Cholula

No reviews yetCity Puebla, Mexico

From the church atrium the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanoes rise above the valley, Cholula, Puebla

A small site museum near the pyramid shows a cutaway model of its building stages, Cholula, Puebla

The Plaza de la Concordia is the social center of Cholula, Puebla

The Capilla Real stands in the atrium of the 16th-century San Gabriel friary, Cholula, Puebla

About Cholula

Cholula, just west of the city of Puebla, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the Americas. Its centerpiece looks at first like a hill topped by a church, but the hill is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, by volume the largest pyramid ever built. Today the area is divided between San Pedro Cholula and San Andrés Cholula and is known for its abundance of churches and colonial domes.

Visitors can explore the Great Pyramid through excavated platforms and tunnels that reveal successive construction phases, then climb to the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios on top. On clear mornings, the summit offers views of the Popocatépetl volcano. The site museum displays artifacts and a cutaway model of the pyramid. In the center of San Pedro, the Plaza de la Concordia is a pleasant spot for watching town life, and the San Gabriel friary and its Capilla Real, with its forest of domes, sit right beside it. The Museo de la Ciudad de Cholula covers regional history, and the Mercado Municipal is good for cemitas and other local dishes. In the evening, Container City offers bars and food in a converted shipping-container complex.

Cholula suits day-trippers from Puebla and travelers who prefer a smaller, student-influenced base. The ornate church of Santa María Tonantzintla, with its indigenous baroque interior, is a short ride away.

Best seasonOctober through May, when dry weather and clearer skies improve views of the volcanoes.

Ideal stayOne to two days, or a half day as a side trip from Puebla.

ArrivingFly into Puebla or Mexico City; frequent buses and taxis connect Cholula with Puebla's center.

WiserMap travel guideCholula Mexico Great Pyramid and Talavera DomesPlan a Cholula trip around the Great Pyramid, the church on top, Talavera-tiled domes, tacos placeros, busy markets and the folk Baroque of Tonantzintla.Read the guide

12 Reasons to Visit Cholula

Landmarks 4

Great Pyramid of Cholula

By volume this is the largest pyramid ever built, yet at first glance it looks like a grassy hill crowned by a church. Known in Na...

Cholula Pyramid Tunnels

Archaeologists began boring into the pyramid in the 1930s and eventually dug kilometres of exploration tunnels; a short section is...

Plaza de la Concordia

San Pedro Cholula's main square is a broad, tree-shaded zócalo that serves as the town's living room. On one side runs a long arca...

Portal Guerrero

The colonnade that runs along one whole side of San Pedro Cholula's zócalo is among the longest colonial arcades in Mexico, a rhyt...

Temples and Shrines 4

Santuario de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios

Perched on the summit of the Great Pyramid, the bright yellow sanctuary is the image most people carry home from Cholula. The Span...

Convento de San Gabriel Arcángel and Capilla Real

Franciscan friars founded this monastery in the sixteenth century on the site of an important pre-Hispanic temple, and its massive...

Santa María Tonantzintla

From the outside this village church just south of Cholula looks modest, but the interior is one of the most extraordinary example...

San Francisco Acatepec

This small eighteenth-century church in the village of Acatepec is famous for a façade almost entirely sheathed in glazed Talavera...

Museums 2

Cholula Pyramid Site Museum

Across the road from the archaeological zone, this compact museum is the place to make sense of what you have just walked over and...

Museo de la Ciudad de Cholula

Set in a restored colonial building close to the zócalo, the city museum tells Cholula's story from its origins as one of Mesoamer...

Food and Drink 2

Mercado Municipal Cosme del Razo

A few blocks from the main square, San Pedro Cholula's municipal market is where residents shop for produce, flowers, chiles and m...

Container City Cholula

Brightly painted shipping containers stacked two and three high form this open-air complex of bars, restaurants, coffee counters a...

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