The Paquimé archeological site is a testament that the north-south flow of goods and people has been crossing the “border” for millennia.
Though the site is hidden away in northwest Chihuahua state, the valley surrounding Paquimé once nurtured northern Mexico’s most important pre-Columbian culture.
A balance between art and nature, Tepoztlán’s sculpture garden
Eduardo Olbés began his path to becoming a successful sculptor in his native Philippines. In his youth, he worked as an apprentice to a cabinet maker in Manila, then found his way to Godard University in Vermont, where he studied wood carving.
Chihuahua’s capital is worth checking out as part of your Chepe trip
Although many start or end their “Chepe” experience in the Pueblo Mágico of Creel, I strongly recommend you add a day or two to your itinerary to take the train from the state capital of Chihuahua city.
Puerto Escondido: From sleepy backwater to new hip destination
With over 10,000 km of oceanfront, Mexico is still blessed with beaches that are (relatively) untouched. But more and more are being “discovered” by Mexicans and foreigners, bringing the perennial challenge of balancing conservation and economic development.
Historic buildings wait for attention after the 2017 earthquakes
President López Obrador has promised that all of the nearly 1,000 historical buildings in Mexico damaged in 2017 still awaiting final restoration will be finished by the end of this year. That will likely not happen and may not even be desirable to make it so.
Mexico’s unique sculpture gardens: where art meets nature
Though best known for its murals, Mexico has an important sculpture heritage and some interesting takes on how to exhibit three-dimensional art in nature. Sculpture gardens are not unique to Mexico, but for those of us from northern climes, the idea of enjoying nature and art in January is one reason why we love this country.
Durango to Chihuahua: A journey through Pancho Villa country
In 2023, two important things happened in a beautiful and little-known corner of northern Mexico – the 100th anniversary of Pancho Villa’s death and the naming of Parral, Chihuahua as a Pueblo Mágico.
With luck, the two will eventually lead to more interest in Villa’s “home range,” the rural lands between the cities of Durango and Chihuahua. The journey offers both stretches of unspoiled natural beauty, and a testament to some of Mexico’s most colorful and chaotic history.
Zacualpan, Morelos: a town that time almost forgot
Tucked away on the Morelos-Puebla border is a community that demonstrates that not all of Mexico’s magical towns are Pueblos Mágicos.
“Zacualpan is a little agricultural village with great tradition and culture. Very pretty too,” says 18-year old Daniela García Caltempa, the town’s “Barter Queen.”
A quick guide to Mexico City’s many Pueblos Mágicos
Over 30 of Mexico’s 132 Pueblos Mágicos are within three hours driving distance of the sprawling urban monster that is Mexico City.
It’s a contradiction born of history and economics. Most of Mexico’s development has been centered in this high mountain plateau. The Pueblos Mágicos program has been spectacularly successful in showcasing their wonderful charms, enticing people to spend holidays in places beyond the beaches.
Discover this mountain getaway before it’s no longer a local secret
The Mexiquillo nature park and reserve in La Ciudad, Durango, began as a few cabins built 25 years ago in the high sierra mountains to take advantage of people looking for a cool respite from higher temperatures in the lowlands. Today, it offers so much more.
Recently, President López Obrador tried to convince Elon Musk to place his new Mexican Tesla factory in the south of the country instead of the north — without success.
Why was Musk so adamant about locating Tesla in Monterrey?
Huasca: the first Pueblo Mágico and where chilangos escape to the woods
Hidden in the forests north of Mexico City lies Huasca de Ocampo, Hidalgo, the vanguard of the wildly successful Pueblos Mágicos program and a regional boom in ecotourism.
By its nature, tourism takes an already-existing ambiance and commercializes it for outsiders. In the case of Huasca, tourists come to experience quaint stone and wood buildings with red roofs surrounded by hectares of pine forest on craggy mountains, repackaged for weekend convenience.
Parras, Coahuila: a desert oasis known for its wineries
Parras de la Fuente, Coahuila, is a literal and economic oasis wedged in the seemingly endless Chihuahuan Desert.
