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Huatulco

Escaping the Heat of the Coast

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By Jane Bauer—

May is the worst time of the year on the Oaxacan coast. It is when the land is the driest, the ocean the warmest and it seems as though everyone is waiting for those first drops of rain. While many people come to the Oaxacan coast for the beaches, I am most enthralled by the mountains. Turn around and look behind you. They rise up in majestic tones of purple and blue. When it gets unbearably hot it’s time for a drive into the Sierra Sur, where the temperature drops, the air sharpens, and everything slows down. Within a few hours’ drive from Huatulco, a completely different world unfolds.

The journey itself is part of the ritual. Leaving behind the palms and salt air, the road climbs steadily, curling into the mountains. The vegetation shifts almost imperceptibly at first, dry brush gives way to greener growth, then to dense forest. Windows come down. The air cools. By the time you reach the higher elevations, you’re reaching for a sweater. This is the Sierra Sur: a region defined by altitude, cloud forests, and quiet.

San José del Pacífico: Where the Clouds Settle
Perched along the mountain highway, San José del Pacífico has built a reputation as Oaxaca’s most atmospheric escape. Known for its drifting clouds and panoramic views, the town often disappears into mist by afternoon, only to reveal dramatic sunsets hours later. It is also famed for the hallucinogenic mushrooms that grow there.

One of the highlights is that many cabins come with a chimenea, a fireplace, which keeps you warm and cozy. The pace is unhurried, slow, chilly mornings—listening for birds, watching steam rise from your café de olla. Travelers come for the cool weather, but they stay for the feeling of introspection and awe that the environment inspires. Whether sitting on a balcony wrapped in a blanket or watching the clouds roll through the valley.

San Mateo Río Hondo: The Quiet Alternative
A short drive, or an hour’s hike, from San Jose, lies San Mateo Río Hondo, a lesser-known but equally compelling destination. Down in the valley this town has some great hiking. Dirt roads, community life, and long forest walks define the rhythm. The smell of pine trees and woodsmoke. With fewer visitors, Río Hondo offers something increasingly rare: space to be alone with the landscape.

Pluma Hidalgo: Coffee in the Clouds
Just an hour from Huatulco, Pluma Hidalgo offers another kind of escape, one rooted in agriculture and tradition. This region is synonymous with high-quality coffee, grown under the shade of forest canopy and nourished by the same cool, misty climate that defines the Sierra. Visiting Pluma Hidalgo is a chance to see the slower cycles of rural life: coffee drying in the sun, families tending to their land, and a deep connection to place that feels unchanged by time. The air here carries the faint scent of earth and roasted beans, a sensory shift from the salt and sunscreen of the coast.

A Different Kind of Luxury
What ties these places together is not just the temperature, but the contrast. In a matter of hours, you move from heat to cool, from open beaches to enclosed forests, from movement to stillness. There are no beach clubs here, no urgency to fill the day. Instead, the luxury is found in simple things: a hot drink in cold air, a quiet night wrapped in fog, the sound of wind through pine trees. It’s the kind of reset that doesn’t announce itself loudly, but lingers long after you’ve returned to sea level.

For those living or visiting the Oaxacan coast, this mountain escape isn’t just a trip. It’s a seasonal rhythm. When the heat builds, you go up.

Jane Bauer is the editor of The Eye and a chef. You can follow her on Instagram @livingfoodmexico

Huatulco

Tren Maya Tsíimin K’áak’

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By Julie Etra

The Tren Maya links the main cities, major airports and tourist destinations, including major Mayan archaeological sites within the five states rooted in Mayan culture in Mexico (Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo). It also formally recognizes and helps safeguard the Mayan culture and its contributions to Mexico. All the signage is bilingual (Spanish and Mayan). The major and central station is Cancún.

Although other rail line projects in the region had been proposed by past administrations, the Tren Maya was the brainchild of the former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (aka AMLO) and his administration, and one of his top priorities shortly after his election in 2018. The Tren Maya consists of 1,554 km (966 miles) of modern rail that loops around the Yucatán Peninsula, with two additional legs, one east to Chetumal on the Belize border, and the other lengthy section south and west from Escárcega to the archeological site of Palenque in Chiapas. There are a total of 34 stations, of which 20 are major, consisting of seven segments. The three train types include the Standard Mayan Train (Xinnbal, ‘walking’ in Mayan), the Restaurant Car (Janal), and the Mayan Train Long Distance (P’ata), the latter of which will provide sleeper cars for the lengthier routes. The Standard Train has a 300-passenger capacity. The stations tend to be on the outskirts of communities, probably dictated by right of way issues, community concerns, engineering, hydrology, and archaeological. Passengers cannot simply hop on and off the train, so if you want to stay in a particular area for an extended stay, buy two one-way tickets.

