Tehuacán

The heart of Tehuacán is its main plaza, Parque Juarez, a beautifully maintained urban oasis with sculpted topiary, shade trees, and lots of park benches along its many sidewalks, radiating out from the center like spokes in a wheel. Great place to feed pigeons and watch people, especially on Sunday.

Neo-classic and baroque-style 18th-century church, started in 1724, that was built over a cave as a refuge in times of persecution. The interior is large and bright and features gold leaf ceilings along its nave.

How did life begin? How did it change over millions of years? This beautiful modern museum attempts to answer those questions through a range of interpretive exhibits, including lots of dinosaurs and fossils. Also includes the Museum of Minerology, showcasing minerals and the geological wonders of the underworld. Features the private collection of Don Miguel Romero, whose collection included scientific pieces, such as moonstones, fossil minerals, and meteorites, as well as local specimens found in the Balsas Valley during a lifetime of explorations.

Small, little-known site that's still undergoing exploration and renovation. This was the town before the Spanish conquest. Several pyramids and structures are in excellent condition. A small site museum is closed, as of May 2023. To get there from centro, use the route 23 San Isidro bus and tell the driver you are going to the pyramids. He will drop you off at the site entrance. When you are ready to go back to the centro, tell the site staff and they will call for transport.

If you're interested in how humans came to populate the Americas, this will be a fascinating site to visit. This was the cave where, in the 1960s, American archaeologist Richard "Scotty" MacLeish discovered the oldest examples of domesticated corn production. 10,000 cobs of a small type of corn called teosinte. Radiocarbon dating showed they dated from 3600 BC. Don't expect anything big or elaborate, it's a small cave, but the locals are passionate about it, and anthropology geeks will be too. A second cave in the Valley of Tehuacan, known as Cueva Brava, was found nearby in the 1980s with similar evidence of early Mesoamerican corn production. (Note: This place is south of the town at lat=18.19933520707822 and long=-97.14753350902453. These coordinates are not included as geo coordinates because it makes the dynamic map useless.)

This is a smaller, quieter, more upscale version of the town plaza. It's a small urban park centered around an old water fountain. The square is lined with trendy bakeries, coffee shops, and ice cream parlors. It's a place made for romantic walks and slow conversation.