Last Updated on: 29th September 2024, 10:37 am
Guachimontones, reachable as a day trip from Guadalajara, is the state of Jalisco’s flagship archaeological site. It’s most known for its unique round pyramid (itself known as a ‘guachimontón’), of which there are actually several of various sizes.
The site was the former capital of a largely forgotten Mesoamerican civilization we now call the Teuchitlán Culture, named after the nearby town. Guachimontones also happens to be one of Mexico’s older archaeological sites, as it was largely inhabited from 300 BC to 500 AD. The Teuchitlán Culture would largely disappear from around that point, but Guachimontones would later be reoccupied and inhabited for centuries.
In its heyday, Guachimontones thrived due to controlling the local obsidian trade as well as creating various products out of agave, which is abundant in the Tequila Valley area. (This same agave, of course, would later be used to create tequila.)
But despite having been such a thriving city in its prime, and currently the most important ruins near Guadalajara, the archaeological site of Guachimontones is surprisingly small. Aside from its main round pyramid (which, despite what many claim, is not the only circular pyramid in Mexico), there’s not a whole lot to see.
Sadly, much of the original site has been lost, as local farmers were using the land up until modern times. Roads were also constructed through the ruins, and it was subject to heavy looting. But since being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s finally being properly cared for.
First documented by English archaeologist and explorer Adela Breton in 1890, much of her work remained unpublished and the site was largely forgotten. Archaeologist Phil Weigand then thoroughly mapped the site in 1974 and would continue studying it for decades.
Despite its small size, archaeology enthusiasts won’t want to miss a visit here during their time in the region. Be sure to check the very end of the article for details on reaching Guachimontones from Guadalajara in addition to where to stay in Mexico’s second city.
Visiting Guachimontones
If you’re visiting Guachimontones by public transport (check below for details), you’ll have to walk to the ruins from the town of Teuchitlán, with the walk to the ticket gate taking about 30 minutes.
As of 2024, the site is open from Tuesday to Sunday and costs $75 MXN to enter (bafflingly, this is 40 pesos higher than it was in 2023).
Past the ticket gate, you’ll see the museum, but it would be wise to start with the ruins to beat the crowds. Those coming by car typically drive straight from the ticket gate to the parking lot near the main round pyramid.
But if you walk up, you’ll get to see several additional structures that most visitors miss.
The Lower Ruins
As you make your way up the hill, you’ll soon pass a small ball court. Despite the round pyramids of Guachimontones being so unique, its inhabitants still built ball courts and played the ritualistic ball game like every other Mesoamerican city.
This one is 81 m long and shaped like an ‘I’ – a fairly common style throughout Mexico. And it’s believed to have been constructed as early as 100 BC.
Just nearby, meanwhile, are a group of residential structures which are considered to be among the first things built at Guachimontones, even predating the ball court.
Two rectangular altars would later be added several centuries after by a group who later occupied the site. Archaeologists don’t seem to know much about these later inhabitants, but people would remain here up until the Spanish conquest.
Further up the hill, you’ll find the ‘Círculo de Muertos,’ or the Circle of Death. This is the first of several major ‘circles’ at the site. The guachimontones are not the circles themselves but were built in the center of larger circular platforms.
And as seen here, not every circle contains a round pyramid, with this one just containing a smaller circular platform in its center. It contained graves underneath – both deep underground in the form of shaft tombs, as well as some closer to the surface.
Interestingly, the site’s later occupants would use the Círculo de Muertos for the same purpose.
La Iguana (The Round Pyramid)
Making your way up the hill and reaching the main site, it won’t be long before you encounter Guachimontones’ most iconic structure: the round pyramid that archaeologists have nicknamed ‘La Iguana.’
While easily the most impressive and best-preserved structure at the site, it’s actually only the second-largest circular mound here – but more on that later.
La Iguana likely underwent five construction stages between 350 BC-115 AD. Originally built with just five tiers, it was gradually increased to its current seventeen. But as you can see, each tier is quite flat and pancake-like.
Its diameter gradually expanded as well, and it now stretches out to 99 meters.
