Cholula Pyramid
Mexico

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The largest pyramid [and monument] in the world is not the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt but that grassy mound pictured above with a church on top in Cholula, Puebla state, Mexico. It's the Great Pyramid of Cholula, a temple/pyramid built over hundreds of years from 3rdC BC to 9thC AD and dedicated to the famous Mexican bird-god Quetzalcoatl.

Although the Great Pyramid of Cholula is bigger in volume than its Egyptian competitors, the Great Pyramid of Giza is 138.8 m [455 feet] high while Cholula goes up to a mere 66 m [217 ft]. Here it can be seen against its inspiration, the volcano of Popocatepetl [5,426m], just 45 miles [70 kms] from Mexico City.

The Great Pyramid of Cholula has been little excavated and hardly restored due to the placing of the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios [Church of Our Lady of the Cures] on top of the pyramid by the Spanish in 1594. A common practice of the Catholic church in the Middle Ages was to reuse ancient religious sites as Catholic ones, and this one has become a popular pilgrimage destination.

Grand American Adventures' Mexico Tours:
Yucatan Adventures | Yucatan Highlights | Ruta Maya