17 Ruins near Cuernavaca, Mexico: Map & Photos

17 archaeological sites · within 60 km

There are 17 archaeological sites within 60 km of Cuernavaca in a straight line, an hour or a little more by road. The closest is Teopanzolco, 2 km away; the farthest, Tlatelolco, is 60 km. They are listed under the Pueblos Mágicos of Tepoztlán, Xochitepec, and Metepec, which make good bases.

Most archaeological sites are run by INAH and open from about 8 or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a small fee. Midday is the hottest and busiest time, so go early.

Best months, when most of these towns are dry with comfortable afternoons: Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec.

The Ruins 17

Teopanzolco · Archaeological site · 2 km from Cuernavaca · Near Tepoztlán
A Tlahuica-Aztec temple base with twin stairways, now surrounded by Cuernavaca's Vista Hermosa neighborhood.
Xochicalco · Archaeological site · 15 km from Cuernavaca · Near Xochitepec
A UNESCO-listed hilltop city with the carved Temple of the Feathered Serpent, three ballcourts and a solar observatory cave.
Zona Arqueológica de Yautepec · Archaeological site · 18 km from Cuernavaca · Near Tepoztlán
The excavated platform of a Tlahuica lord's palace in the middle of Yautepec, a quick stop on the way to Oaxtepec or Cuautla.
Zona Arqueológica de Coatetelco · Archaeological site · 24 km from Cuernavaca · Near Xochitepec
A small ceremonial center with a ballcourt and temple platforms beside the Coatetelco lagoon, an easy pairing with Xochicalco.
Zona Arqueológica El Tlatoani · Archaeological site · 25 km from Cuernavaca · Morelos
Toltec-era terraces, burials and a pyramid platform (AD 900-1200) atop a Tlayacapan rock hill, excavated by INAH since 2012.
Zona Arqueológica de Olintepec · Archaeological site · 33 km from Cuernavaca · Morelos
Site occupied from 1500 BC to AD 1610, with a mound and a Dominican chapel among the houses of Nueva Olintepec, Ayala.
Cuahilama · Archaeological site · 39 km from Cuernavaca · Ciudad de México
Hill with 15th-century petroglyphs in Santa Cruz Acalpixca, Xochimilco: free entry, a half-hour climb and views over the canals.
Cuicuilco · Archaeological site · 43 km from Cuernavaca · Ciudad de México
A round, terraced pyramid more than 2,000 years old, half-swallowed by lava from the Xitle volcano, free to visit beside Insurgentes Sur.
Teotenango · Archaeological site · 43 km from Cuernavaca · Near Metepec
A walled hilltop city above Tenango del Valle, with plazas, pyramids and a ball court looking over the valley.
Copilco · Archaeological site · 47 km from Cuernavaca · Ciudad de México
A Preclassic village buried under Xitle's lava, tunnelled into by Manuel Gamio in 1917; its site museum closed to the public in the early 1980s.
Zona Arqueológica Las Pilas · Archaeological site · 53 km from Cuernavaca · Morelos
A small Teotihuacan-era ceremonial centre devoted to water, ringed by springs and set inside the Las Pilas swimming park in Jonacatepec.
Baños de Moctezuma · Archaeological site · 55 km from Cuernavaca · Ciudad de México
Pre-Hispanic water tank at the foot of Chapultepec hill plus the remains of an 1870 bathhouse; Moctezuma never bathed here, but the name stuck.
Chalcatzingo · Archaeological site · 55 km from Cuernavaca · Morelos
Preclassic site at the foot of two rock massifs in eastern Morelos, famous for Olmec-style reliefs such as El Rey, the seated figure in a cave.
Zona Arqueológica de Chimalacatlán · Archaeological site · 55 km from Cuernavaca · Morelos
Megalithic platforms on top of Cerro del Venado above a bend of the Amacuzac, occupied from about 1200 BC; not officially open to the public.
Acozac · Archaeological site · 58 km from Cuernavaca · Estado de México
Acolhua ruins in Ixtapaluca with a round temple to Ehécatl and a great platform facing the volcanoes; free entry.
Templo Mayor · Archaeological site · 58 km from Cuernavaca · Ciudad de México
The Aztecs' great twin temple, unearthed after 1978 beside the Zócalo: walk through seven building stages, then see the Coyolxauhqui stone inside.
Tlatelolco · Archaeological site · 60 km from Cuernavaca · Ciudad de México
Aztec temples, a 1609 Franciscan church and modernist towers on one square: the Plaza de las Tres Culturas, site of the last stand of 1521 and of 1968.