Engineering, Construction and Operation
The lead firm selected for this project was Alstom, a French multinational company specializing in rail transport, mobility solutions, and engineering. Including the acquisition of Bombardier Transportation (part of Bombardier, known for its aviation division, including business jets), with a facility in Querétaro, Mexico, they are a global leader in high-speed trains, metros, trams, and sustainable signaling systems. At the time, FONATUR (National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism) was the lead agency for the Federal government, with a carefully selected consortium of businesses responsible for the design, manufacture of the trains, construction of the rail line, environmental and cultural analysis, and likely public outreach and coordination. The consortium was in part selected for its ability to manufacture the 42 X’Trapolis trains in Mexico in Ciudad Sahagún, Hidalgo, fulfilling another goal of being a ‘Train for Mexico Built in Mexico’ as well as design and install the entire associated infrastructure. The exterior design is sleek and elegant, and the train’s logo, an artistic interpretation of Kukulkan, the Mayan plumed serpent deity, was clearly displayed.

Construction began in 2019 with clearing and grubbing of the right of way. Topography is mainly flat, though hilly and rough terrain in Campeche required excavation and stabilization of long cut slopes. Some sections required multiple vehicular overpasses to maintain access to small communities. Sections were built and opened incrementally, with the final segment from Escárcega to Chetumal on December 15, 2024.

The routes are now fully operational although, as of this article, it is not clear what services are available at all the major stations. The trains are powered by a hybrid system, utilizing both electric-diesel dual-mode locomotives and dedicated diesel locomotives to travel the 1,554 km route. Approximately 44% of the track (about 690 km), primarily between Mérida and Chetumal, is electrified. The remaining sections are intended to run on clean biodiesel and ultra-low sulfur diesel, resulting in lower emission and energy efficiency. And the source of the biodiesel? Sources are primarily used cooking and vegetable oils produced in the surrounding five states through which the train passes. Alternatively, ultra-low sulfur diesel fuels are also used, according to causanaturamedia.com.

The Guardia Nacional, (established by AMLO in 2019), under the direction of the Mexican Armed Forces, oversees security and plays a role in operations.

Our Trip March 2026
We decided, without much debate, to take the Tren Maya this year from Mérida to Playa del Carmen, then rent a car and head to Akumal to meet up with family members, returning to Mérida. We did discuss taking it last year, but since 2025 was Tren Maya’s first year in operation, we decided to wait for reviews from friends or acquaintances—which never came. We chose Mérida since we had great memories from a brief trip we took decades ago on our way to Tulum; I was alone in Mérida in 2011 to present at an International Conference and wanted to go back with my hubby. We chose Playa del Carmen for the destination north of Akumal since it appeared that the station was better developed than the Tulum station to the south of Akumal and we were concerned about transportation to the rental car agency. As it turns out that was a prudent decision, as neither taxis nor Uber were available at the Playa del Carmen train station, and we were lucky to catch a private van to pick up our rental car.

Mérida To Playa del Carmen
Websites recommended that we be at the station across town an hour early so we left the hotel at 5:15 am, before the Mérida rush hour. The station was elegant but with few functioning services and mostly empty store fronts. Signage indicated that no outside beverages or food were allowed on the train; the body and luggage scanners, however, were not functioning at the time and we noticed employees enjoying a good desayuno in Styrofoam containers once we were on board in our first-class seats. We left at 7:00 a.m. on the dot. The comfortable seats were identical in coach and first class, the latter came with a fold-out table, but that was the only perk, other than first class allows for early boarding. There was plenty of space for storage and even a rack for bicycles. The food, in a separate ‘vagón’ (car) consisted mostly of packaged microwavable snacks, but I had a decent slice of carrot cake and a cup of coffee (skip the chapata de carne with mystery meat) and I was impressed with the selection of magazines. They serve rum, vodka, tequila and beer, but alas no wine, although it was a bit early for alcohol. It appears that the vagón may offer more culinary options in the future, as what we experienced was not the ‘restaurant’ car described on various websites (‘There will be 8 Restaurant model Maya trains, and the reason is that they have a carriage that functions as a restaurant. It has an industrial-type kitchen with a capacity for 140 passengers, and it prepares food from each region it passes through’).

