Jilotepec

El Salto waterfall

Jilotepec is a small city in the northwestern part of Mexico State. Although the town has a scenic colonial center, it is most popular as an outdoor weekend destination with rolling hills, idyllic waterfalls, and some mountain cliffs that are ideal for rockclimbers. The town has been designated as one of Mexico's Pueblos Mágicos.

Understand

Jilotepec is a small city of about 10,000 residents, though when you count all the surrounding smaller towns and rural bedroom communities the number swells to 10 times that for the whole municipality (county). The city is officially known as Jilotepec de Molina Enríquez, and was known as Jilotepec de Abasolo until 1986.

History

Jilotepec was settled by indigenous Otomi about 1,000 years ago. Like many indigenous settlements in Central Mexico, it became a tributary of the Aztec Empire when it was conquered in 1379.

Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 1560s, with Franciscan missionaries in tow. They established the town's main church, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul.

Get in

By bus

From Mexico City Terminal Autobuses del Norte, Autovias operates buses every 2 hours throughout the day. The 2-hour bus ride costs M$100.

• 1 Central de Autobuses (Bus station), Soyaniquilpan KM 1, Cruz de Dendho. Small bus terminal with about 5 bus companies, both first-class and second-class. A couple of stores selling snacks etc. Bathrooms are cleaned regularly and cost M$6 to use. Buses from Jilotepec to Mexico City will arrive at Terminal Autobuses del Norte. 

By car

From Mexico City, drive north on federal highway MEX-57D (Autopiste Mexico-Querétaro), which is a toll road. The drive will take about 2 hours.

See

• 1 Parroquia de San Pedro y San Pablo (Church of St Peter and St Paul), Plaza Manuel Avila Camacho No. 210. Founded in 1563 by Franciscan friars, the current church was expanded and renovated during the 18th century, leaving relatively little of the original church intact. The main nave is an austere looking blocky stone structure with sharp angles and a single bell tower. Inside, the church has an unusual rough wood ceiling and a number of paintings as well as a series of stained glass windows. It is a beautiful sanctuary for quiet reflection. 

• 2 Santuario de la Virgen de la Piedrita (Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Stone), Manzana 010, Canelejas. It's a cool looking church with a mix of gothic architecture with a dash of modern elements. The church is most famous for being the home of a rock, discovered in 1868, bearing an image of the Virgin Mary. The rock is displayed in a glass case inside the church. 
• 3 Museo de Jilotepec, Mariano Escobedo Manzana 001. Tu-Su 10:00 - 18:00, closed M. Small regional history museum with several exhibits about the region's Otomi history. 

Do

• Parque Ecoturístico Las Peñas - Located in the community of Dexcani Alto, this is an area for practicing extreme mountain sports, including climbing and rapelling, mountain biking and hiking.
• Presa de Danxhó - Man-made lake with an area for adaptive aquatic sports
• Presa de Avellan
• Presa de Arena
• Bosque de Canalejas, including El Llano State Park
• 1 Parque Urbano Las Sequoias (Bicentennial Park), Av. Universidad 1000, Sta Cruz Atoyac. Daily 08:00 - 18:00. Park where redwood trees were transplanted from California. The redwoods here are young, so if it's giant trees you want to see, go to California. The park features a small lake, picnic shelters with grills, and a childrens playground. 

Festivals

Young men costumed for Xhita

• Carnival Xhita - celebrated during the carnival season each year (January–February), the celebrations in Jilotepec incorporate indigenous elements combined with Christian era Mardi Gras festivities. The Xhita custom involved rituals to help ensure a good harvest for the coming season. Men dress up as certain characters, notably bulls. The festival begins forty days before Ash Wednesday and ends on Fat Tuesday.

Buy

• 1 Mercado San José, Francisco Javier Mina 6. Daily 07:00 - 18:00. Traditional town marketplace with vendors selling fresh fruits and vegetables with an area where vendors sell prepared food with some of the most authentic regional recipes. Come early in the morning for the freshest food and the most vendors. Afternoons become slow and some vendors close early. 

• 2 Tianguis de Jilotepec, Andrés Molina Enríquez Manzana 047. Friday 06:00 - 19:30. A tianguis is a pop-up market that's a cross between a farmers market and a flea market. The tradition dates to pre-Hispanic times. Friday is market day in Jilotepec and the tianguis starts early. Expect to find used household items, antigues, and fresh hot enchiladas, among everything else imaginible. 

Eat

Jilotepec is home to a couple of regional delicacies that are sure to offend the delicate sensibilities of "refined" foreigners. Huitlacoche, also spelled cuitlacoche, is known to gourmets as the truffle of Mexico. It is essentially a blue-gray colored corn fungus that has a deep, woodsy or smoky flavor. Regarded as a delicacy by the Aztec, it's a food that's been embraced by today's innovative cooks who seek authentic bold flavors. Guisanos de maguey are caterpillars of moths that lay eggs in maguey (agave). They're coomonly solds as "white" (meocuiles) or "red" (chinicuiles). The white are more common in Jilotepec. What do they taste like? A bit nutty and crispy, like chicharrones but with a lower fat content. Mmmmm, mmmm!

Most hotels have restaurants on-site.

Sleep

• 1 La Casona, Miguel Hidalgo 137, Jilotepec de Andres Molina Enriquez. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Moderate hotel with spacious comfortable rooms. On-site parking. On-site restaurant.. M$800. (updated Jun 2024)
• 2 Las Carretas, Calle, Avenida Vicente Guerrero Ote. 180, Centro, ☏ +52 761 734 0214. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Moderate hotel with spacious rooms. Beds are rock-hard platform beds. On-site parking. On-site restaurant is good and has a buffet on weekends. (updated Jun 2024)
• 3 Xilonen Palace, Andrés Molina Enríquez 194, ☏ +52 761 690 5512. Check-out: 12:00. Moderate hotel with spacious, clean rooms that have uncomfortably hard beds. On-site restaurant, friendly service. M$1000. (updated Jun 2024)
• 4 Real Jilo, Avenida Vicente Guerrero Ote. 154, Centro, ☏ +52 761 734 0347. Check-in: 12:00, check-out: 15:00. Bare bones budget hotel with dated facilities. Easy walk to city center. M$600. (updated Jun 2024)

Go next

• Tula
• San Juan del Rio
• Villa del Carbón