Layout of Tepoztlán
Tepoztlán lies at about 1,700 m in the north of Morelos, in a valley closed on three sides by walls of eroded volcanic rock that rise 300–500 m above the rooftops. The cliffs are the southern rim of the Sierra de Chichinautzin, the young volcanic field that separates the Valley of Mexico from the warm lowlands of Morelos, and they are why the town is where it is: the valley opens only to the south, towards Cuernavaca and Yautepec, and the road in from the 115D climbs into it through that gap.
The plan is simple. Avenida Revolución de 1910 runs the length of the town from the highway junction in the south to the foot of the Tepozteco path in the north, and almost everything sits on it or a block away. Halfway along is the zócalo, and on its eastern side the ex-convento de la Natividad, a Dominican house built between about 1555 and 1580 with a fortified single-nave church, a two-storey cloister with early murals, and a plateresque doorway whose seed-mosaic arch is renewed each September. It is one of the fourteen sixteenth-century monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl inscribed by UNESCO in 1994. Beside it the town hall carries a mural on local history, and behind the convent a small archaeological museum holds pieces from across Mexico.
Outside the centre the town divides into barrios, each with its own chapel and its own saint's day, laid out along cobbled lanes that end against the rock. The streets are steep, narrow and largely one-way, and on Sundays the centre is effectively closed to cars. The municipality had about 50,000 residents in 2020 and the town itself roughly 15,000, but weekend arrivals from Mexico City multiply that: Tepoztlán has been a weekend destination for the capital since the 1960s, and was named a Pueblo Mágico in 2002. Buses run from Mexico City's Taxqueña terminal, and the nearest airport with scheduled service is Mexico City (MEX), 90 km away.
Distances from Tepoztlán
| Place | km | Time | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amatlán de Quetzalcóatl | 10 | 20 min | Local road east |
| Cuernavaca | 20 | 30 min | Hwy 115D then 95D |
| Oaxtepec | 20 | 30 min | Hwy 115 east |
| Cuautla | 35 | 45 min | Hwy 115 |
| Lagunas de Zempoala national park | 45 | 1 h | Hwy 95D then Hwy 10 |
| Xochicalco ruins | 55 | 1 h | Hwy 95D south of Cuernavaca |
| Mexico City | 80 | 1 h 15 | Hwy 95D then 115D, bus from Taxqueña |
| Mexico City airport (MEX) | 90 | 1 h 30 | Hwy 95D and the ring road |
| Taxco | 100 | 1 h 30 | Hwy 95D then 95 |
| Toluca | 130 | 2 h | Hwy 95D then Hwy 55 |
| Puebla | 155 | 2 h 15 | Hwy 160 via Cuautla |
The Tepozteco and the valley
The cliffs above the town belong to El Tepozteco national park, declared in 1937 and covering about 24,000 hectares of the Chichinautzin range; it forms part of a biological corridor that protects the pine and oak forest between Morelos and the Valley of Mexico. On a ledge near the top of the northern wall, about 400 m above the plaza and reached by a stone stairway of roughly 2 km, stands the pyramid of El Tepozteco, a small two-tier temple to Tepoztécatl, a god of pulque and of the harvest, built in the Late Postclassic and still in use when the Spanish arrived. From the platform the whole valley and, on clear mornings, Popocatépetl 45 km to the east are in view; the volcanoes map shows the belt these peaks belong to, and the archaeological sites map the other highland sites.
The town trades on its market. Sunday fills the zócalo with produce from across Morelos, craft stalls and food counters selling itacates — thick triangular corn cakes cooked on a griddle — along with the cecina brought from Yecapixtla and ice creams flavoured with local fruit. Much of the surrounding valley is planted with maize and fruit, and the barrios keep a full calendar of chapel fiestas through the year, the largest of them the feast of the Tepozteco on 8 September, when a play in Nahuatl is performed in the plaza. East of the town the hamlet of Amatlán de Quetzalcóatl, 10 km away at the head of the valley, is by tradition the birthplace of Quetzalcóatl and the start of several walking routes into the sierra. Cuernavaca is 20 km down the hill, and the Central Mexico page covers the states that meet here.
Questions about Tepoztlán
Where is Tepoztlán on the map of Mexico?
In the north of Morelos at 18.99° N, 99.10° W, 80 km south of Mexico City and 20 km north-east of Cuernavaca, in a valley closed in by cliffs on the southern edge of the Sierra de Chichinautzin.
How hard is the climb to the Tepozteco pyramid?
The stone path runs about 2 km from the north end of the town and climbs roughly 400 m, mostly on steps; allow an hour up and rather less down. The temple stands at about 2,150 m and the site closes in the afternoon.
How far is Tepoztlán from Mexico City?
80 km, about 1 h 15 by car on the 95D motorway and then the 115D. Buses run from Mexico City's Taxqueña terminal in about an hour and a half. Mexico City airport (MEX) is 90 km away and there is no airport in Morelos with scheduled flights.
When is the market in Tepoztlán?
The main market fills the zócalo and the streets around it on Sunday, with a smaller version on Wednesday and daily stalls in the covered market. Carnival, with the masked Chinelo dancers, falls in February or March, and the fiesta of the Tepozteco is on 8 September.