Cerro de la Estrella National Park

The park and the archaeological sites remain in danger of destruction by encroachment, use of land for agriculture, graffiti and the dumping of garbage.

[4] Most of the administration of the park falls under the Secretaría de Agricultura y Recursos Hidráulicos, with the objectives being a recreational and cultural zone for the borough to increase tourism.

[4] Of all the parks and green spaces in the city, it is the most abused with seasonal farming, illegal human settlements, areas used for grazing, the extraction of minerals, the dumping of garbage and even a cemetery.

The trees are mostly Eucalyptus, Pinus patula pine, and some white cedar, all planted in reforestation projects.

[5] The Passion Play attracts thousands of visitors each year with its highlight being the reenactment of the Crucifixion at a place called Calvario but is really the base of a Teotihuacan era pyramid.

However, the growth of Mexico City has encroached on the park, despite various attempts to protect it, reducing its size by about ninety percent and stripping away all of its wild vegetation.

[1] The area of the park was inhabited from at least the mid Pre Classic period, to the Spanish conquest and for the most part, the present day.

[9] During the pre-Columbian period, the Cerro de la Estrella was called Huizachtecatl, or Sacred Mountain, the site of the New Fire ceremony performed once every 52 years.

Excavations have found the Temple of the New Fire, the Sanctuary, the Villa Estrellas, 144 caves, the remains of walls and evidence of terracing.

[9] Ceramic and stone sculpture materials were discovered in the west side of Huizachtecatl that apparently was made within the 100 to 500 years CE; these resemble other similar pieces found in Zacatenco, north of Mexico City.

The constructions here were built between the year 100 and 650 AD and are located in the north side, the remains consist of foundations and walls of palaces that show Teotihuacán influence.

[1][9] In 2003, specialists from the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) worked to document petroglyphs found in various areas of the park, registering 210 in eleven groups, but they believe there are still more.

[1][2] This is due to illegal settlements and other encroachment onto the land, which even includes the Panteón Civil San Nicolás Tolentino cemetery in the original designated area.

[12] Another danger to the land is the appropriation of it for use for growing crops and as pasture, with fires lit in the area to clear space.