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Municipality and town in Oaxaca, Mexico
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Juquila is a village of about 5,500 residents in Mexico's southern state of Oaxaca. Officially named Santa Catarina Juquila (an overly long name used by nobody), it is a town of limited broad appeal, but huge appeal to faithful pilgrims who come to the town to venerate a small statue of the Virgin Mary that survived a catastrophic fire that burned everything in town sparing only the doll-sized figure, known as the Virgen de Juquila. The town is a pleasant Oaxacan small town with colonial architecture, indigenous craftsmen, and delicious regional cuisine, but it is really the small religious icon that makes travelers (almost 2 million of them per year) flock to the town. The town is otherwise unremarkable and one of the least interesting of Mexico's designated Pueblos Mágicos. If you're passing through the area, it may be worth a stop, otherwise, prepare to be underwhelmed.
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Sanctuary of Our Lady of Juquila
Beautiful colonial era church with clean white walls and a bright interior. Aside from being the home of a famous icon, the church is otherwise unremarkable in a country with thousands of even more beautiful historic churches. Pilgrims adore the small figure of the virgen while casual visitors wonder why such a fuss is made and how so many trinket and food vendors can manage to capitalize on its fame.
Comfortably casual coffee shop that serves a variety of lattes, cappuccinos, etc. along with having a full bar and serving light food such as pizzas.
Clean, family-friendly casual restaurant. Good breakfast with fresh sweetbreads, pancakes, and gourmet coffee.
Casual open-air crepes restaurant serving French-style thin pancakes with fruit and accompaniments as well as gourmet coffees.
Moderate hotel with somewhat small rooms with basic furnishings. Off-street parking available.
Moderate hotel with comfortable rooms with basic furnishings. Off-street parking. On-site restaurant.
Moderate hotel with clean basic rooms. No on-site parking. WiFi is a bit flaky and slow.
Moderate hotel with modern decor, cable TV, free WiFi.
Traditional town marketplace with vendors selling fresh produce, freshly slaughtered meat, prepared regional dishes, housewares, and this being Oaxaca, lots and lots of locally made mezcal.
Getting to Juquila can be challenge because it is not served by any direct bus services and the nearest major city (Oaxaca) is 5 to 6 hours away.
Read in the guideThe town is pretty small and walking is often the best way to get anywhere. Taxis are readily available, including moto-taxis. There is a sitio on the street right next to the sanctuary.
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Puerto Escondido · Regional · PXM
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