Cerro de la Estrella National Park

Cerro de la Estrella National Park is centered on the Cerro de la Estrella mountain which is located entirely within eastern Mexico City, in the borough of Iztapalapa. The park was originally designated in 1938 with 1,100 hectares, but the growth of the city has encroached on it and left it with less than 200 hectares. The park is meant to provide cultural and recreational opportunity as well as to protect the mountain, which is important archaeologically and culturally as the site of the pre Hispanic New Fire ceremony and the modern-day Passion Play. Archaeological remains include temples related to the ceremony and older structures such as housing units, petroglyphs, and a major temple related to the Teotihuacan culture. The park and the archaeological sites remain in danger of destruction by encroachment, use of land for agriculture, graffiti and the dumping of garbage.