10 Most Famous Aztec Temples In Mexico

Are you looking for the most famous Aztec temples in Mexico that you can visit on your next trip?

Aztec temples are some of Mexico’s most iconic and recognizable structures. Originating in the Late Postclassic Period (900 – 1521 CE), these buildings were erected as a means to honor the deities and, in turn, ensure the fertility of the surrounding countryside. 

Aztec temples were called “Teocalli,” or God houses. They were typically composed of a number of different structures, including a main temple, a ballcourt, and an aqueduct. The main temple was typically the largest and most elaborately decorated of all the structures. 

These temples were not mere buildings dedicated to prayer. From every block used on the foundation to the murals painted on the walls, these amazing structures symbolized the Aztecs’ vision of the world. 

Even today, Aztec temples are among the most popular major religious destinations in Mexico.  Some have been built with Roman Catholic churches on top of them, while others remain as pyramids where believers come to pray to the gods, or to gain special powers or something. 

Temple-pyramids were revered as the homes of Aztec gods. They were also believed to be where long-departed human ancestors proceeded after death. This is partly due to the Aztecs’ belief that ancestors journeyed together with their gods on a pilgrimage to seek their “promised land.” 

As one of the best-known and most important of all the great Mesoamerican tribes, the central Mexican Aztecs left Mexico with plenty of interesting ruins that serve not only as a proof of their immense ruling power but their technological advancement as well. 

10 Most Famous Aztec Temples In Mexico

Related Read:

• Aztec Empire: History And Facts
• Most Important Aztec Gods
• Top 10 Aztec Weapons
• Similarities And Differences Between Mayan And Aztec Civilizations
• Most Important Mayan Gods
• Most Popular Mayan Ruins

There are several well-known Aztec temples in Mexico. These temples are popular among tourists visiting the country.If want to see the some of the country’s most famous Aztec temples and pyramids, here’s a list of the top ones you should consider visiting when in Mexico. 

1. Templo Mayor – Mexico City

Modern Mexico City is built on top of the ancient lake and ruins that were part of Tenochtitlán, the main city of the Aztec Empire. Inarguably, the most famous Aztec temple in Mexico is the Templo Mayor in the capital. This is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. 

Completed in 1497, Templo Mayor is a double temple that stands at 60 meters (197 feet). This was the place of worship for the gods Huitzilopochtli (god of the sun and war) and Tlaloc (god of rain and fertility), each with a dedicated shrine. 

Templo Mayor is where Huitzilopochtli (Hummingbird of the South) was believed to have been born in. He was the patron god of the Mexica people, the one who led them to Tenochtitlan, or “the promised land.” 

This temple was built on swampy ground. This is why over the years the temple sank and needed to be repaired. 

2. Temples of Teopanzolco – Cuernavaca, Morelos

The Aztec archaeological site of Teopanzolco is located in the central Mexican state of Morelos. It now lies within the city of Cuernavaca, with the visible remains dating from the Early Aztec period of 1150 to 1350. These had been built on a hill formed by lava that flowed from the nearby El Popo Volcano. 

Today, only the ceremonial center of Teopanzolco has been preserved and none of the original finishing survived.

Teopanzolco is from the Nahuatl word for “the place of the old temple.” This site had been developed by both the Tlahuicas and the Aztecs, but the dominant architectural style as well as most of the excavated ceramics are Aztec in origin.

Just like Mexico City’s Templo Mayor, two temples can be visited in the Teopanzolco site: the Temple of Huitzilopochtli and the Temple of Tlaloc. Other gods were also worshiped here, including Tezcatlipoca (god of the night sky and of the Great Bear constellation) and Ehecatl (god of the wind). 

Inhabitants of this site performed rituals and human sacrifices, together with offerings that had been deposited in pits placed inside the lower platforms of the Teopanzolco Pyramids. 

3. The Pyramid of the Sun – Teotihuacán, State of Mexico

Located 48 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of Mexico City, the Teotihuacán archaeological sites have the longest history of exploration in the country. 

Teotihuacán is an ancient city that, during its peak in the first half of the first millennium (1 CE to 500 CE), was the largest in the Americas. This was 1,000 years or so before the Aztecs’ height of power, making Teotihuacán not originally constructed by the Aztec people.

Though built as temples, a burial site has been found in Teotihuacán as a part of one. Two deities were worshipped here: Tlaloc and Chalchihuitlicue (the goddess of lakes and streams). 

Teotihuacán was believed to be the birthplace of the new sun. The Pyramid of the Sun was constructed on a lava tube cave. It is the third largest pyramid in the world. 

4. Pyramid of the Moon – San Martín de las Pirámides, State of Mexico

The Pyramid of the Moon is smaller than the Pyramid of the Sun but covers an older structure, having existed prior to 200 AD. This pyramid is located in modern-day San Martín de las Pirámides, in the western part of the ancient city of Teotihuacán. 

The Pyramid of the Moon had several religious functions such as ritual sacrifice and burial. It also served as a place for astronomical observation and other calendar-related activities.