It is a green spot with trees defining the exact extent of where the underground water table rises, as underground flows are blocked by the mountain ranges that separate Coahuila from Zacatecas. The difference in vegetation is striking, especially when seen from the rock outcropping of San Madero Church.
Visiting Mexico’s monarch butterfies? Here’s how to make the most positive impact
After years of concerns about its viability, this past July, the migratory monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) was officially declared endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The organization blames habitat loss and climate change for reducing numbers so much that there may not be enough of a population to reproduce.
Durango: A primer for tourists and the more adventurous
Jumping at the chance to escape to somewhere I knew nothing about, I accepted a temporary teaching gig at the American School in the city of Durango some years ago.
I really liked the city and climate, but life called me back to Mexico City. However, I left with a standing invitation from noted artist and ceramicist, Trinidad (Trino) Núñez, to stay if/when I returned, and perhaps to his surprise, I recently took him up on it. His extra bedroom plus my car, I hoped, would allow me to see more of the state than I could during my previous visit.
Quéretaro road tripping means good roads, fine wine, stunning landscapes and more
Way back in 2011, my husband Alex and I did a road trip from Mexico City to the Sierra Gorda in northern Querétaro. I remember being pleasantly surprised at the good road conditions on the libre highway from the town of San Juan del Río northwards. More recently, someone told me that she had done the drive and liked it as well.
So in June 2022, I decided to drive the road once again.
Exploring the city of San Luis Potosí, the gateway to the northeast
One great thing about Mexico News Daily readers is that their interest in Mexico goes beyond where to go drink on the beach (not that there is anything wrong with that!).
So gentle readers, I’d like to present to you a city to check out, or perhaps check again: San Luis Potosí (also known as San Luis or SLP).
‘Hobbit hotel’ inspires imagination while boosting local economy in Xilitla
The lodgings at the Hotel Tapasoli aren’t for hobbits, but the misnomer has worked out to the benefit of the community where the hotel is based in the Huasteca region of San Luis Potosí.
In Hidalgo, residents check the time in style
If you have ever seen promotional materials about the city of Pachuca, Hidalgo, you have seen an image of its bright, white monumental clock dominating the main square. The clock tower is the pride of the city and the main symbol of its British heritage. So, where did it come from?
time is of the essence and/or
the cost of the tolls are not an issue and/or
you need to drive at night and/or
you are more interested in the destination than the trip and/or
you are convinced that any non-tourist route will get you killed
Hidalgo biosphere reserve offers something new to see at nearly every turn
Being a gringa (a female gringo), I tend to research a place before I go, especially when it’s off the beaten tourist path; it helps to get a sense of what to see.
But in Mexico’s rural areas, knowing where to go is only half the battle.
Butterfly chaser: how Mexico’s monarchs helped an expat find a new life
About a decade ago, American Ellen Sharp tagged along with a writer friend to central Mexico. Little did she know that this would change her life.
Despite its sunny reputation, some parts of Mexico do have cold winters
When it comes to the concept of “cold,” although Mexico overall cannot hold a candle to places further north, many parts of the country aren’t always a hot tropical paradise either.
Believe it or not, the record for cold in Mexico is -29 C (-20.2 F), recorded in Los Lamentos, Chihuahua in 1962.
Discover natural hot tubbing and dip into Mexico’s thermal springs
Maybe it is not quite swimming weather in the mountains of Mexico, but what about dunking yourself in a volcanic hot spring?
Mexico is constantly reshaped by earthquakes and volcanoes. Logically, it also has an abundance of natural hot springs, which have been valued for medicinal purposes since long before the Spanish came.
Santa Claus has helpers in 2 Mexican towns
If you buy blown-glass Christmas tree ornaments made in Mexico, it’s almost guaranteed that they were made in one of two towns you probably never heard of: Tlalpujahua, Michoacán, or Chignahuapan, Puebla.
In this Puebla town, intricate mosaics entice visitors to explore
Mexico’s Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns) tourism promotion program has been a phenomenal success, introducing city dwellers to small rural towns. However, too often those same visitors don’t make it out of the town’s historic center.
Mary Carmen Olvera Trejo has found one way to entice them out and spread the tourism money around a little better.