There are electrical charge outlets and USB ports on the trains, but the wireless internet was not functioning on either leg of our trip. It was a 4.5-hour comfortable trip to Playa del Carmen through the flat and monotonous terrain, dominated by scrubby vegetation of the limestone parent material of the Yucatán Peninsula, mostly paralleling the existing highway to Cancún.

Return to Mérida
The train at Playa del Carmen left punctually at 7:10 p.m. and it was good we were early, as an intense downpour would have slowed our 25-minute taxi ride. We ducked into a small fast-food restaurant to get out of the rain blowing through the station and had a few beers. The station had functioning scanners, but they did not catch the limited food and beverages we managed to bring. The train was on time, and other than the coach being very cold (I resorted to wrapping a tee shirt around my head), we had an uneventful return in the dark night, with a few rum and coke cocktails and our books to break the monotony. We caught a cab back to the hotel in Mérida.

Would we do this again? Perhaps! I would love to check out the restaurant car and go back to either Palenque or Bacalar. Some challenges remain along several sections of the train due to difficult and complicated civil engineering associated with the karst topography (porous and cavernous limestone formations) and cenotes (freshwater sinkholes) of the Yucatan Peninsula, and several derailments occurred in 2025. Be sure to check the status of the rails when considering your itinerary.

Reservations:
These were easy to do online and directly through their website http://www.trenmaya.gob.mx

 

Huatulco

Beat the Heat in Mexico

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By Marcia Chaiken and Jan Chaiken

Here for business or pleasure? At the beach or in the city or in the mountains? The good news is: wherever you are in Mexico the temperature can climb pleasantly high. The bad news is: as the temperature climbs high so can yours. Rapidly rising body temperature can result in heat exhaustion or worse. So here are a few tips for creating a pleasurable stay in Mexico instead of a medical emergency.

Stay hydrated. Realize that while you’ve been dreaming of margaritas and cervezas, water is the key to hydration – not alcohol. Experiment and experience the many different kinds of flavored waters available in Mexico. Some of the favorites of local residents and long-time tourists are water spiked with tamarind juice, hibiscus flower (agua de jamaica), and cucumber (agua de pepino). We order our favorites in jarras (pitchers) and down the whole jarra during a meal for two.

Stay out of the sun. We wince when we see bone-white tourists laying prone in the sun on loungers around pools. Even with a high SPF suntan lotion, they are literally cooking themselves to dizziness and nausea. Exercise caution – even in the shade; the sun reflects off surrounding surfaces, especially water, and can cause roasting under that umbrella or palapa.

Plan your outdoor activities for the early morning and late afternoon. One of our granddaughters recently joined us in Huatulco for a week of rest and recreation with a bunch of friends whom she had met in med school. The young docs knew the nitty-gritty details of the havoc that heat can play on human metabolism. They rose early and went to the beach, beating the crowds and high temperatures. When the sun was rising high, they left the beach for indoor activities in air conditioned places. As the sun lowered enough to cast deep shadows, they brought their books and smart phones to the shade near a pool and took a plunge whenever the body temperature warranted a cooling. Evenings after dinner were their prime times for walks and other outdoor explorations. They pretty much held to the same schedule in city environments, touring in the morning and late afternoon and enjoying air conditioned museums midday.

Take cold showers. Even if you enjoy soaking in or spraying yourself with warm to hot water, before you towel off, stand under a shower that is as cold as the water gets. It’s the fastest way to bring down your body temperature. Returning from the beach or sweaty activities, a cold shower is not only enjoyable but necessary.

Dress to stay cool. The song might say “no shoes, no shirt, no problems,” but the absence of a shirt on tourists parading down city streets is a cringeworthy moment. Not only is it gauche but it increases the chances of overheating. Slip on a light-weight loose shirt, especially one with material designed to reflect sun. Lightly covered with room for air to circulate is acceptable in beach communities. In cities and the mountains, opt for several layers. Peel them off as the temperature rises during the day and replace them as the sun and temperature go down.