The central round pyramid is surrounded by ten rectangular altars which originally would’ve hosted temples made of perishable materials. And all the platforms were built atop a slightly raised circular platform called a banquette.
All of this was built atop a larger ‘circle,’ with this area officially being known as Circle 2.
Fascinatingly, some archaeologists believe that in La Iguana’s center once stood a tall post which would’ve been used in an early version of the ‘voladores’ ritual. This ritual has survived in Mexico to the present day, especially on the Gulf Coast, and you can learn more about it in our guide to El Tajín.
The design of La Iguana and similar structures is likely rooted in early burial mounds. But La Iguana contains no burials within. Nevertheless, this trend is far from unique among ancient architecture.
For example, the Egyptian pyramids evolved from simpler tomb structures called mastabas. And the stupas of ancient Indian temples were originally built to mimic burial mounds before gradually becoming taller and more narrow.
Over time, stupas would then start to be identified with Mt. Meru, the mythical home of the gods. And here at Guachimontones, we can clearly see that La Iguana was meant to symbolize a mountain.
Standing at a certain angle, the circular pyramid almost perfectly fills the outline of the mountain in the distance behind it!
El Azquelito & Surroundings
Just south of La Iguana is another guachimontón called El Azquelito. With only four tiers and a diameter of 70 m, it would be hard to call it a proper pyramid.
Nevertheless, like La Iguana, it’s also surrounded by rectangular temple platforms – in this case eight. But one of these platforms is actually shared with La Iguana.
What results is the interlinking of two circles. But why? While we don’t know for sure, it may have had an astronomical significance, or perhaps it was meant to represent the complex Mesoamerican calendar system.
Notably, El Azquelito was built well after La Iguana. It was probably constructed in a single stage right at the end of Guachimontones’ Teuchitlán era.
To the south and west of El Azquelito are additional areas of interest. One of them is a sacred area where some of the city’s most important rituals would’ve been carried out.
As with the burial site further down the hill, the site’s post-Teuchitlán occupants used it for burials as well. Four shaft tombs were discovered here – three with remains of humans and one with the remains of a dog.
While no visible structures exist, it’s from around here that you can get a great view of the modern town of Teuchitlán and La Vega Lake below.
Also nearby was a group of residential structures, though that area now seems to be overgrown.
La Gran Plaza
Located to the east of La Iguana and to the south of El Gran Guachi is the space that served as the city’s main plaza. It was likely used as a marketplace as evidenced by a cache of ceramics discovered here.
But during certain holidays, the space also probably hosted public rituals and dances.
El Gran Guachi
As mentioned above, La Iguana is not the largest round pyramid at Guachimontones. That honor goes to the structure known as El Gran Guachi, which has a diameter of 120 meters.
It also may be taller than La Iguana. But as you can immediately tell, it’s unexcavated and completely covered in overgrowth. And it’s not entirely clear why archaeologists have yet to uncover this structure.
El Gran Guachi was surrounded by twelve rectangular platforms, but not all of them have survived, as some were badly damaged by local farmers.
Walking around, you can spot remnants of more stone structures that remain off-limits to visitors.
This area, officially known as Circle 1, was likely constructed between 160-40 BC, making it not just the largest, but one of the oldest constructions in the city.
The Large Ball Court
In addition to the ball court further down the hill that we mentioned above, a larger I-shaped court can be found right in between La Iguana and El Gran Guachi. Stretching out to 110 m long, it was the largest court to be found in western Mexico during its heyday.
To its west, archaeologists discovered remains of human skulls, as the Mesoamerican ball game frequently concluded in a ritual sacrifice. Some believe the losers would be decapitated, while others believe it was actually the winners, with ritual sacrifice being a straight ticket to paradise.
Impressively, when seen from above, the main platforms of both La Iguana and El Gran Guachi are aligned with each other, forming an invisible line across the center of the ball court.
Interestingly, however, the ball court was first built to be 60 m long and thus had to be expanded to make this symmetrical alignment possible
Círculo de la Escalinata
At the end of the ball court, and in between La Iguana and El Gran Guachi, is Circle 4. Built as a relatively tall platform, it’s appropriately known as Círculo de la Escalinata, or Circle of the Staircase.
