When people think of the world’s biggest pyramid, they picture Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza—an iconic structure that has stood for over 4,500 years. But halfway across the world, buried under layers of earth and time, stands a monument even larger.
It’s called the Great Pyramid of Cholula, and most people have never heard of it.
Located in the Mexican state of Puebla, just outside the city of Cholula, this ancient structure dwarfs Giza—not in height, but in total volume. According to the Guinness Book of Records, it’s the largest pyramid ever built anywhere on Earth, and in fact, the largest monument of any kind by volume.
Bigger than Giza, built over centuries
The Great Pyramid of Cholula—known in Nahuatl as Tlachihualtepetl, or “man-made mountain”—has a base measuring 450 by 450 meters. That makes it four times larger at its base than the Pyramid of Giza and gives it nearly twice the volume.
It reaches a height of about 65 meters, which is far shorter than Giza’s 139 meters. But its bulk is unmatched: the total volume is estimated at 4.5 million cubic meters, compared to Giza’s 2.5 million.
What makes the pyramid even more fascinating is how it was built. Unlike Giza, which was constructed during the reign of a single pharaoh, Cholula grew over time. Experts believe it was built in stages by multiple civilizations across centuries—possibly between 300 BCE and 900 CE.
It’s not a single pyramid, but a series of structures layered on top of one another. Archaeologists have identified at least six different pyramid layers, each constructed by a new generation building over the last.
A temple to Quetzalcoatl, buried by time and invasion
Dedicated to the Mesoamerican god Quetzalcoatl, the pyramid likely served as both a religious center and ceremonial site. At its peak, Cholula may have rivaled the great city of Teotihuacan in significance.
But history took a sharp turn in 1519 when Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés marched into Cholula. In a single hour, thousands of Indigenous people were massacred. The city’s temples were destroyed—except for one. The Great Pyramid of Cholula, covered in earth and vegetation, looked like a hill. The Spanish didn’t realize it was man-made.
Instead of tearing it down, they built a church right on top—the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, which still stands there today.
That’s one of the reasons the pyramid survived. It was hidden in plain sight for centuries.
Inside the mountain: tunnels and discoveries
In 1931, local researchers began digging into the hill to prove what many had long suspected: this wasn’t a natural formation. As they excavated, they uncovered tunnels, altars, stairways, walls, and ancient offerings. More than eight kilometers of tunnels have been carved through the pyramid, revealing layers of construction and evidence of ritual activity.
Inside, archaeologists found human remains, ceremonial objects, and even remnants of ancient flooring. Some of the finds date back to around 900 CE, showing the pyramid was used long after its earliest construction.
Despite decades of excavation, much of the pyramid remains unexcavated—still buried under layers of soil, grass, and history.
The largest pyramid most people never learn about
The Great Pyramid of Cholula is a strange paradox. It’s the biggest pyramid in the world—bigger even than the most famous monument in Egypt—and yet it remains relatively unknown outside of Mesoamerican studies.
Part of that comes down to appearance. It doesn’t look like a traditional pyramid anymore. Covered in vegetation and crowned by a Spanish church, it blends into the surrounding landscape. But beneath the surface lies the largest and most complex pyramid ever built by human hands.
And while the Giza pyramids will always be the face of ancient architecture, Cholula is the buried giant—quiet, massive, and still holding secrets beneath its surface.