Siesta, siesta, siesta. Mexico is famous for its fiesta opportunities. But note that local fiestas typically begin around sunset. Midday is set aside for a long indoor snooze. You might try imitating the national pattern of having your largest meal (comida) in the early afternoon; the reason many stores and museums are closed midday is because the staff are enjoying comida during the hottest hours. Then as many local residents do, take a nap or at least rest while you digest. You’ll find that afterwards your body temperature will be normal and you’ll be raring to go.

Long-stay acclimatization. Many of us longer-stay Mexico visitors get used to the heat. It’s not psychological – it’s physiological. Our circulatory systems including our hearts adjust to keeping us cooler in hot weather. But it normally takes a week or more for our bodies to adapt – longer as we grow older – so we follow our own advice that we’ve given you during that period. We continue to follow it after acclimatization except that we don’t use air-conditioning. As soon as we arrive in Huatulco, we open windows and turn on all ceiling fans in our condo, leaving them on until we depart for the US. The fans and the sea breezes eventually replace the need for A/C.

Watch those babies! We love to see the babies and toddlers from north of the border in their floaties in pools and being wheeled about city streets. But please realize that their little circulatory systems take much longer than adults’ to adjust to heat at beaches and midday high temperatures in cities and mountains. When we hear the little ones wailing with discomfort, our hearts go out in hope that their parents are keeping them indoors and cool midday and providing bottles of water and cooling them off with baths and wet cloths.

Mexico’s weather is wonderful for visitors. It’s one reason tourists head south during below-freezing months in the U.S., Canada and Europe. But wonder can rapidly turn into woe – unless you beat the heat.

Drs. Marcia and Jan Chaiken have been married for 62 years and have published many justice system research reports together.

Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende

A Little Bit of France in Mexico

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By Alicia Flores—

Being Mexican is not just one thing. Mexican culture has been shaped by several influences, and one of the most fascinating is France. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, especially under Porfirio Díaz, French culture became associated with elegance, progress, and modernity. That influence can still be seen today in architecture, in food, and entire communities.

And if you know where to look, you can experience a little piece of France without ever leaving Mexico.

One of the most refined examples is Quinta Gameros in the northern state of Chuihuahua. This mansion was commissioned in 1907 by Manuel Gameros, a wealthy mining engineer who wanted a residence that reflected status and European sophistication. Designed by Colombian architect Julio Corredor Latorre, the house is one of the best examples of Art Nouveau architecture in Mexico. Its carved wood interiors, stained glass, and ornamental ironwork reflect the influence of French decorative arts that were fashionable at the time.

Construction began during the height of the Porfiriato, but history intervened. The Mexican Revolution forced Gameros to leave the country before he could truly enjoy the home. Over the years, the building has served multiple purposes, including as a federal building and later as part of the University of Chihuahua. Today, it houses a museum, where visitors can admire not only the architecture but also period furniture that helps recreate the atmosphere of early twentieth-century elite life in Mexico.

With the Torre Eiffel de Gómez Palacio, located in Durango, the French connection takes on a more symbolic form. This replica of the Eiffel Tower was installed in the early 2000s as part of a broader effort by local authorities to revitalize the city’s public spaces and create a recognizable landmark. Gómez Palacio has long been an industrial and railway hub, and the decision to build the tower reflects both civic pride and a desire to connect with a global icon of engineering and modernity.

Although it is not connected to Gustave Eiffel himself, the structure captures something powerful: the way the Eiffel Tower has become a universal symbol of innovation, romance, and aspiration. For residents, it represents more than a replica—it is a point of gathering, a visual landmark, and a reminder that global culture can be reinterpreted in local ways.

For a deeper and more immersive experience, the town of San Rafael , along with nearby Jicaltepec, offers a living legacy of French immigration in the state of Veracruz. Jicaltepec was established in 1833 as an agricultural colony by French settlers, who were drawn to the fertile lands nourished by the Nautla River. Many of these immigrants came from regions such as the Alps and eastern France, bringing with them farming techniques, baking traditions, and a strong connection to the land. They established agricultural communities, cultivating crops such as vanilla, citrus, and bananas.

Over time, the settlements of Jicaltepec and San Rafael grew into a unique cultural enclave where French and Mexican traditions blended. Even today, this heritage is visible in the local food. The region is known for its bakeries, as well as artisanal cheeses and dairy products influenced by French techniques, adapted to the tropical climate and local ingredients. Walking through the area, you can feel a quieter, more rural rhythm shaped by agriculture, tradition, and a history that connects Veracruz to Europe in a very tangible way.