Unfortunately, it was badly damaged, as a local road originally ran right past it. Much of what we see today, therefore, is a reconstruction.
Oddly, there’s no circular guachimontón in the center of this circle. Instead, it’s just a square platform. But archaeologists believe that this was how the whole thing was built from the beginning.
In addition to the circles covered above, there are at least four more circles scattered throughout the site, though all of them appear to be off-limits at the time of writing.
The Viewpoint
If you’ve researched Guachimontones, you’ve likely encountered photos of the site that were taken from above. And there is indeed a hill near the ruins that visitors can visit for this impressive vantage point.
But despite what Google Maps tells you, there’s no direct path there from the main archaeological site.
To get there on foot, you’d have to walk back past the site entrance and continue until you reach the intersection. Then, you’d have to walk uphill via another road which should take an additional 25 minutes each way. Obviously, this is going to be much easier if you’ve come by car or via tour (more below).
While I ordinarily would’ve been up for this, it was already afternoon by the time of my visit. And from the direction of the overlook, the sun would’ve been directly behind the ruins – far from ideal lighting.
If you’re intent on getting shots from the overlook, be sure to arrive early and head up there before entering the main site area. But also be sure to check the updated opening hours before your visit.
While I only realized this after my trip, some distance past the hilltop overlook is another portion of ruins known as Loma Alta, home to additional yet smaller round pyramids. It’s unclear, though, if these are currently open to the public.
The Museum
Like many important archaeological sites in Mexico, Guachimontones features an on-site museum, which you’ll find near the ticket gate. But despite how large it looks from the outside, there’s only a small collection of artifacts on display.
Many of these were discovered within the various shaft tombs found throughout the site. If you’re interested in these findings, you can also see more items on display at the Regional Museum of Guadalajara.
Oddly – perhaps to make up for the lack of original artifacts – a significant chunk of the museum has been taken up by modern art pieces. One display of figurines appears to be authentic at first, but when you look closely, the figures in the middle are playing modern synthesizers!
Another display seems to be someone’s attempt to create a round pyramid out of vinyl records, while an illustration seems to depict UFOs surrounding La Iguana. This hopefully won’t give the Ancient Aliens series any ideas!
Additional Info
As mentioned above, Guachimontones can be visited as a day trip from Guadalajara. The easiest way to get there would be to take a tour like this one. Not only would you not need to worry about transport, but you’d also have the expertise of a local guide.
And of course, you could also get there via your own rental car.
But if neither of those options are a possibility, it’s fairly easy to reach the site by public bus, which is what I did.
First, you’ll need to head to Guadalajara’s Old Bus Station (Central Vieja). The bus you want to take will be bound for Teuchitlán, and two different companies run there: River and ATE.
Both companies run roughly every thirty minutes or so. And while one is supposed to be slightly more comfortable than the other, I would just go with whichever bus happens to be departing next.
Buses to and from Teuchitlán should be running from early morning until around 20:00 at night. But considering how the area around Central Vieja is rather sketchy, it would be wise to get back well before dark.
The one-way journey can take two to three hours depending on traffic. So even though Guachimontones is small and you don’t need a whole lot of time at the ruins, this is going to be a long day trip.
As mentioned above, upon arrival in Teuchitlán, you’ll have to walk thirty minutes or so before you reach the ruins. Or, you could simply hail a cab.
To get back to Guadalajara, return to the place where you got dropped off and simply wait for the next bus. (I went with the ATE company which has a clearly marked office, but I’m not sure if River has one as well.)
To easily reach Guadalajara’s main attractions, you’ll want to stay in Centro or the Colonia Americana districts.
The One Guadalajara Centro Historico and Hotel Frances are right in the heart of the historical district.
In Colonia Americana, consider Hotel Love It Consulado or VL Hotel Boutique, both of which are highly rated. Casa Sabina, meanwhile, seems like a good budget option.
For those doing longer stays, Airbnb will be your best choice.