Tepoztlán: a Macha’s Day Out

Tepoztlán is a little town located 50 miles South of the Mexico City. It offers at least three things that machas love: delicious (vegetarian optional) food, spiritual insight in the shape of temazcales and massages, and a hill to climb in order to prove your resistance as a big macha.

I’ve been in Tepoztlán many times, fortunately with a group of friends or my girlfriend, which means that I’ve got there by car. It is also easily accessible by buses that leave from the Tasqueña Bus Station, making it a good day trip for those looking to get outside of Mexico City for an afternoon. The whole trip takes a couple of hours and the beautiful scenary along the highway are worth seeing: jagged cliffs and vast fields lay on both sides of the road, preparing your eyes for the upcoming sightseeing to enjoy.

There are many options to approach to Tepoztlán, (Place of Copper in náhuatl), a little town located in a valley surrounded by rough mountains, which you can see while walking on the picturesque-cobbled streets that go up and down. The first choice is to take the classic touristy tour, in case you’ve never been here before. This tour includes the Ex Convento Dominico de la Natividad (Ex Dominican Convent of Nativity) built in the sixteenth century. Its façade is an example of the plateresque style mixed with indigenous symbols, floral designs and the representation of Virgin Mary. The main attraction of this building is an arched entryway that shows an elaborate mural composed of sixty varieties of seeds—which is renovated every September by local artists.

The other sight to see is the Museo Arqueológico Carlos Pellicer, which holds a collection of pieces from around the country. An interesting piece is the symbol of Ometochtli—a pair of rabbits—one of the 400 pulque gods. After the museum swing by some of the many little shops around the zocalothat offer a wide array of products, from traditional handcrafts (sometimes overpriced, from my perspective) like pots, plates, clothes and decorated mirrors, to classic souvenirs like postcards, little hand-made wooden models of the town or key rings.

Some of these souvenirs picture UFOs in Tepoztlán’s sky, since this place has gained some fame for spaceships that have alledgely landed in the area. Keep an eye out for UFO chasers dressed in white, who visit the town looking for some of the same energy that brings aliens to Tepoztlán.

Foodies should head to the downtown market in which you can find great, cheap food made by excellent cooks. You can start with a fresh orange juice (8 pesos) and then sit at one of the stalls that appeals to you. There, I recommend to take a look at the guisados or fillings, that the business offer for quesadillas (12 pesos): flor de calabaza, huitlacoche, potatoes, mushrooms, queso Oaxaca or quesillo (a delicious cheese)—all for veggies. The meat-eaters can pick from chicharrón, tinga (chicken or meat in a spicy sauce and tomatoe), and chorizo.
I recommend itacates (meaning in nahuatl “a little pack of something”, usually of food), a triangle-shape kind of tlacoyo filled with corn that can be dressed with red or green sauce. Dessert is not a problem here: fruit from the market itself is a great option, but my suggestion is to try a nieve or ice-cream from “Tepoznieves”, the traditional ice-cream shop that has four of five branches all over the town.

If you are not very fond of convents, I recommend hiking up to the tepozteco pyramid that sits on a cliff overlooking the tepozlan valley. From below, it looks like an inaccessible hill, but in fact, there is a walkable, sinuous road that takes you up, in the middle of a beautiful forest. Comfortable shoes and a bottle of water are mandatory, if you don’t want to die before reaching the top.

It takes a approximately half an hour and an hour to reach the top of the hill, depending on your climbing skills. What can be found here is an amazing pyramid built in honor of Tepoztécatl, the Aztec god of harvest, fertility and pulque. Even though there is a sort of plague of racoons hanging out and begging for food, the view is great and romantic—at least in my experience. It is possible see the whole town of Tepoztlán from a privileged 1320 ft. height, and 6600 ft. of altitude.

Two hours of going up and down deserve prize: if you are a flavour adventurer, and you’ve never tried pulque this is a great opportunity. At the skirst of the hill, there is a pulquería owned by a young guy who learned how to make pulque from his grandfather. Or maybe, you would like to try a half an hour massage session for 50 pesos at one of the many places that offer this service in town, and be ready to go back to Mexico City.