These places remind us that Mexico’s identity is multi-faceted. French influence arrived during a time of ambition and transformation, leaving behind not only buildings but also traditions, flavors, and ideas that continue to evolve.

To travel through Mexico with this perspective is to see beyond expectations. It is to notice the details, the curve of an iron railing, the elegance of a façade, the taste of freshly baked bread—and to recognize that even here, far from France, its presence still lingers in quiet and surprising ways.

Huatulco

Why Oaxaca Is One of the Most Fascinating Cuisines in the World

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By Alicia Flores—

Travelers often arrive in Oaxaca, Mexico expecting tacos and margaritas. What they discover instead is one of the most intricate and culturally rich cuisines on earth.

Oaxacan cooking is not simply a collection of recipes; it is a living expression of geography, agriculture, and tradition. Corn, chile, cacao, herbs, seeds, and seasonal ingredients combine in ways that have evolved over centuries. Many techniques still used today predate the arrival of the Spanish.

At the heart of this cuisine is corn.

For thousands of years, Indigenous communities across Mexico have cultivated and refined maize varieties adapted to different climates and soils. The process of nixtamalization—soaking corn in an alkaline solution before grinding it into masa—is a technological achievement that transformed corn into a nutritionally complete food.

From this simple ingredient comes the tortilla, the foundation of daily life throughout Mexico.

Visitors are often surprised by how different a handmade tortilla tastes compared with the versions they may know from supermarkets. Fresh masa, pressed and cooked on a hot comal, produces tortillas that puff slightly as they cook, releasing a warm aroma of toasted corn.

It is a small moment that reveals just how deeply food and culture are intertwined.

Another hallmark of Oaxacan cuisine is mole. These complex sauces can contain dozens of ingredients—various chiles, seeds, spices, chocolate, and nuts—slowly toasted and blended into a deeply layered flavor profile. Every region and family has its own variation, and recipes are often passed down through generations.

Sourcing food play an essential role in the culinary landscape. A walk through the street of Huatulco reveals mountains of chiles, fresh herbs, cacao beans, cheeses, tropical fruits, and handmade tortillas. Cooking here begins with the ingredients themselves.

For travelers who want to understand these traditions more deeply, cooking classes can offer an extraordinary window into local culture. Learning how ingredients are prepared, how flavors are balanced, and how techniques have evolved over centuries brings the cuisine to life in a way that simply eating at restaurants cannot.

Food becomes a story.

In Huatulco,  cooking experiences give visitors the chance to explore this culinary heritage firsthand—preparing traditional dishes, learning about regional ingredients, and discovering why Oaxaca has earned a reputation as one of Mexico’s great gastronomic destinations.

Those curious to explore further can learn more about the experience offered by Chiles and Chocolate Cooking Classes, where guests dive into the history of Oaxacan cooking through hands-on preparation and discussion of the ingredients and traditions that define the cuisine.

Discover Oaxacan Cooking in Huatulco

For travelers who want to go beyond restaurant dining and truly understand the ingredients and traditions behind Oaxacan cuisine, hands-on cooking classes offer a unique perspective.

In Huatulco, Chiles and Chocolate Cooking Classes, led by Chef Jane Bauer, invite guests into the kitchen to explore the foundations of Mexican cooking. Participants learn about regional ingredients, traditional techniques, and the cultural stories that shape the cuisine of Oaxaca.

The cooking studio has eight stations which allows everyone to take part in the preparation of several dishes while discussing the role of corn, chiles, cacao, and other essential ingredients in Mexican food traditions.

By the end of the experience, guests leave not only with recipes but with a deeper understanding of why Oaxaca is considered one of the most important culinary regions in Mexico.

Classes run regularly in Huatulco and advance booking is recommended.

Learn more or reserve a spot here: http://www.huatulcofoodtours.com

Alicia Flores writes about food, culture, and travel in southern Mexico. She is particularly interested in traditional ingredients and the culinary heritage of Oaxaca.

