San Agustín Tlaxiaca

Day Trips

Settle into your chosen accommodation in San Agustín Tlaxiaca and enjoy a leisurely breakfast of fresh tamales and hot atole at a local comedor. Take a guided walking tour of the town plaza to admire the colonial-style architecture and chat with friendly vendors selling regional crafts. Feel the rhythm of daily life as you explore winding streets and small family-run shops.

Visit the municipal market to sample local cheeses, seasonal fruits, and freshly baked pan dulce while watching artisans handcraft clay pottery. Engage in conversation with producers, learning about traditional techniques passed down through generations. Conclude your market stroll with a refreshing jugo de guayaba in a shaded courtyard.

Dine at a cozy open-air restaurant and savor dishes like barbacoa de borrego slow-cooked in maguey leaves. Listen to live music as the sun sets over the distant hills, and toast your first evening with a glass of pulque infused with seasonal fruit. Return to your lodging for a good night’s rest in preparation for tomorrow’s adventures.

Start your day with freshly brewed coffee and pan de pulque served at a local café near the parish church. Step inside the church of San Agustín to admire its baroque façade, intricate stone carvings, and centuries-old altarpieces. Spend time sketching or photographing the colorful murals that depict local legends and religious scenes.

Enjoy a homemade lunch of mole rojo with rice and beans at a nearby family-run eatery. Hop on a bicycle or rent a scooter to visit smaller chapels scattered across the countryside, each boasting unique architectural details and frescoes. Chat with parishioners who share stories of annual festivals and community traditions tied to these sacred sites.

Attend an intimate candlelit mass or musical vespers at one of the chapels, experiencing local devotion firsthand. Afterwards, stroll through dimly lit streets illuminated by lanterns and street stalls selling churros and atole. Reflect on the day’s cultural insights under the starry cielo mexicano before returning to your quarters.

Depart early for Huasca de Ocampo and arrive at the Prismas Basálticas geological formations just as the morning light illuminates the hexagonal basalt columns. Explore the trails winding around the natural pools, listening to the gentle flow of water cascading over ancient stones. Pack a light snack and sit on a rock ledge to soak in the serene atmosphere.

Descend to the base of the columnar cliffs for a picnic lunch prepared by local vendors featuring tlacoyos and fresh guacamole. Take a guided visit to Hacienda San Miguel Regla, wandering its shaded gardens, courtyards, and historic chapel. Learn about the hacienda’s mining past and its transformation into a cultural landmark.

Return to San Agustín Tlaxiaca and stop at a roadside pulquería to sample artisanal pulque flavored with guava or mango. Share stories with new friends over licuados de frutas and fried esquites in a lively outdoor setting. Head back to your lodging, lulled by the night sounds of crickets and distant church bells.

Enjoy an early breakfast at your estancia before heading out to El Arenal’s lush river valley. Lace up your hiking boots for a guided trek along the Río Salado, crossing wooden footbridges and spotting native bird species among the reeds. Pause at a shaded riverbank to dip your toes in the cool water and admire the surrounding oak and pine forests.

Refuel with a farm-to-table lunch at a riverside ranch, featuring grilled nopales, local cheese enchiladas, and chilled aguas frescas. Visit the ranch’s apiary to learn about bee-keeping practices and taste golden honey harvested that very morning. Wander through vegetable gardens and witness how heirloom crops are cultivated without pesticides.

Gather around an open fire at the ranch as dusk settles, enjoying mariachi or traditional son musical performances under the stars. Sample regional cheeses paired with homemade fruit preserves and artisanal bread. Share stories with fellow travelers in rustic caballerizas converted into comfortable lodgings.

Depart before dawn for the sacred city of Tula, once the capital of the Toltec empire, and arrive as the site opens to avoid midday crowds. Marvel at the imposing Atlantean figures atop the main pyramid and learn about Toltec mythology from your expert guide. Explore the surrounding plazas and ball courts where ancient ceremonies were held.

Drive to Xihuacán archaeological zone and enjoy a picnic lunch beneath fragrant mesquite trees. Walk through the excavated structures of Xihuacán, observing murals that hint at early Nahua cultural influences. Discuss ongoing conservation efforts with local archaeologists committed to preserving these hidden gems.

Return to San Agustín Tlaxiaca and unwind with a homemade dinner of sopa de médula and fresh tortillas. Take a leisurely post-dinner stroll around the illuminated town square, listening to street musicians and browsing handwoven textiles. Wrap up the day with a warm cup of champurrado before calling it a night.

