Cholula Puebla Mexico Travel Or Tour
Pictures And Photos, Page One

George And Audrey DeLange

Cholula means "Place Of Those Who Fled" or "Water That Falls In The Place Of Flight." Cholula: The Pyramid of Tipanipa, "The Worlds Largest Pyramid!" For years the "Pyramid of Tipanipa" at Cholula was said to be the worlds largest pyramid. Not even the Great Pyramid of Egypt, had a larger base! Now, there is another located in the ancient ruins of El Mirador in Guatemala. El Mirador covers 10 square mile and its largest pyramid is called The Danta Pyramid. Rising 230 feet, The Danta Pyramid is said to be the tallest structure the Maya ever built. Even so, that still does not take away from the fact that the archaeological site of Cholula's main pyramid is pretty big! It's base has been measured to be about 400 meters to a side It covers 25 acres and it is 181 feet high. That still makes it the largest base for any pyramid structure. The Cholula Pyramid is oriented to the North North West and it aims at the setting sun during summer solstice. There is a natural spring located beneath the pyramid which is probably why it was built in its original location. There is also a cave under the pyramid. In the center of the pyramid there is a chamber that may represent an artifical cave. Cholula was the most important center of the Mexican highlands after the fall of Teotihuacan. It is located near the twin volcanic peaks Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl and the city of Puebla. The Great Pyramid Of Tipanipa, dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, is the largest single structure in Mexico. Towering 181 feet high and covering an area of some 25 acres, the pyramid was begun in Pre-Classic times and enlarged at least four times. In 1982 Tipanipa really did look like a big hill, with a Spanish Colonial church on top. It was difficult from a distance to imagine anything else. Seen from a distance today, it appears as a large hill surrounded by a city, with a Colonial church resting at its summit. The interior of the pyramid has been extensively excavated, affording visitors an extraordinary opportunity to view the different phases of its construction. In 1910, the Cholula Pyramid was uncovered during the construction of an insane asylum. Archaeologists say it was in use at the same time as the great Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon at Teotihuacan. If so, it would have been in use a thousand years before the time of these events, and could have been covered and forgotten. A common story that is told today is that when the conquistadors were invading the land, the great pyramid was so sacred that when the people realized the conquistadors were coming, they organized a work force to cover it with soil so that the Spaniards wouldn't destroy it We doubt if that story is true, but it would be interesting to learn how and why the Pyramid Of Tipanipa at Cholula was covered with a dirt hill. We have been to Cholula on two different occasions. First in December of 1982 and again on January 17, 2004. It is amazing to see how the population of Mexico City has grown clear out to the edges of Puebla and how the City of Puebla has grown up around the Pyramid Of Cholula. Our pages will mostly show what Cholula was like in 1982 and we will show some of the changes that have taken place with photos of January of 2004. We also will include the Cholula Museum on our page, which we did not see in 1982. This first page is totally made up of photos taken on December of 1982.