mexico's largest pre-Hispanic empire. Social, environmental and economic factors hastened its decline and eventual collapse in the 8th century AD.