Mexico’s firefly tourism trend could end up a victim of its own popularity
Dancing pinpricks of light on a summer night are a treasured memory of my childhood in New Jersey. Fascinated, we kids caught fireflies (we called them “lightning bugs”) in a glass jar with the idea of making a lantern.
Mexico has them too, but like in the rest of the world, anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that populations have seriously diminished or have even been eradicated in some areas. Science has not yet backed that assertion up, but on-the-ground reports from the “firefly tourism,” sector — i.e. taking people to forests to see what I saw in my backyard — seems to support it.
After a disastrous year, Oaxaca’s budding wedding industry starts to rebound
Slowly, ever so slowly, people are thinking about returning to the business of living after over 1 1/2 years of the pandemic — and that includes weddings.
All of Mexico’s tourism sectors were hit hard by the pandemic. But destination weddings were devastated, with over 80% of nuptials canceled or postponed since the health emergency began, according to Mexico’s Tourism Ministry in February.
If you are familiar with the missions that extend from Baja California all the way up to San Francisco, you might very well know the name of Friar Junípero Serra. But his mission story did not begin in the Californias. It began in a forgotten but beautiful corner of central Mexico.
Drowned by Mexico’s thirst, underwater towns emerge during drought
It is a spooky sight: a crumbling bell tower poking up from under the waters of a reservoir.
The ruins of underwater towns can be found in various parts of Mexico, sometimes partly visible year-round, sometimes only when water levels drop sufficiently. This year, the water in the reservoir in San Miguel Allende, Guanajuato, dropped enough that it was possible to walk up to the old parish church of Agustín González.
After nearly two centuries, Laredo and Nuevo Laredo stay intertwined
I hadn’t done a border run in well over a decade. But problems with my bank (what the heck happened to customer service in the U.S.?) meant heading up to the nearest branch office.
That’s in Laredo, Texas, so I decided to take advantage of the trip to see how the area was. It is easier and cheaper to bus into Nuevo Laredo, then walk across the border.
From food to tourist attraction: the long road of Mexico’s sea turtles
There is just something so irresistible about baby turtles. No wonder their release is one of the most popular ecotourism activities in Mexico.
But it is so much more than seeing the hatchling make their way into the water. Mexico is home to nesting sites of seven of the world’s eight sea turtle species – the loggerhead, hawksbill, green sea (Chelonia mydas), olive ridley, Kemp’s ridley, green (Chelonia agassizii) and the leatherback.
Unique Chiapas church keeps alive its parishioners’ pre-Hispanic traditions
In the parish church of Chamula, Chiapas, it is always time for Mass — sort of.
I approached this church with some trepidation, despite having visited countless parishes all over Mexico. It’s famous for being “strange” and “different” and for its rule of absolutely no photographs allowed.
Mexico City’s best-known haunted houses, real and fake
While no one should ever confuse Day of the Dead with Halloween, at this time of the year thoughts turn to the hereafter. With over 500 years of modern history and thriving civilizations that came before that, it is no surprise that Mexico has an abundance of ghost stories.
There are some hidden gems on the list of Mexico’s Pueblos Mágicos
What makes some pueblos more “magical” than others?
You may have seen the signs for “Pueblos Mágicos,” 121 destinations designated Magical Towns by Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism (Sectur). It comes from a program started in 2001 to create an alternative to the decades long effort of promoting the beaches.
Pilgrimages and sanctuaries now Catholic, but roots are pre-Hispanic
You have probably seen it on a Mexican road, a long line of people in cars, on bikes and on foot. It is like a procession, but the people obviously have been traveling for some time…
It’s whale-watching season on Mexico’s Pacific coast, from Baja to Oaxaca
It’s whale-watching season in Mexico as the pacific gray, humpback and blue whales migrate to Mexican territorial waters to breed.
Two towns in Mexico where Christmas is a year-round event
There are two places in Mexico that are year-round Christmas towns and for good reason: their economies are based on the production of Christmas ornaments.
The mysterious mummies of the Museo de El Carmen in Mexico City
Mummies are not uncommon in Mexico, especially in the arid north of the country. They have been found from pre-Hispanic and colonial-era burials and occur naturally, usually in above-ground burials such as crypts.