Huatulco

Sound and Breath: Journeys of Healing in Oaxaca

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By Stephanie Whitford—

Pilgrimage in Mexico has always been more than a physical act of walking from one place to another. It is a journey of devotion, transformation, and connection, an experience that bridges the outer world of landscapes and traditions with the inner world of spirit and healing. In Oaxaca, where Indigenous wisdom and Catholic traditions intertwine, pilgrimage takes on a unique resonance. Here, sound healing, spiritual music, breathwork, and energetic frequencies are not modern inventions but echoes of practices that have guided seekers for centuries.

The Outer Journey: Walking Sacred Paths
Across Mexico, pilgrimages are woven into the cultural fabric. Millions walk each year to the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, while smaller communities in Oaxaca honor saints and ancestral spirits with local processions. For the Zapotecs, pilgrimage meant traveling to sacred mountains, caves, and temples—sites where the human spirit could align with cosmic order.

In Huatulco, the nine bays themselves invite pilgrimage. Walking along the shore at sunrise, climbing into the Sierra Madre foothills, or entering a temazcal sweat lodge are all acts of devotion. Each step outward becomes a prayer, each destination a reminder that the land itself is sacred.

The Inner Journey: Sound as Medicine
Sound has always accompanied pilgrimage. Indigenous healers used conch shells, drums, rattles, and chants to mark rhythm and call communities together. These vibrations were believed to restore harmony, dissolving dissonance in body and spirit.

Today, sound healing continues this tradition. Crystal singing bowls, gongs, and various other instruments create frequencies that bypass the analytical mind and open pathways to subconscious release. Spiritual music, whether ancient chants or contemporary compositions, becomes a companion on the journey. It reminds us that pilgrimage is not only about reaching a shrine but about listening deeply, allowing vibration itself to guide transformation.

Breathwork: The Pilgrimage Within
If sound is the external companion, breath is the internal guide. Breathwork, increasingly recognized in modern wellness, has deep roots in Mexico’s traditions. In the temazcal, participants breathe through heat and steam, surrendering what needs to be let go of and emerging renewed. Breath becomes a pilgrimage inward, a journey through intensity toward clarity.

As a teacher of conscious breathing, I believe that breath is the bridge between spirit and matter. In Oaxaca, this truth is lived daily. Each inhale is an invitation to receive abundance; each exhale, a chance to release limitation. Walking pilgrimages mirror this rhythm—inhale with each step forward, exhale with each pause. Breath transforms movement into meditation. Breath is the first step on an inner pilgrimage—a foundational key to well‑being that, when practiced with intention, has the power to transform your life on every level: physical, mental, and spiritual.

The Zapotecs believed the cosmos was structured by harmony. Rituals, music, and pilgrimage were ways of aligning with that order. Modern practitioners speak of energetic frequencies, vibrations that restore coherence to the body’s energy field. Whether through a drumbeat, a tuning fork, or the resonance of a crystal sound bowl, these frequencies remind us that healing is not only physical but energetic. Each of us breathes a unique frequency that seeks harmony.

In Oaxaca, this wisdom is not abstract. It is lived in festivals, in community rituals, and in the daily rhythm of life. Pilgrimage becomes a way of tuning oneself to the frequencies of land, spirit, and community.

Pilgrimage does not need to be a distant concept. Living in or visiting Huatulco, one can experience pilgrimage in everyday acts: walking the bays, listening to the ocean’s rhythm, breathing deeply into presence. These are small pilgrimages, journeys that connect us to Mexico’s cultural legacy and to our own inner truth.

Sound healing, spiritual music, breathwork, and energetic frequencies invite us to expand this practice. They remind us that pilgrimage is not only about movement across land, it is about resonance, vibration, and breath. It is about aligning with frequencies that heal, whether inherited from Indigenous traditions or discovered in contemporary practice.

Pilgrimage in Mexico is alive, evolving, and deeply resonant. It is the journey outside—walking to sacred sites, listening to communal music—and the journey within—breathing, listening, and allowing sound to heal. In Oaxaca and Huatulco, the legacy of the Zapotecs meets modern practices of sound healing and breathwork. Together, they invite us to see pilgrimage not as a destination but as a vibration: a journey of resonance that transforms both body and spirit.

