Visit a huge monolith surrounded by a typical Mexican town in Bernal
A 3 hour drive from San Luis will get you to Bernal: a pueblo mágico known for its natural wonders located right in the middle of Querétaro.
Bernal is a small and colorful town home to the third biggest monolith in the world, right after the Rock of Gibraltar and the Pão de Açúcar in Rio de Janeiro. The Peña de Bernal, as the monolith is called, is said to have formed about 100 million years ago due to a volcano that became inactive and is now used as both a tourist and sports attraction: whether you want to sip a hot coffe or cocoa, or climb up and rappel down the Peña, Bernal has something to offer to you.
Walk through the town’s cobbled streets and visit the many shops, buy homemade sweet and have some typical food, such as the gorditas queretanas. For the more adventurous, experienced guides will offer trips up and down the Peña or a hike around some beautiful landscapes near the town. Both excitement and culture meet in Bernal, offering activities for all ages.
A castle as you’ve never, seen right in the jungle
Can you imagine a surrealistic hand-built castle in the middle of the jungle? Does it sound too far-fetched? For Sir Edward James it didn’t and he built exactly just that in Xilitla.
Xilitla is a town offering amazing landscapes, tasty dishes and amazing weather, but if this isn’t enough to get you to visit you can always count on the world- renowned surrealist castle built by English millionaire, poet and sculptor Sir Edward James.
Conceived as a garden of Eden, Las Pozas, as it is known, was designed as the only surrealist building in the world, with 27 structures in a 90-acre area, complete with staircases that go up and down with no apparent support, sculptures and arches intertwined with the vegetation and even paintings and frescoes by Leonora Carrington. After getting around in Las Pozas, James’ word will have meaning to you: “My house has wings, and somehow, in the dead of the night, she sings…”
If you’re looking for and adventure and amazing views in the middle of the Huasteca, Xilitla is just the place to go!
Visit a town where the pre-hispanic and the colonial meet
About a four-hour drive from San Luis, in the neighboring state of Querétaro, you can find Jalpan de Serra, a small town located in the Sierra Gorda.
In 1751, Fray Junípero Serra started the building of a mission as part of his evangelization efforts in central and northern Mexico. Nowadays, the Mission of Santiago de Jalpan is a historic building in the baroque style, built in quarry and limestone with a façade filled with floral details and patterns, under the attentive look of carved sculptures depicting saints such as San Francisco and Santo Domingo. This mission, named after Santiago, patron Saint of Spain, has an important significance due to the connection between the evangelization process and the military campaigns of the Conquista.
Near the township, the archaeological zone of Tancama – a pre-hispanic settlement of the Huasteca culture – is located. Tancama is composed by three uneven platforms, not unlike pyramids, simulating the shape of a hill. This site, sometimes used as a burial ground, had ceremonial and astronomical significance for the Huastecos.
Jalpan de Serra is also the starting point of the Misiones Queretanas route: a centuries old road connecting five missions and temples build by during the colonial period – starting with the Mission of Santiago de Jalpan – across the mountain range, often located in beautiful and unexpected landscapes.
Article written by:
Paulina Morán
Law Student
Instagram: @paumoranm
Montserrat Mendoza
Environmental Sciences Student
Instagram: @montserrat_mendoza_
