Chignahuapan
Chignahuapan
Plans for every trip
How much time do you have, and who is coming? Pick your plan: every stop comes with its time, how far you walk or drive to get there, a tip and its place on the map.
All on foot and unhurried, within a four-block radius. If you only have an afternoon, this is Chignahuapan in concentrated form.
10:001 h
Open 24 h
Start where the town starts: a wooden bandstand, arcades and stalls of sweets and fruit liqueurs.
Tip The bandstand dates from 1871. Try the esquites from the arcade before moving on.
2 min on foot90 m
11:0020 min
Open daily
The indigenous baroque façade is right on the plaza, and it is the oldest thing you will see today.
Tip Inside, look for the brown-skinned cherubs on the columns.
4 min on foot270 m
11:3045 min
Open daily
If you can only enter one church, make it this one: the Basilica’s Virgin is carved entirely from wood.
Tip Stand in the middle of the nave: the scale makes no sense from the door.
1 min on foot50 m
12:301 h
10:00 to 19:00
In the arcades and along the ornament corridor there are workshops selling directly.
Tip Ask to see the glass blowing: that process is the real show.
It works just the same: the ornament corridor is open from 10:00 to 19:00 and the plaza at all hours.
The waterfalls and hot springs are outside town and need half a day each. Three hours is not enough.
A full day is enough for the centre and one trip out into nature, but not both. Here we choose the lagoon, which is the town’s signature view.
7:002 h
Waterfront open 24 h
This is why you get up early: the mist over the water is only there at that hour, and you can see it from the waterfront promenade, open at all hours.
Tip Bring a sweater, it really is cold. Boat rides start later, from 10:00.
20 min on foot1.3 km
9:301 h 30 min
Head down to the centre for breakfast and walk the plaza, the bandstand, the Parish church and the Basilica. It is all walkable, within four blocks.
Tip The arcade stalls sell bread, esquites and fruit liqueurs.
10 min by car2.6 km
11:302 h
Castillo: daily, 8:00 to 19:00
The ornament corridor and the Castillo de la Esfera. Watching the glass being blown takes fifteen minutes and completely changes what you think you are buying.
Tip In season (November and December) there are lines: on a weekday morning you will see the glass blown live.
10 min by car1.9 km
14:001 h 30 min
Pit-roasted barbacoa is the main event here, and it is a weekend thing: if it is Sunday, it runs out early. Mountain trout is farmed in town and you can get it any day.
Tip At the fish farm you can catch your own trout and eat it freshly cooked.
15 min by car4 km
16:002 h 30 min
Open daily
The perfect end to a day of walking: volcanic hot water in the ravine.
Tip On weekdays there are far fewer people. Bring a swimsuit and towel.
The Quetzalapan Waterfalls. Going down and back up the steps takes two or three hours, and squeezing them into this day would cost you the hot springs.
With a night in between, everything fits: the centre, the lagoon, the waterfalls and the hot springs. And you see the town at night, which is when it lights up.
10:002 h 30 min
Drop your bags and walk the centre unhurried: plaza, Parish church, Basilica, arcades and the Mirador al Mictlán, one of the town’s most unusual visits.
Tip The Mirador al Mictlán is open Monday to Friday 10:00 to 19:00, and Saturday and Sunday 8:00 to 20:00.
25 min by car8 km
13:303 h
Daily, 9:00 to 18:00
Now they fit: the canyon, the hanging bridge, the zip line and the 365 steps.
Tip Non-slip shoes, non-negotiable if it has rained.
25 min by car8 km
19:301 h 30 min
Dinner in the centre and a walk through the arcades at night. In ornament season the streets are covered in lights; the rest of the year, the lit bandstand still makes the walk worth it.
Tip The Alley of Eternal Christmas, on the zócalo, lights up at dusk.
7:001 h 30 min
Open 24 h
It is worth setting the alarm: mist over the water, the empty boardwalk and the best photo of the trip.
Tip Bring a jacket: at 2,290 meters, mornings are cold. Then, breakfast in town.
15 min on foot1.2 km
11:002 h
10:00 to 19:00
Time to buy, now that you know how what you are taking home is made.
Tip Ask for the glass-blowing demonstration if you did not see it yesterday.
15 min by car5 km
14:002 h 30 min
Open daily
Two days of walking are paid off here. It is the last stop before hitting the road, and the one that makes the drive back feel short.
Tip On weekends arrive early: that is when it is busiest.
In late October the Festival of Light and Life changes the whole plan: book lodging weeks ahead and keep Saturday night free for the lagoon.
A boat ride, blown glass, a giant ornament for the photo, trout and a pool. Short stops, five- to fifteen-minute drives and the plaza lights to finish.
10:0040 min
From 10:00
Boats leave the jetty from 10:00 and the ride lasts about 40 minutes. The forest reflected in the water is the show.
Tip Bring sweaters: out on the water, at 2,290 meters, mornings are cold.