Stephanie Whitford is an inspired living coach who blends breathwork, sound‑healing, yoga, fitness, and lifestyle practices to guide people on transformational wellness journeys back to their bodies and spirits. She teaches classes and workshops throughout Huatulco. Learn more at http://www.sunkissedfire.com

 

San Miguel de Allende

The Most Beautiful Churches in SMA Centro

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By Michael Solof—

It happens all the time. You’re new in town and want to see something special, or maybe you simply have a couple of hours to fill and feel like exploring somewhere different. That’s where this little walking tour comes in.

Today, we’ll visit four of the most beautiful and historically significant churches in San Miguel de Allende, all located within a few blocks of Centro. Along the way, we’ll touch on their architectural styles, histories, and why they continue to matter to the life of the city.

San Miguel de Allende is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, renowned for its well-preserved colonial architecture and striking religious buildings. Let’s begin at the heart of it all.

The Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel

The Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel is the city’s most iconic structure. The original church dates back to the early 17th century, though it underwent major renovations and expansion in the late 19th century. Its dramatic neo-Gothic façade was redesigned by local architect Zeferino Gutiérrez, who reportedly drew inspiration from European Gothic cathedrals.

The church is constructed from pink cantera, a volcanic stone widely used throughout the city and valued for both its durability and warm tonal variations. This material has become closely associated with San Miguel’s architectural identity.

Inside, visitors will find stained-glass windows, soaring arches, religious artworks, and impressive bell towers that dominate the skyline. Today, the Parroquia is one of the most photographed and recognizable churches in Mexico.

Over the years, the Parroquia has also accumulated its share of local legends and ghost stories — a common fate for historic churches. These tales belong more to popular imagination than documented history, but they add another layer to the building’s mystique, especially when seen at dusk.

Iglesia de la Inmaculada Concepción (Las Monjas)

Located near the Jardín Principal, the Iglesia de la Inmaculada Concepción— often referred to as Las Monjas—is one of the city’s architectural highlights.

Construction began in the mid-18th century, and the church is a fine example of Mexican Baroque architecture. Its most striking feature is the dome, which was inspired by European cathedral design and rises elegantly above the surrounding streets. The façade and dome glow beautifully in the late afternoon light, thanks again to the use of pink cantera stone.
Inside, the church contains richly decorated altarpieces covered in gold leaf, along with artwork created by local craftsmen. The church is dedicated to the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, reflecting strong Spanish colonial influence in both its architecture and devotional focus.

Each year, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated here, drawing a primarily local congregation and reinforcing the church’s role as a living part of San Miguel’s religious life.

Templo de San Francisco
(Corner of San Francisco and Juárez)

The Templo de San Francisco is among the oldest churches in the city. Construction began in 1683 under the direction of Franciscan friars, who played a central role in spreading Christianity throughout the region.

The exterior reflects restrained Baroque design, combining pink stone with white stucco for a striking but understated contrast. Inside, however, the church is far more ornate, featuring a beautifully crafted altar, decorative ceilings, and religious artwork.

While the church itself sits within the bustle of Centro, nearby courtyards and surrounding streets offer quieter moments for reflection. Each year, the Feast of Saint Francis is celebrated in early October, marking one of the church’s most important annual events.

Templo del Oratorio de San Felipe Neri
(Insurgentes 12)

The Oratorio de San Felipe Neri is an excellent example of 18th-century Baroque architecture paired with deep civic and religious significance.

Founded by the Oratorians—a religious order devoted to preaching, education, and community service—construction began in 1748 and was completed in 1753. The church’s elegant façade, carved from local pink stone, features intricate detailing that highlights the craftsmanship of the period. Its bell tower makes it a prominent landmark along Calle Insurgentes.

Inside, visitors will find a finely detailed altar, religious icons, and murals depicting saints and biblical scenes. The Oratorians were instrumental in establishing educational institutions in San Miguel, and their influence extended well beyond the church walls.

The Feast of San Felipe Neri is celebrated each May, maintaining the Oratorio’s role as an active center of worship and community life.

A City of Churches

The churches scattered throughout San Miguel de Allende offer a window into Mexico’s layered history—colonial ambition, religious devotion, artistic expression, and everyday life unfolding over centuries. While it would take weeks to visit them all, these four provide a rich introduction, all within a short walk of Centro.

Enjoy your travels—and take your time.

Michael Solof leads SMA Adventure Hound, a group which takes locals and newcomers to brunches and dinners at different restaurants every week and he also offers classes in the art of smartphone photography. You can contact him at WhatsApp +1-443-310-9214 for more info and to reserve.