Is Cholula Mexico Worth Visiting? (Yes & No, Depending On Your Interests)

Planning A Trip To Central Mexico And Wondering If It’s Worth Visiting The Pyramid Town Of Cholula?

I visited Mexico City for the first time over a decade ago and I loved it so much that I’ve continued to return, each time exploring more new nearby areas around the city, like Cholula. Although it’s not the most popular foreign tourist destination in Mexico, I think Cholula is a really cool place worth visiting if you have certain interests, but here are some pros and cons to help you decide if it’s worth adding to your next Mexico trip.

🛕 Is Cholula, Mexico Worth Visiting?

I loved doing a day trip here from CDMX.

Up to this point I’ve only visited Cholula on a day trip from Mexico City (which is really easy to do), but I loved spending the day here because I love history and the kinds of places less foreigners visit.

But here are the pros and cons for visiting Cholula so you can decide for yourself if it’s worth adding to your next Mexico trip:

Why Cholula, Mexico Is Worth Visiting

I think Cholula is definitely a city worth visiting in Mexico for any history lovers.

Although I really enjoyed my time in Cholula, here are a few actual reasons why I think this town is worth visiting (mostly all related to the pyramid):

History – the history here in Cholula is just as fascinating as the history in other parts of Mexico, and I actually think it’s more fascinating because it’s mysterious, underrated, and the pyramid here is the largest in the world by volume

Historical Experience – although there are a few other pyramids you can check out in Mexico (and I think you should, they’re all really interesting), Cholula is my favorite because not only can you “climb” up to the top of the pyramid (where the church now sits), but you can actually go inside the pyramid (pictured above)

Location – despite not being visited by as many foreign tourists, Cholula is actually a pretty easy place to reach from the major destination of Mexico City, which you can do on tours or on your own

Less Tourism – one thing I loved about visiting Cholula and the pyramid was that it gets so much less tourism from foreigners; compared to Chichen Itza’s 2+ million and Teotihuacan’s 4+ million visitors per year, Cholula only gets about 200,000 per year

Great View – while Puebla is the main city to see the active Popocatépetl volcano from, Cholula is technically a little closer to the volcano so on a clear day, you can get a great view of the volcano from the elevated site on top of the pyramid (pictured below)

➡️ If you love history and natural attractions as much as I do, then I think Cholula is definitely worth adding to your trip just to see the pyramid and the distant volcano.

Why It Might Not Be Worth Visiting

It might not be worth visiting if you're not that into history.

While I think Cholula is worth adding to your Central Mexico trip if you love history, it might not be worth adding to your itinerary because:

Location – although I think it’s easy to visit from the nearby popular Mexico City destination, it’s not the most traveled foreigner destination in Mexico and you do have to make an almost three hour trek to get here

Attractions – other than the pyramid in Cholula, there isn’t a lot of other things to do here; Puebla is nearby with a few interesting sites and there are some interesting hiking opportunities close by, but Cholula itself doesn’t have much else

Spanish – since Cholula isn’t as popular of a destination for foreigners, Spanish is a lot more helpful here; but there are guided tours available so that might make things easier

➡️ If you don’t think seeing an old pyramid, an active volcano, or a small city (Puebla) sound interesting or worth three hours on the road, then Cholula probably won’t be worth adding to your trip.

📆 How Many Days Do You Need In Cholula?

I don't think you need much time in Cholula, Mexico since there isn't much else other then the pyramid.

Since the pyramid is the main draw for Cholula, I don’t think you need more than a day in this town, so it’s a really easy destination to visit on a day trip from Mexico City (especially on a guided tour).

If you’d like to further explore this part of Mexico, like the city of Puebla, hiking the nearby volcano, or a few other day trip options, then a few more days (three to four) would be better.

🔁 Sum Up: Is Cholula, Mexico Worth Visiting?

If you love history and want to go further into Mexico where less foreign tourists go, then I think Cholula is definitely worth visiting, and if you have limited time, it is super easy to visit on a day trip from Mexico City. Although there isn’t much else to do in Cholula other than the pyramid, I think the surrounding area has some interesting activities (like hiking a dormant volcano that’s nearby an active one) so it could be worth a few extra days.