A platform built on top of the Pyramid of the Moon was used to conduct rituals in honor of the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan, who was the Aztec goddess of creation and fertility as well as the earth and water.

5. The Great Pyramid of Cholula – San Andrés Cholula, Puebla

Cholula’s prehistoric archaeological park houses the Great Pyramid of Cholula. 

The world’s largest pyramid by volume, the Great Pyramid of Cholula is the largest monument ever constructed. It is also known as Pirámide Tepanapa or Tlachihualtepetl which means “made-by-hand mountain” in the Nahuatl language. 

Shrouded in mystery for centuries and bearing great religious significance, the Great Pyramid of Cholula was a temple dedicated to Quetzalcoatl – the serpent god of the Aztecs. Visitors can walk through a tunnel inside this pyramid to see ancient murals and courtyards. 

6. Pyramid of the Niches – Papantla, Veracruz

Pyramid of the Niches, also called the Temple of the Niches, in Papantla, in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz, is a part of the famous ruins of El Tajín – by far the most impressive and mysterious.

At 20 meters tall, this pyramid has 7 stories leading to the top and four sides that are covered with stacked rows of small niches formed from blocks of stone. There are 365 niches in total, which suggest that the Pyramid of Niches might have been used as a kind of astronomical calendar to track the days of the year.

The most important part of the pyramid was the temple on its top. Although little is known about what it might have looked like since it had been completely destroyed, sculpture found from the temple bear depictions of the rain god Tlaloc, or a ruler dressed as the deity. Tatloc’s appearance in the Pyramid of the Niches underlies the temple’s significance. 

Deemed the most important site in the state of Veracruz, the Pyramid of the Niches is a masterpiece of ancient Mexican and American architecture. 

7. Teotenango Temples – Tenango de Arista, Mexico State

The name Teotenango roughly translates to “Place of the Divine Walls,” derived from three Nahuatl words: teotl (meaning “god,” “sacred,” or “divine,”), tenamitl (meaning “wall,” “fence,” or “fortification”) and co (which means “place”). “Teotenango” is also translated as  “the place of all of the gods.”

Teotenango covers some 21 square kilometers. It has pyramids dedicated to Tloltec and Quetzalcoatl, as well as a temple of the sun. Other temples were built in each region of the city. There were also mountain temples that were carved right out of the side of the mountain.

During the pre-Hispanic times, Teotenango was a very important fortified city. It was initially founded by the Teotenanca people in the last parts of the Teotihuacán civilization and was later conquered by the Matlatzincas who expanded it.

The city existed for about a millenium. It was abandoned after the Aztec Empire was conquered by the Spanish. 

8. Xochicalco Temple of the Feathered Serpent – Miacatlán, Morelos

There were many so-called Aztec temples that existed even before the Aztec Empire did. The Aztecs conquered many people and cities, which they forced to pay tribute and become part of the empire. 

One of these cities was Xochicalco, now in the modern-day city of Miacatlán in south-central Mexico. 

Originally a temple dedicated to the Mayan ruler and feathered serpent god called Kukulkan, among the Aztecs he was called Quetzalcoatl. Xochicalco became the place of worship dedicated to Quetzalcoatl during the Aztec period. 

Xochicalco is an exceptionally well-preserved specimen of a fortified political, religious, and commercial center from the Epiclassic period (650 – 900). 

In the Nahuatl language, the name of this fortified ancient city means “in the Place of the Flower House.” This is situated on the top of a large hill and parts of surrounding hills in Miacatlán, near Cuernavaca.

9. Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl in Tula – Tula de Allende, Hidalgo

Situated northwest of Mexico City, the Mesoamerican archeological site of Tula is made up of remains of an earlier settlement called Tula Chico, a museum, and the main ceremonial site known as Tula Grande. 

The ancient city of Tula fell around 1150. However, it had significant influence on the Aztec Empire. Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god, is linked to Tula. His worship was widespread throughout central Mexico, reaching as far as Central America at the time the Spanish arrived.

The Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl, Tula’s main attraction, is topped by four 13-foot-high basalt columns carved to mimic the shape of Toltec warriors.

10. Temple of Tenayuca – Tlalnepantla de Baz, State of Mexico

The Aztec temple architecture was primarily developed at Tenayuca, located within the urban sprawl of Greater Mexico City. The site bears the earliest example of the typical Aztec double pyramid, which is made up of pyramidal bases supporting two temples. 

Although Tenayuca had been founded around 1224 by a semi-legendary ruler called Xolotl (who ruled an ancient tribe that had settled in the Valley of Mexico), when Tenayuca came under Aztec dominance, the Aztecs adopted this style for the worship of their own deities.

Today, the temple of Tenayuca is well-preserved and most of its wall of serpents remains intact on three sides of the base of the pyramid.

This wall of serpents, suggesting that the temple was dedicated to the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl, was the basis for Tenayuca to be called by the conquistador Bernal Díaz del Castillo as the “town of the serpents.”