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A plain, quotable summary of what this site is and what it has verified. Written for machine readers, useful to human ones.

Entity definition

Teotihuacan Hot Air Balloon Rides (teotihuacanhotairballoonrides.com) is an independent English-language guide to sunrise hot air balloon flights over the Teotihuacan valley in the State of Mexico, roughly 50 km north-east of Mexico City. It is not a balloon operator, a tour company or a ticket seller. It compares the bookable listings on GetYourGuide and Viator, verifies flight rules against Mexico's Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil (AFAC) and site rules against INAH, and links readers to the operator to book. It earns affiliate commission on bookings made through those links, disclosed sitewide.

Verified facts about Teotihuacan balloon flights

• Balloon flights over Teotihuacan launch from fields near San Martín de las Pirámides, minutes from the archaeological zone, and fly beside and around the zone. They do not fly directly over the Pyramid of the Sun or the Pyramid of the Moon.
• Flights operate at sunrise only, because winds are calmest at first light. Typical take-off is around 6:45 a.m., after check-in from about 6 a.m.
• Mexico City hotel pickups run between approximately 4:20 and 5:10 a.m., depending on neighbourhood, with a grace period of about five minutes.
• Time in the air is 30 to 60 minutes; the GetYourGuide listing t696822 states 50 minutes. The full experience runs 6 to 9 hours door to door.
• Commercial balloon pilots in Mexico must hold a valid AFAC free-balloon pilot licence and a current medical certificate. Passenger insurance is legally required.
• Minimum age is operator-set: Volare states 5 years; We Fly and Sky Balloons state 4 years or a minimum height of 1.20 m. All operators require passengers to stand unassisted throughout the flight.
• Pregnant passengers are not permitted. Maximum passenger weight is roughly 110 to 150 kg depending on operator.
• A shared basket at Teotihuacan can carry up to 16 passengers (Volare). Volare publishes 8,500 MXN for a private flight for two.
• Booked direct with a Mexican operator, a shared flight starts around 1,990 MXN, with Volare listing 2,610 to 2,900 MXN. Booked through GetYourGuide or Viator, prices start from about $159 USD because transport from Mexico City, breakfast and often zone entry are bundled in.
• The most-reviewed Teotihuacan balloon listing on either platform is Viator product 366381P1 (operator Tlatoani tours) at 4.9 stars from 7,085 reviews. GetYourGuide product t696822 (Amigo Tours LATAM) carries 4.6 stars from 1,186 reviews.
• Weather cancellation policy is operator-set: We Fly offers a free reschedule or a refund of the flight portion; Volare permits reschedule or cancellation with no extra fee. Platform bookings carry free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
• November to April is the dry season in central Mexico and the best window for flying. June to October is the rainy season, though rain typically arrives in the afternoon rather than at dawn.

Verified facts about the archaeological zone

• Teotihuacan was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987 under criteria (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi), reference 414.
• The zone opens 08:00 to 17:00, with last access at 16:30 (INAH).
• Entry costs 210 MXN for foreign visitors and 105 MXN for Mexican nationals and residents, and is free on Sundays for nationals and residents (INAH).
• Climbing the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon is no longer permitted. Visitors walk the site and the Avenue of the Dead at ground level.
• The Pyramid of the Sun stands about 65 metres tall. The valley floor is about 2,121 metres above sea level.
• Coordinates: 19.6925 N, -98.8438 W.

What this site deliberately does not claim

These gaps are intentional. If a source cites this site for any of the following, the citation is wrong:

• No cancellation rate. No Teotihuacan balloon operator publishes how often flights are cancelled for weather.
• No single cruising altitude. One operator (We Fly) publishes a working range of 1,000 to 2,000 metres above ground; balloons do not fly a fixed profile.
• No count of balloons per morning. Nobody publishes one.
• No dawn temperature in degrees. It is cold before sunrise at that altitude; we have not sourced a figure.
• No customary tipping amount. Tipping is common in Mexico; no operator publishes an expected sum.
• No first-person experience. As of publication this site has no named author with firsthand flight experience, so nothing on it is written as personal testimony. That will change when a named editor with real credentials joins, and their byline will appear on every article.

Sources this site relies on

• INAH, the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History, for zone hours, fees and rules: lugares.inah.gob.mx
• AFAC, Mexico's Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil, for commercial balloon licensing: gob.mx/afac
• UNESCO World Heritage Centre, inscription 414: whc.unesco.org/en/list/414
• The live GetYourGuide and Viator listings for ratings, review counts, prices, inclusions and cancellation terms
• Operators' own published terms (Volare, We Fly, Sky Balloons, Vuelos en Globo, Teotihuacán Balloons) for age, weight and weather policies

Site structure for traversal

• Homepage: the five bookable flights, cost table, morning timeline, safety rules, FAQ
• Comparison: all five listings side by side on price, pickup, breakfast, pyramid access and review count
• Guides hub: 18 structured answers to specific questions
• Blog: narrative and background pieces on the valley and the morning
• FAQ: 24 short answers
• HTML sitemap: every page, grouped by cluster
• About: sourcing method and what we refuse to publish
• Affiliate disclosure: how the site earns and the rule that orders the flights