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It's one of the main stops in my Teotihuacan guide, and it's the road that takes you to the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. And if you're still planning your trip, my Plan Your Visit page has the hours, tickets and how to get there.
The Aztecs gave it that name, and it's the question I get the most on this part of the tour.
When the Aztecs found Teotihuacan in the 1400s, the city had been empty for hundreds of years. They saw all the low platforms and mounds along both sides of the road and thought they were tombs, so they called it Miccaotli, which means "road of the dead" in Nahuatl. And the name stuck, so today in Spanish it's the Calzada de los Muertos.
But nobody was buried on the avenue. Those platforms were temples, palaces and the bases of buildings, and a lot of them had painted walls. The people of Teotihuacan buried their dead under the floors of their own homes, and under some temples too.
We still don't know what the people of Teotihuacan called this road, or what they called themselves. That's one of the big mysteries, and I go into it more on my Teotihuacan history page.
The part you can walk today is about 2.4 km long, which is 1.5 miles, and it's about 40 meters (130 ft) wide. That's wider than most streets in Mexico City :)
You'll see bigger numbers online, like 3.2 or even 4 km, because archaeologists think the original road kept going south past the Ciudadela. That part is under fields and houses now, so I use the 2.4 km from Encyclopaedia Britannica.
If you just walk it from end to end without stopping, it takes about 30 minutes. But nobody does that, because you stop at the pyramids, go up and down the stairs and take a LOT of photos, so plan more like 2 to 3 hours for the avenue and the monuments on it.
Look at the map and you'll see the avenue is a little bit tilted. It points about 15.5 degrees east of north, right toward Cerro Gordo, the mountain you see behind the Pyramid of the Moon.
And it's not only the avenue. The pyramids, the temples and even the apartment compounds where people lived all follow that same angle, so the whole center of the city was planned around this road. Archaeologists still argue about why they picked 15.5 degrees, maybe because of the mountain or maybe because of where the sun sets on certain days of the year.
I put all the numbers on my Teotihuacan facts and statistics page with the source for each one, and the Teotihuacan map shows where everything is.
Everything important at Teotihuacan is on this road. So here it is from north to south, the way you see it standing on the Pyramid of the Moon.
The avenue starts at the big plaza in front of the Pyramid of the Moon, which is about 43 meters tall. The plaza has a platform in the middle and small temples all around it. Right now you can climb the Moon up to the first section, and from up there you see the whole avenue going straight south. It's my favorite view of the city.
On the west side of the Plaza of the Moon there's a palace with carved columns, called Quetzalpapalotl, which means quetzal butterfly. Behind it there's an older building with paintings of jaguars on the walls. A lot of people miss it because it's just off the avenue, so ask your guide to take you.
Walking south, the Pyramid of the Sun is on your left, on the east side of the avenue. It's the biggest building in the city, about 66 meters (216 ft) tall. You can't climb it right now, but you can walk all around the base.
Between the Sun and the Ciudadela the avenue is cut by low walls with stairs, so you keep going up and down. The land goes up toward Cerro Gordo, and these stairs and plazas helped keep the road level. Also, a small river called the San Juan crosses the avenue here, and the people of Teotihuacan moved the river so it would cross the road straight.
At the south end there's the Ciudadela, a huge square courtyard of about 15 hectares, and inside it is the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, with the carved serpent heads on the front. It's the third biggest pyramid at Teotihuacan, and most people never make it this far because they get tired. Don't let that happen to you :)
These are the things me and my team tell our groups before we start walking.
The avenue is wide open, and Teotihuacan is high up like Mexico City, so the sun is really strong even when it's cold in the morning.So bring a hat, sunscreen and water, and wear good shoes because of all the stairs. My what to wear to Teotihuacan list has everything to pack.
The site opens at 8:00 AM, and I recommend to be on the avenue as early as you can. By noon it's hot and the big tour buses show up. The opening hours post has the details, and if you're going on March 20 or 21, read my spring equinox guide because the avenue gets VERY full.
Start at the north end and walk south, and you go a little bit downhill most of the way. You'll still have stairs to climb in the middle, but it's easier on your legs. My how much time you need at Teotihuacan post helps if you're fitting it into a busy day.
There are a lot of people selling souvenirs, like obsidian figures and the little jaguar whistles. They're friendly, and a simple "no, gracias" is enough. If you want to buy something, ask the price BEFORE and pay in pesos.
The Avenue of the Dead is inside the Teotihuacan archaeological zone, about 50 km (30 miles) northeast of Mexico City, which is about 1 hour by car. The site is open every day from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, last entry is 4:30 PM, and the ticket is $210 MXN (about $12 USD) if you're not Mexican or a resident. The avenue is included in that ticket.
You can get there by bus, Uber or with a tour, and I explain each one in my how to get to Teotihuacan guide. For every price in one place, see how much it costs to go to Teotihuacan.
You can walk the avenue on your own, but it's hard to know what you're looking at, because most of the buildings along it don't have signs. That's why I recommend a tour, so a guide can tell you what each platform was for.
All our Teotihuacan tours are in English with our SECTUR-certified local guides, we pick you up and drop you off at your hotel or Airbnb, your tickets are included and we never stop at tourist trap shops. Groups are 15 people max.
Every tour has our 100% "Love It or Your Money Back" guarantee, and you can cancel or reschedule for FREE up to 24 hours before.
If you want a Teotihuacan tour or a sunrise hot air balloon above the pyramids... that's what me and my team do. You can compare every tour side by side and pick the one that fits you :)
