On approach to the modern city of Cholula from Puebla, the Great Pyramid with it's crowning church still towers over the town, as it did in ancient times. The tunnel entrance into the interior of the pyramid is on the north side, and exits on the east. There are plazas, stairways and terraces on the south and west sides, and a switch-back path leads up to the Christian church on the west side of the mound.
The Great Plaza, also called the Patio de los Altares, is located along the base of the broad south
side of pyramid. It is a large rectangular space, about 200 by 300 meters, which runs parallel to
the structure, and forms the main approach and ceremonial stairway of the Great Pyramid.
The plaza is surrounded by several layers of platforms and subsidiary structures of varying styles,
as well as a number of stelae and stone monuments. There are also two diagonal stairways, which rise
to the north-east and north-west from the corners of the plaza, that are unique to Cholula.
Many of the older terraces are constructed in the typical talud-tablero style of Teotihuacan. Several
standing stone slabs around the plaza are carved in the interlocking scroll style of Veracruz. And
at the south end of the plaza there is an Aztec style ceremonial altar and skull rack in a pit.
Elaborate base and foundation work had to be undertaken, in order to adequately shed and drain water
from the large open space of the Great Plaza, and the successive layers of construction on the
great pyramid mound and terraces surrounding it. Most of the structures would have been coated with
layers of colored plaster originally.
Cholula is now a town of about 40.000 people, laid out on a rectangular grid conforming with the orientation of the Great Pyramid. It is a quiet, pleasant town, that is known for it's many churches. Cortez vowed to build one for each day of the year, or one on top of every pagan temple. These are some of the earliest Christian churches in the New World, and they feature colored tile facades, and exuberantly decorated interiors in a mixture of Baroque, Churrigueresque and Native Indian styles. The interior of the church of Santa Maria Tonantzintla is a striking example, where every piece of wall, vault and ceiling is covered with crowds of brightly colored stucco birds, figures, flowers and saints, biblical scenes in the free-flowing style and brilliant color of the native artists.
There are a number of early Colonial churches in the Valley of Puebla and around Cholula. Several of the earliest are in the little village of Tonantzintla, 5 kilometers west of Cholula and under the shadow of the two great volcanoes, Popocatepetl and Itzauatl..
In order to expose and explore some of the earlier phases of construction inside the Great Pyramid,
archaeologists have employed trench, or, in this case, tunnel excavations, creating about eight
kilometers of passages underneath the enormous structure. None of this is labeled however, and it is
difficult to view and understand the various phases.
The site model in the museum is cut away from east to west, showing successive layers of construction
on the south facade of the Great Pyramid, the main approach from the Great Plaza, with it's formal
and symetrical stairways and stepped terraces.
