Jerez de García Salinas is the reason most riders end up here, and it is a happy accident if they do. This colonial town in the west of Zacatecas state, a couple of kilometres from the point, is a Pueblo Mágico with a leafy plaza, an ornate little theatre, the Teatro Hinojosa, said to be modelled on Ford's Theatre in Washington, and the childhood home of Ramón López Velarde, the poet whose verses about provincial Mexico every schoolchild there knows. Jerez is a ranchero town at heart, with saddle makers, boot shops and men in hats, and the Easter fair with its horses and music draws people from across the region.
Cupuri Mutiu is a sacred place on the Wixárika route, the pilgrimage path that runs from the Wixárika homeland in the mountains of Jalisco and Nayarit across Zacatecas to the desert of Wirikuta in San Luis Potosí. For the pilgrims, the journey retraces the steps of their ancestors, and each spring, waterhole or hill along the way has a name and a meaning. It is not a tourist attraction; there may be nothing visible to an outsider, and if you do encounter offerings or pilgrims, give them space and respect.
The country around Jerez is ranching land at roughly two thousand metres, with dry hills, oak and mesquite, and green valleys where water allows. The road from Zacatecas to Jerez is a good two-lane highway with gentle curves; heading west or south from Jerez, toward Susticacán or Tlaltenango, the roads get narrower and climb into the Sierra de Morones and the canyons beyond, with views and corners that reward the effort. Watch for topes at every village and livestock on the open range. The rainy season, from June to September, brings green hills but also afternoon storms; the dry months are clear and cool in the mornings.
Jerez has fuel, banks, hotels and plenty of places to eat. Try birria, slow-cooked goat or beef in a rich chili broth, or the local sweets sold around the plaza. If you are riding on toward the sacred sites of the route, fill up in Jerez and carry water, as services become scarce in the hills. Zacatecas city is about an hour east, and the two towns make a natural pair.