Cuetzalan

Hills on hills on hills. Cuetzalan’s spidery streets weave their way around magnificent churches, coffee and chocolate shops, rooftop restaurants, and a buzzing town square. 

Getting there from CDMX ain’t for the weary, so I suggest spending a night in Puebla to break up the drive. If you’re prone to motion sickness, take the appropriate measures as the snaking arrival seems to last for centuries. With that said, the landscape will transform into a paradise of lush, green plants and palm trees, corn fields, sturdy cows, and fat chickens. The views, which become increasingly more foggy and mystical, are worth every curve.

Start your Cuetzalan experience before you even arrive with…
Fresh apples from the roadside stands that start to appear an hour or so outside town.

Get lost in the historic center…
Don your rain gear and take a long, leisurely walk through the center on whose romantic little streets you’ll find string lights and dream catchers fluttering above you. Pop into the towering Parroquia de San Francisco parish church. I can’t describe its interior in any other way than it looks like a birthday cake, the iconography painted in various shades of hot pink, teal green, gold, and bright blue. Closeby you’ll find a pole that extends so high it seems to scratch the sky. Here’s where the town’s voladores put on their dramatic flying show every hour, even after the sun sets.

Pivot in the direction of the Church of the Jarritos to meander the cemetery. It’s its own work of art, made quirkier by the copious plastic flowers that adorn the gravesites.

Dine in the fanciest restaurant in Cuetzalan…
Taol is beautiful. It’s basically a garden, with tables covered by a roof so you can sit outside and watch the rain pound the backyard fountain and tropical trees. The kitchen is also outdoors, run by a team of women churning out pink tortillas and grilled fish. There’s a long list of cocktails and fresh juice if you decide to return the next morning.

Channel your inner Indiana Jones…
A friend convinced me to go rappelling for the first time. We were dropped 60m on a rope into a water-logged cave. Despite my outfit – yoga pants, hiking boots, layered tops – we full-on swam in the cave’s rushing river, stopping at one point for an impromptu meditation in absolute darkness. From here, we made our way up the mountain for a zipline experience over the waterfalls. It was freaking fabulous, and it cannot be missed.

Have a drink on a roof…
There are a handful of elevated restaurants, though none have raving reviews. Have a drink, maybe a snack, and enjoy the bird's eye view. 

Then have a nightcap in someone’s…house?
As you walk up Calle Guerrero, on the right side of the street will be a plump and happy lady beckoning you with freshly fried somethings-that-I-can’t-remember that she whips up in front of the door to a bar-library-game hall-living room. My friend Monica accurately described it as “Cheers”, but Mexican, with a watch-puppy named Bacon, rock music, random children running about, and plenty of hard drinking. I’m unsure what the venue actually is, but I know it’s a good time.

Go to the Sunday market for road snacks…
The open air street market undulates for miles, selling local honey, coffee, fruit, bread, chilies, and Yolixpa. Yolixpa is a moonshine-style alcohol distilled from sugarcane and mixed with up to 20 herbs, said to cure the heart.

Where to stay:
Reserva Azul offers tents and cabins.
La Peña Hotel & Spa appeared more hotel-y and it’s centrally situated.
Hotel Taselotzin, where we stayed, was fine. I probably wouldn’t stay again.

Activity Suggestions:
A coffee tour at Reserva Azul
Hiking, rappelling, ziplining, swimming, horseback riding. There are dozens of companies (or perhaps they’re all umbrella’d under the local tourism bureau) offering immersive nature experiences. We booked ours through Descubre Cuetzalan.

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A weekend away in Tlatlauquitepec and Taxco.