Best of Querétaro’s Missions, Magic Towns & Mountains Tour

Arrive to the city of Querétaro. Make your way to our hotel.
We will sleep here for the next 3 nights. 

Here are the 4 closest airports to Querétaro City.
– Querétaro Intercontinental Airport / QRO  (14 mi/22 km) 
– Bajío International Airport – Leon/Guanajuato / BJX  (93 mi/150 km)  
   Buses leave directly from this airport to the city of Querétaro  
– Morelia International Airport / MLM  (134 mi/215 km)
– Benito Juárez International Airport –  México City / MEX  (137 mi/220 km)  
   Buses leave directly from this airport to the city of Querétaro

Our Querétaro host and tour guide will meet us for breakfast and give us an overview of our days together. Then we’ll take a stroll around the city to see the many well-preserved Spanish colonial buildings, churches, an ex-convent, its ancient aqueduct system, the beautifully landscaped city plazas, and point out some nice restaurant selections for our evening meals. He/she will also give us a short history lesson about what took place here when the local people started their rebellion against their Spanish overlords. 

The late afternoon and evening are open for further personal exploration of this city . . . perhaps a little store-browsing, enjoying a meal at one of the many nice outdoor restaurants, or just strolling through Querétaro’s beautiful central plazas to people watch. 

We will sleep in Querétaro City.  (B,L)

Today we’ll visit the first of 6 recognized Pueblo Mágicos during our 11 day exploration tour. The small town of Amealco and in some of the surrounding pueblos, many local indigenous people (the Otomíes) derive their livelihood from creating these very cute and colorful dolls which they market worldwide. They are called, Muñecas or Marías. Our host guide will take us to a museum there which showcases many different  historical dolls made from wood to paper mache to even dried chilies.

We will then travel to the small nearby community of San Ildefonso where we can meet and watch as some of the local Otomí women work on making the Muñecas. 

After lunch we will return to Querétaro City and have the evening free to do as we please.

We will overnight again in the capital city. 

This morning we’ll leave the city and start heading east to a beautiful area of Querétaro state called, the Sierra Gorda. This is a region of tall tree-covered mountains with steep canyons and ravines. The roads are winding and the views are breathtaking. 

On our way to the mountains we’ll stop to visit Pueblo Mágico #2; the town of San Sabastián Bernal. The air is dry and clear, the pace is relaxed, and the town has the best view of a gigantic rock which juts almost 1500 feet into the air. They call these kinds of rocks, monoliths. Peña de Bernal is the name and it ranks as one of the tallest monoliths in the world. 

From San Sabastián Bernal, we will continue our trek east into the deep Sierra Gorda Biosphere Region of Querétaro. It will be 3 hours of winding and hilly driving with the reward of viewing some very spectacular scenery along the way.

Our stopping destination for today will be Pueblo Mágico #3; Jalpan de Serra. We will sleep here for 2 nights.  (B,L)

The Sierra Gorda mountainous region is home to 5 beautiful Spanish missions all built in the 18th century. Today we will get to know three of the 5 missions, each located in a different town. The 3 we will visit are Santiago de Jalpan, San Francisco de Asís del Valle de Tilaco, and Santa Maria de la Purisima Concepción del Agua de Landa.

What makes these mission churches so special are the very ornate facades made of stucco and stone. The characters and symbols on the face of each mission tell religious stories.  Our guide will interpret some of these symbols and also give us the background on how and why these missions were built in this wilderness area.

We will sleep in Jalpan de Serra – Pueblo Mágico #3 this night.  (B,L)

This morning after checking out of our hotel, we’ll go on a 30 minute nature hike to a charming 130’ (40 meter) waterfall called, Cascada Chuveje. 

After taking in the fresh air and peaceful scenery, we’ll hike back to our vehicle and continue on to the small community of Pinal de Amoles (Pueblo Mágico #4). This town is known for its red roofed buildings, nice balconies, and narrow streets. There we will visit an old cantina, try some local liquors, and taste their delicious fresh bread.

Our final destination for this day will be Pueblo Mágico #5, San Joaquin where we will sleep for 2 nights.  (B,L)

After enjoying a leisurely breakfast, we will continue our exploration in the late morning. Nearby is a large underground cave called, Gruta los Herrera. A local guide will lead us down into this underground wonderland of interesting stalactites and stalagmites.

Then after lunch, we’ll head over to a local archaeological ruins site, Las Ranas (that’s Frogs in Spanish). This small ancient city thrived for several hundred years until the arrival of the Spaniards in the early 1500s. Our guide will introduce us to its temples, the area where the common people lived, and to view the 3 ball courts found at this ancient city site.

The evening is free to enjoy the small town of San Juaquin.  (B,L)

After breakfast, we will check out and travel to the town of Vizarron de Montes. The interesting thing about this town is that they mine marble in this area. Hence, you will find items made of marble everywhere. Local artisans use marble to create a variety of different items which you can find in the several shops which sell their work. Even sections of some streets in the town are made in marble. 

Later we’ll visit the beautiful botanic gardens of Cadereyta (Pueblo Mágico #6). Here we can see the vast diversity of plants which are found in this region. This well-maintained garden is actually divided into 5 different collections of plants, many of which are different kinds of cactus. 

In the afternoon on our journey, we’ll visit a local family-owned winery to learn about how they grow their grapes and produce their wines. Interestingly, before this family got into the wine business, they raised horses. As we will see on our arrival, they have not totally abandoned their first passion. On their ranch/winery, they still have some horses we can view in a corral while we sample some of their wines. 

A short drive will bring us to Pueblo Mágico #7; Tequisquiapan and to our hotel where we will sleep for 2 nights.  (B,L) 

After checkout, we’ll travel a short distance to the Pueblo Mágico of Villa Progreso where a local Otomí guide will lead us on a cultural tour relating to the traditions of their heritage.

We will also be invited to their home to meet some of the family and share in a traditional lunch with them.

After saying our goodbyes, we’ll go visit  Finca Vai which is a small family-run place where they make cheese, craft beer, sauces, and more. We’ll stroll around this rustic estate and along the way, learn a thing a two about the art of making cheese and beer.

In the afternoon, our group will return back to Tequisquiapan (Tequis). Our guide will take us on a stroll around the town and point out some of its notable places.

We’ll sleep in Tequis. (B,L)

This morning we can have a leisurely breakfast before checking out to head back to the capital city. 

The afternoon will be free to do some more city exploring, shopping, visiting a museum, or just relaxing.  

In the evening we’ll get together one last time with our guide for a farewell dinner.

On this last night of our tour, we will stay in Querétaro City.  (B,L,D) 

After breakfast, our tour will official come to an end. 
Buen Viaje!  (B)