Recently we explored Magical Town of Aculco, which is even and hardly known among Mexicans! Its origin dates back to prehispanic times, when the settlement was established by the Otomí culture and during the spanish colony. The franciscan order started the building of San Jerónimo Convent in 1540, which nowadays forms the center of this historical town.
Aculco is characterized not only by its colonial architecture of local limestone, white walls and red tile roofs, but also by forming part of UNESCO World Heritage due to being on the ancient colonial Camino Real Tierra Adentro. The route, which during the spanish colony crossed all Mexico and reached Santa Fé, nowadays southern USA, along which precious metals like gold and silver where transported and the commercial life grew in adjacent towns like here.
You can still see parts of the original cubblestone Camino Real entering town via an old river bridge, and during a town walk you will like to make turns around ancient corners and discover historical waypoints like the old washing places fed by fresh spring water and colonial archs to enter town center. In actuality, Aculco counts with interesting production in diary, mainly cheeses, and a must for a town visit is to enter one of the charming shops, where you can taste from all kinds and ages of rich cheeses. We even recommend to have such cheese tasting then in your local hotel accompanied with the tasting of selected mexican wines. The cultural expression does not end with cheeses and cream, but also includes the typical and colourful Otomí puppets as well as the craftsmen’s work in limestone objects in natural colours and all imaginable useful forms and objects.
Aculco also counts with great natural attractions around: the waterfalls of Concepción fall over a high wall of limestone prisms into a deep canyon and so does also the other falls of Tixiñhú, which are surrounded by a nice forest valley. Do you like nature activity?Then here you can also practice rappel in the waterfalls and we also recommend to consider some wonderful hikes, maybe even up to great mountain of Cerro Ñadó for most physically capable and experienced ones.
Where to eat and where to sleep? There are small restaurants all around in town center, some of them with charming views on small square and garden ambiance, and for a relaxing and typical overnight, we recommend to have a look on Hidalgo hotel in town center or to spend a wonderful countryside night in Xani Mui hotel, surrounded by the wide green fields on edge of town.
How is Aculco connected and how can it be combined with other destinations and regions in Mexico? Aculco is located at some 2h drive out of Mexico City in northwest direction. It can form a perfect part of any program that touches Mexico’s colonial regions together with other UNESCO World Heritage sites like San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato on one side or Morelia on the other. Due to its location, it is easy to continue from Aculco then into one or the other direction to start or end a colonial circuit and with its short driving distance from Mexico City and also from Aculco then to a next destination, it can help to provide slow pace and relaxing travelling in Mexico. Also and as described further above, Aculco would not only be appropiate for colonial aspect combinations, but without any doubt also to enrich culinary aspects which are so various in Mexico.
