Mountain Magical Towns with a cool climate
Forests, mist, fireplaces and chilly nights: these Magical Towns sit more than 2,200 meters above sea level. Ideal for escaping the heat, staying in a cabin and hiking among pines. Pack a jacket: even in summer it cools down in the evening.
2,739 mEstado de MéxicoEl Oro
Mining heritage and Porfirian architecture: the Municipal Palace, Juárez Theater, Mining Museum, the San Juan mine tunnel and northern forests.
2,718 mHidalgoReal del Monte
A mining town with a British legacy in Hidalgo: mine tours, the English Cemetery, the Paste Museum and steep, colorful streets.
2,699 mSan Luis PotosíReal de Catorce
A former silver-mining town in the San Luis Potosí highlands, reached through the Ogarrio Tunnel: cobbled streets, mine ruins, Willys jeep rides and Wirikuta.
2,639 mQuerétaroAmealco
Home of the handmade Otomí doll: over 550 workshops, the Doll Museum, textiles, countryside and communities like Santiago Mexquititlán.
2,622 mEstado de MéxicoMetepec
The State of Mexico's pottery capital: Trees of Life, catrinas, potters' workshops, the crafts market and El Calvario hill, next to Toluca.
2,599 mEstado de MéxicoVilla del Carbón
Leather jackets, wool sarapes, cobbled streets and reservoirs such as Presa del Llano and Taxhimay in the Sierra de Monte Alto, near Mexico City.
2,579 mMichoacánAngangueo
A mountain mining town and the best base for the El Rosario and Sierra Chincua monarch butterfly sanctuaries in Michoacán.
2,577 mMichoacánTlalpujahua
The town of eternal Christmas: over 300 workshops of hand-blown glass ornaments, the Dos Estrellas mine, sanctuaries and Michoacán forests.
2,546 mTlaxcalaTlaxco
A highland getaway in Tlaxcala: artisan cheeses, pulque, haciendas, Atlangatepec Lake and cool mountain weather.
2,499 mTlaxcalaIxtenco
Tlaxcala's last Otomí stronghold: colorful native corn, sour purple-corn atole, pepenado embroidery, language and traditional festivals.
2,498 mTlaxcalaHuamantla
Festive Tlaxcala: the sawdust carpets of “The Night Nobody Sleeps,” the National Puppet Museum, pulque haciendas and La Malinche volcano.
2,470 mZacatecasPinos
A mining town on the UNESCO-listed Camino Real de Tierra Adentro: plazas, churches, ore haciendas with their tall chimneys and a mezcal tradition.
2,456 mHidalgoZempoala
The UNESCO-listed Padre Tembleque Aqueduct, a masterpiece of colonial engineering, plus pulque haciendas and the Todos Santos convent.
2,453 mEstado de MéxicoJilotepec
Climbing crags, reservoirs and one of Mexico's oldest Franciscan parishes on the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, 100 km from Mexico City.
2,428 mEstado de MéxicoAculco de Espinoza
White quarry stone, arcades and waterfalls such as La Concepción and Tixhiñú: a quiet getaway from Mexico City, Toluca or Querétaro, with local cheeses.
2,426 mQuerétaroSan Joaquín
Querétaro's forested highlands and huapango music: the Ranas archaeological site atop two hills, the Herrera caves and a cool climate.
2,396 mChihuahuaGuachochi
The heart of the Sierra Tarahumara: deep canyons, forests, lakes and waterfalls, Rarámuri life and the Canyons Ultramarathon.
2,358 mEstado de MéxicoOtumba
Colonial history near Teotihuacan: former convents, the Viceroys' House, pulque haciendas, a railway museum and the famous Donkey Fair.
2,357 mQuerétaroPinal de Amoles
Viewpoints over a sea of clouds in Querétaro's Sierra Gorda: the Cuatro Palos lookout, Chuveje waterfall, mist and cabins.
2,354 mHidalgoMineral del Chico
Forest, mines and adventure 30 km from Pachuca: a via ferrata, viewpoints like Peña del Cuervo, reservoirs, mist and cabins among fir trees.
2,342 mChihuahuaCreel
Gateway to the Sierra Tarahumara and Copper Canyon: a Chepe train stop, Lake Arareko, Cusárare waterfall, rock-formation valleys and Rarámuri culture.
2,301 mEstado de MéxicoSan Martín de las Pirámides
Shares with Teotihuacán de Arista the Teotihuacan archaeological zone, one of the largest cities of the ancient Americas and a World Heritage Site.
2,292 mZacatecasSombrerete
Colonial mining and movie-set scenery in Zacatecas: a historic center on the UNESCO Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the Sierra de Órganos and local brujitas.
2,290 mEstado de MéxicoTepotzotlán
A jewel of New Spain baroque on the UNESCO-listed Camino Real de Tierra Adentro: a former Jesuit college that now houses the National Museum of the Viceroyalty.
2,282 mPueblaChignahuapan
Christmas all year round in Puebla: over 200 glass-ornament workshops, a lagoon, Quetzalapan waterfall, hot springs and its basilica.
2,279 mZacatecasGuadalupe
Next to the city of Zacatecas: the Guadalupe Museum in the old Franciscan college of Propaganda Fide, colonial art and a silver center.
2,269 mEstado de MéxicoTeotihuacán de Arista
Gateway to the City of the Gods: the UNESCO-listed Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, sunrise hot-air balloon flights, obsidian crafts and local food.
2,266 mPueblaHuejotzingo
A 16th-century Franciscan convent, the famous Huejotzingo Carnival, cider and chiles en nogada, just outside the city of Puebla.
2,255 mHidalgoAcaxochitlán
Water and forest in Hidalgo: Tejocotal reservoir, the Chimalapa waterfalls, flower-inspired embroidery and acachul berry liqueur.
2,234 mJaliscoMazamitla
Jalisco's cabin town: forests of the Sierra del Tigre, cool weather, El Salto waterfall, zip lines and slow-roasted lamb.
2,229 mMichoacánSanta Clara del Cobre
The town of hand-hammered copper: artisan workshops, the National Copper Museum, historic churches and the National Copper Fair every August.
2,229 mGuanajuatoMineral de Pozos
A reborn ghost town in Guanajuato: silver and gold mines, the Jesuit Ovens, ruined haciendas, galleries, music and semi-desert landscapes.