Teotenango

Teotenango sits on top of Tetépetl, a long lava mesa rising steeply on the western side of Tenango de Arista, at the southern end of the Toluca valley. It was founded around the end of the Teotihuacan era by people archaeologists call the Teotenancas, later taken over and expanded by the Matlatzincas, and occupied for roughly a thousand years until the Spanish moved its people down to the valley floor after the Conquest.

The city was built for defense. The cliffs on the north and east sides served as natural walls, and the builders added walls and terraces of their own; the name is usually read as "place of the sacred wall." At its height it had a main avenue more than a kilometer long, pyramid platforms, palaces, a ball court, and drainage and water systems fed by springs on the mesa. Only a fraction has been excavated, mainly the ceremonial center in the northeast corner, but that part is large and well restored.

The views are part of the visit: from the plazas you look across the valley to the Nevado de Toluca. Rock carvings with symbols and glyphs dot the area around the site, and a state archaeology museum stands near the entrance.