Great Pyramid of Cholula - Puebla, Mexico

Next up was the Great Pyramid of Cholula, also known as Tlachihualtepetl (Nahuatl for "artificial mountain").  It's a massive site that is primarily covered by earth.  It's the largest archaeological site of a pyramid (temple) in the New World.  It measures 450 x 450 meters. Construction on the Pyramid was undertaken in four stages beginning around the 2nd century BC.

The plaque behind Tag said they used to sacrifice small kids on the stone structure (for real)....so we had the kids pose for a pic

A rope for hand rails. The pyramid was steep.

At the top of the first stage of the pyramid.  A lot more to go.  The town of Cholulu is in the background.

Halfway up to the top the kids were rewarded with Popsicles.

How many people can say they bought a hat on an ancient pyramid?  It was a sunny day and I did not put on sunblock. 

The pyramid is a temple that is believed to have been dedicated to the god Quetzalcoatl.  In a twist of irony, the Spanish built a Catholic church on top of it in 1594.  A touch sacrilegious if you ask me but the view from the top was gorgeous.

Finally, the final steps.  Tag's legs gave out.

An awesome view...and yes we were out of breath.  Not a lot of oxygen up here.

The coolest part was yet to come.  We actually got to go inside the pyramid.  Underneath this mammoth is more than 5 miles of tunnels that have survived centuries.

The tunnels were a bit claustrophobic (for Ken) but we made it through them

The tunnels went on and on.  The people who built them were either really short or they banged their heads a lot.

We probably walked for 1/3 mile in the tunnels and there are many sections barred off.

Cholula is about 45 minutes outside of Puebla but worth the stop.