Picture this, a sinuous road, 3 hours of just dry land and some cacti on view and all of a sudden, you turn a corner and you suddenly find yourself inside of a whimsical all white – with red tiles village right smacked in the middle of the mountains. Welcome to Taxco, one of the most beautiful Pueblo Magicos in Mexico and a great place to spend a couple of days and completely immerse in the pueblo rhythm.
Surprise, surprise, Taxco is another beautiful site packed with history that dates all the way back to the Aztec empire. The origin of Tlachco (it’s Nahuatl name) came with mining from the pre-Hispanic times, natives extracted a number of minerals for decorative and ritual purposes. When the Spaniards arrived, they discovered silver and immediately started commercial mining in the area.
The site lived a boom until the silver mines were completely depleted, but in 1920s, William Spratling, created a whole school of silversmiths that revived the trade and still attracts a lot of tourism to the town.
We came to Taxco from Acapulco, where we were doing some home officing and wanted a break from beach life. Three hours felt like a long way for a day trip so we decided to book a night there and we weren’t disappointed. Coming from Mexico City is pretty much the same distance, a lot of people come for the day but I would strongly suggest you to stay at least for a night, actually, if you’re adventurous and enjoy nature perhaps two nights would be best since then you can visit the Cacahuamilpa Groutes and the Pozas de Atzala which are closer to Taxco and could add a bit of zest to your trip.
Now for the town, first and foremost bring cash, lots of it, because Taxco is shopping heaven. Get here and buy all the presents that you need for the year, silver is all around at ridiculously affordable prices and with beautiful designs. Our favourite place is the Centro Joyero, particularly because several people suggest that some of the markets might be selling fakes, so beware, if it’s too good to be truth, maybe it isn’t. If you’re looking for reputed names, the Taller de los Ballesteros has some wow pieces (and prices) that you can bring home. Nevertheless, walk around, delve yourself in the rhythm. The zocalo is incredibly traditional and you will find one of the jewels of the place: the Santa Prisca Church to it’s right, go inside and marvel at the Baroque style of the building and, if you like overpriced drinks (sometimes it’s worth it) go to one of the restaurants in front to have a wonderful view and glimpse to the village life.
The town is small so you can basically walk everywhere (sneakers or flipflops, trust me), and in case you get tired of its steep rugged cobblestone streets there is always the possibility of jumping in the “vochos” Volkswagen beetles that run around the city. Note to the wise, leave the car at the hotel and forget about it, the major attraction of this place is the small sinuous roads, and getting to the hotel we literally felt we were about to flip over. There are two major viewpoints where you can go and admire the town in its totality, the Santo Cristo or the Montetaxco hotel which includes a cable car ride. Don’t worry, both trips are super special, and the views will blow your mind away.
Food, as usual is quite good, the go to meal is the Pozole, which for some reason is eaten on Thursdays, but you will find a good selection of Mexican food all around town. We saw several pizzerias and we found a yummy healthy food place that served salads and toasts (Menta), but this is a place to try Tostadas, Chilaquiles, Pozole and the rest.
On our end, we stayed at the Montetaxco Hotel which would deserve a full review on its own, from the ultra steep road entrance, to the cable car to go back to the city, to the breathtaking view from the pool area and the beautiful décor of the place, if you can find a good deal this is a fabulous place to stay, also the food is good and while more expensive than in town, good quality and still affordable (specially coming from CDMX).
Don’t wait too much to go to Taxco, our taxi drivers were telling us the transport department is about to start exchanging the iconic vochos for other vehicles so if you want the best photo opp, now is a good time to go!
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