The Great Pyramid of Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

© mauritius images GmbH/Alam

Info. The Great Pyramid of Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

Our image might look like a church on top of a grassy hill. But hiding under the church and those trees is an ancient secret uncovered just a century ago: the largest pyramid by volume in the world. The Great Pyramid of Cholula in Puebla, Mexico, was originally built over 2,300 years ago. It has a base of 450 by 450 metres, which is four times larger than the Great Pyramid of Giza. But this gigantic structure remained hidden for a long time. When Hernán Cortés and his Spanish army conquered Cholula in 1519, they killed 10% of the city's population and burned down many temples. But they never touched the pyramid because they didn't find it, and instead they built a church on top. In the early 1900s, the pyramid was discovered, and it can now be explored via a series of tunnels.