City in Puebla, Mexico
Photo: Luce051, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Cuetzalan is a scenic colonial town in the highlands of northern Puebla state in Central Mexico. The town has lots of white colonial buildings with dark red bands painted across the bottoms, set among steep cobblestone streets. It has a 1500-year-old archaeological site nearby, coffee plantations, and copious natural attractions that include waterfalls, caves, and hiking trails through the jungle.
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Santuario de Guadalupe
Striking neo-gothic church that gets its name from the small jugs that decorate it. The church tower seems unusually tall for an otherwise narrow church. You enter the church through its cemetery. Because the town is often socked in by fog, it's a place you can get some spectacularly eerie photos.
St Francis of Asisi Church
The town's first Christian church, established by the Franciscans in 1547. And extensively renovated in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Archaeological site that was once the small Totonac city of Yohualican. The site was constructed in the early part of the Classic period (roughly 0-600 AD), making it contemporary with the larger El Tajin site nearby. It is thought that Chichimec incursions from around 1000 AD probably motivated the Totonac to move out of Yohualican. The architecture of the structures incorporates niches, similar to the design of buildings at El Tajin.
Grutas del Cuetzalan
Huge Karst cave system that caters to adventure seekers. Offers camping and various packages that include cave explorations from mild to wild. The entry-level basic tour costs M$175 per person and is a standard cave tour. A longer cave trip goes into the Grutas Chivostic, which is suitable for more advanced spelunkers. The entire cave route spans over 2 km and can include rapelling into the cave or traversing an aquatic route via an underground river called Río Subterráneo Chichicazapan. Most of the aquatic route is navigated by wading but there are areas up to 6 meters deep, so life jackets are provided. The Cuetzalan caves were in the news in 2004 when a group of British military cavers got trapped for 6 days, causing an international incident.
Traditional Mexican restaurant with affordable prices and friendly service.
Family friendly and budget friendly with good food, especially at breakfast.
Traditional regional restaurant, but be sure to order from the daily menu, it lists the regional dishes that are prepared that day. If they think you're a tourist who just wants "regular" Mexican food, then that's what you'll get... but better stuff is available.
Traditional look and feel but modern updates and amenities. Full service restaurant and bar on-site.
Traditional courtyard hotel with clean, comfortable rooms and on-site full-service restaurant.
Budget hotel with spacious but barebones rooms, comfortable beds, limited parking.
From Puebla's CAPU bus terminal, Autobuses Ahorro operates Via buses to the town of Tlatlauquitepec every 30 minutes throughout the day. The 2½-hour bus ride to Tlatlauquitepec costs M$300.
Read in the guideCuetzalan is fairly compact and easy to navigate by foot. Taxis are useful for getting out to the caves or other nearby destinations.
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