Mexico - Cholula

Come on, admit it. When you hear "the largest pyramid in the world," you immediately think of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the pharaohs, camels, and Indiana Jones.

Well, think again! The real champion is hidden in Cholula, Mexico, disguised as a hill with a church perched on top, as if to say, "Nothing to see here, move along."

Imagine the scene. In 1519, Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conquistador, lands, massacres just about everyone, burns the local temples, and, to top it all off, has a church built on the summit of what he takes to be a simple hill overlooking the town.

"There you go, we plant the cross, we're the bosses!" Except… beneath the grass, the trees, and centuries of vegetation lies the mega-pyramid of Cholula: 450 meters on each side, 66 meters high, and with a volume twice that of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Roughly the equivalent of nine stacked Olympic swimming pools.

The best part? It's made of adobe, sun-dried mud bricks. In a dry climate, it lasts forever. In humid Mexico? It becomes the perfect playground for jungle. As a result, the pyramid became covered in earth and greenery, to the point that even the locals called it "the artificial mountain."

Built from the 3rd century BC, enlarged six times like a giant Russian doll, dedicated to Quetzalcoatl (the feathered serpent), it has seen Toltecs, Mayans, Aztecs…

Credit: themaritimeexplorer.ca

Today, there are 8 km of tunnels dug in the 20th century by archaeologists. Unfortunately, they are currently closed to the public.

The church still stands peacefully up there, and the pyramid-shaped hill happily welcomes tourists—the new invasion, but with selfies instead of swords.

Moral of the story: the next time someone tries to sell you on Egypt as the pinnacle of pyramids, smile politely and reply: "Cute... but have you seen the Mexican version that pretended to be a hill for 500 years?" And there you have it.

And the volcanoes...

As a bonus, Cholula is located right next to three large volcanoes, including Popocatépetl, which the locals call "Don Goyo." This volcano smokes like a chain smoker, never stopping!

According to Aztec legend, he was a warrior in love with Princess Iztaccíhuatl, the neighboring volcano. She died of grief after learning the (false) news of his death, and he watches over his body, transformed into a sleeping mountain. As a result, she sleeps peacefully under the snow that covers her summit, while he throws a tantrum at the slightest provocation, erupting in huge plumes of ash—eternal love, fireworks style!

credit: inside-mexico.com et exploracdmx.com

Even though it is located 70 km from Mexico City, Popo regularly covers the city in ash like a bad neighbor who is having a BBQ with way too much smoke.

credit: Lesoir.be, eruption of the Popocatépetl in 2023

And he continues his little tantrums, just to remind us that he's still angry after 2000 years.

And there you have it, Popo proves that love can move mountains… or blow one up.

Credit: J.J. Romey, Church of Our Lady of Remedies, located on the pyramid in front of Popocatépetl.

• Popocatépetl, one of Mexico's most active volcanoes, has experienced more than 15 major eruptions since 1519.

• Notable historical eruptions occurred in 1363, 1519-1528, 1663-1665, 1697, and in the 20th century (1917, 1947).

• Mass evacuations were ordered in 1994 and 2000, with the 2000 eruption being the largest in 1,200 years.

• Since 2012, activity has intensified with frequent emissions of ash, lava, and incandescent fragments (2013, 2016, 2019-2020).

• In 2023-2024, eruptions caused school and airport closures, as well as flight cancellations.

• To date, activity continues with daily emissions of gas, steam, and ash. The alert level remains at Yellow Phase 2, an intermediate alert indicating increased activity compared to normal, with signs such as emissions of steam, gas, and sometimes ash. The public is advised to stay away from the crater (often within 12 km). This level involves heightened monitoring, access restrictions, and preparations for a possible increase in activity.