5 min by car1.4 km
11:0045 min
Daily, 8:00 to 19:00
At the Castillo de la Esfera they watch glass being blown up close. Every ornament is blown, silvered, painted and decorated by hand.
Tip Ask for the glass-blowing demonstration: that process is the real show.
10 min by car2.1 km
12:0015 min
Open 24 h
The monumental ornament welcomes you to town with the words Chignahuapan Pueblo Mágico. It is the must-have photo of the visit.
Tip It looks even better lit up at night.
5 min by car1.1 km
12:301 h 30 min
The town’s trout are farmed at the fish farm: they can catch their own and eat it freshly cooked.
Tip That way lunch is part of the outing, not just another stop.
15 min by car4 km
14:302 h 30 min
Open daily
The hot springs resort has pools of natural warm water, set deep in the ravine.
Tip Bring swimsuits and towels. There are fewer people on weekdays.
15 min by car5 km
17:301 h
Lights up at dusk
Esquites and bread from the arcade stalls and, at dusk, the Alley of Eternal Christmas lights up: half a million lights and 10,000 ornaments.
Tip Wooden ornaments with written wishes hang among the lights: go and find one.
There are public restrooms by the lagoon and one block from the plaza, on Calle Hidalgo.
The Quetzalapan Waterfalls: 365 steps down and the same back up. With small children, better saved for another trip.
Hike up a hill, cross the Quetzalapan canyon through the air and finish on an RZR in the sierra. You will need a car between stops.
You leave from the plaza, by the bandstand
15 min by car6 km
8:001 h 30 min
A red-earth hill with a panoramic view of the town and the sierra, and routes for hiking and cycling.
Tip Bring hiking shoes and water.
10 min by car2.9 km
10:003 h 30 min
Daily, 9:00 to 18:00
A zip line over the canyon, a hanging bridge, a high wire about 4 meters above the river, rappelling, climbing and archery. And the 365 steps down to the pool.
Tip Ask at the entrance which activities are running on the day of your visit. By the river there are palapas and grills, so you can eat right there.
Your operator sets the meeting point
15:002 to 4 h
By reservation
Off-road rides on dirt tracks, through rivers and the sierra forest, out to viewpoints you cannot see from the road.
Tip Book a day ahead.
When it rains, the steps and the red mud at Quetzalapan get slippery.
Trails through pine forest with views over the whole valley. Bring warm clothes: the wind is strong.
30 min by car from the plaza
See on the map · Chignahuapan Volcano
A high-mountain meadow among fir forests, a starting point for hiking. Tlaxco–Chignahuapan road, km 38.5.
50 min by car from the plaza
See on the map · Llano del Conejo
Hiking routes and viewpoints over the town and the sierra. Bring water and hiking shoes.
25 min by car from the plaza
See on the map · Cerro el QuexnolFrom October 30 to November 2 the whole town revolves around the lagoon. Here is how to enjoy it without rushing: by day, the streets; by night, the show.
In the afternoon
Start at the main square, by the bandstand: the monumental offering of candles and fruit. It is the only stop of the plan downtown; the rest happens along Lerdo street and at the lagoon.
Tip If your weekend includes November 1, come back that night: that is when it is lit.
5 min on foot350 m
At dusk
From the main square walk down Lerdo street toward the Calzada de las Almas: there the street is covered with carpets of dyed sawdust, marigolds and seeds that last a single day.
Tip Seeing them costs nothing.
4 min on foot270 m
At nightfall
Along the same Lerdo street, down the Calzada de las Almas, the town walks to the lagoon carrying torches.
Tip Find a spot along the route and walk with the crowd down to the water.
5 min on foot520 m
Night
The floating pyramid lights up and the performance travels through the nine levels of Mictlán.
Tip It requires a ticket and each night is sold separately: buy it before you travel.
In the morning
One or the other, not both: after a long night, the warm water in the ravine or the waterfall canyon. Head back to town for lunch.
On festival nights the town center closes to traffic. Arrive early, leave your car in one of the town’s parking lots and get around on foot: everything is close by. Where to stay
Buy the ticket for your night and book lodging the same day: it is the busiest weekend of the year. Bring a jacket: at 2,290 meters, October nights are cold.
Travel times are approximate, worked out from the map coordinates with an allowance for streets and roads. Opening hours are those published by each place; the time for each stop is a suggestion.
Tour guides and tour operators listed in the National Tourism Registry (RNT) of Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism, with a valid registration. Each profile shows their RNT number and its expiry date, so you know who you are exploring with.
There are several rides for seeing the town from your seat. They leave from the centre, and many people offer them right there. They are a comfortable way to get your bearings without tiring yourself out, especially with children or older relatives, or on your first visit.
Each ride is different: before getting on, ask which places it includes, how long it lasts and whether it makes stops.
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The name, the river of the underworld, the ornament and the petrified mushroom. The stories that explain what you have just walked through.
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