Begin at a local textile cooperative for a guided weaving workshop using traditional backstrap looms. Learn to prepare natural dyes from cochineal, indigo, and other plant sources under the tutelage of master weavers. Try your hand at weaving simple motifs and take home a small handcrafted souvenir.

Share a communal meal with cooperative members featuring calabacitas rellenas and arroz rojo, then take part in an open-air pottery demonstration. Shape your own clay vessel and imbue it with traditional decorative patterns. Explore the cooperative’s showroom, where finished wares showcase centuries-old techniques fused with contemporary designs.

Attend an informal danza folklore performance held in the cooperative’s courtyard, complete with colorful costumes and drum rhythms. Join dancers in a celebratory circle, learning basic steps of the local jarabe tune. Cap off the evening with regional mezcal sipped from small clay cups and heartfelt storytelling around lantern-lit tables.

Travel to the dramatic Canyon del Diablo area and begin a guided excursion along rugged trails carved into volcanic rock. Keep your camera ready for panoramic views of jagged cliffs and brushy slopes dotted with cactus. Stop at a lookout point to sip a thermos of coffee while gazing down at the winding river far below.

Descend to a hidden waterfall for a refreshing swim in crystal-clear pools, then savor a rustic lunch of grilled quesadillas stuffed with flor de calabaza. Hike through verdant ravines filled with ferns and wildflowers, listening to the echo of cascading water. Spot rock art panels that tell ancient stories of hunters and ceremonies.

Return to San Agustín Tlaxiaca as twilight settles, and dine at a family-run fonda serving hearty pozole garnished with radish and shredded cabbage. Stroll past lit paper lanterns along the main street, stopping to sample street-side churros dusted with cinnamon. Enjoy a nightcap of hot mezcal coco, a sweetened variation infused with coconut.

Kick off with a traditional breakfast of chilaquiles verdes followed by a short drive to a respected mezcalería in the nearby hills. Tour the distillery, observing the roasting of agave hearts in underground pits and the pot-still distillation process. Sample a range of artisanal mezcales, noting smoky, herbal, and fruity flavor profiles.

Head to a pulque hacienda, where you’ll learn about the cultivation of maguey and the urban rise of pulquerías. Sip freshly drawn curados—pulque blended with fruits like guanábana and pineapple—while chatting with local aficionados. Pair your tastings with crunchy tostadas topped with tinga de pollo or cactus salad.

Return to town for a mezcal-fueled cooking workshop under open skies, crafting shrimp aguachile and huitlacoche quesadillas. Share plates with fellow participants around rustic wooden tables lit by lanterns. Conclude the evening with an orchard-to-table dessert of roasted guayaba drizzled with honey and a final toast to friendship.

Spend the morning at a nearby family-run cattle and vegetable farm, milking dairy cows and gathering eggs from free-range hens. Learn sustainable irrigation techniques as you help harvest seasonal produce, including heirloom tomatoes and chiles. Enjoy a rustic farm breakfast of huevos rancheros cooked over an open flame.

Join in a seed-saving workshop where you’ll collect and categorize maize varieties for future planting. Feast on a farm-fresh lunch served beside sunflower fields, tasting homemade quesos and fresh tortillas. Wander along shaded orchard paths, picking ripe fruit straight from the branches.

Dine al fresco on an elevated terrace overlooking rolling fields at sunset, sampling a multi-course meal built around farm ingredients. Listen to the scent of rosemary and thyme carried by the evening breeze as musicians play guitar in the background. Spend the night in a cozy hacienda room, lulled to sleep by distant owls and soft wind rustling leaves.

Return to the bustling municipal market for last-minute souvenir hunting—handwoven textiles, painted ceramics, and locally produced honey. Stop at food stalls for breakfast tacos filled with chorizo, nopales, and freshly scrambled eggs. Engage vendors in conversation to learn about their family businesses and final travel tips.

Attend a farewell cooking class where you’ll learn to prepare regional specialties like enchiladas hidalguenses and atole de arroz. Relish the dishes you’ve made alongside new friends, swapping memories from the past ten days. Treat yourself to a final serving of seasonal fruit agua fresca as you toast the journey.

Gather in the town plaza for a festive closing event featuring folk dancers, musicians, and fireworks lighting up the night sky. Savor a celebratory dinner of barbacoa, served pit-style, accompanied by regional wines or mezcal. Share hugs and promises to return as you soak in the warm glow of this unforgettable Mexican town.