Fray Junípero Serra, later famous for his missions in California, started his career in the Sierra Gorda, a rugged, forested range in northern Querétaro, and the church at Jalpan is where it began. Built in the mid-eighteenth century by Franciscan friars and the local Pame people, it is the central one of five missions in the region, and the facade is covered with colourful stucco figures of saints, flowers and angels, a mix of baroque tradition and indigenous imagination. UNESCO listed the five missions in 2003.
The mission of Santiago is on the main square of Jalpan, a small, lively town that is also the base for the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, one of the most biodiverse protected areas in Mexico, with a mix of desert, cloud forest, pine and tropical habitats packed into a short distance. Orchids, jaguars, ocelots, parrots and black bears are all said to live here. Jalpan feels very different from the dry, high plateau to the west, because it lies in a warm, humid valley, with fruit orchards and the smell of wet earth.
This is some of the best motorcycle country in central Mexico. Highway 120 climbs from the plain at San Juan del Río, through Pinal de Amoles and its hairpins, and descends into the Jalpan valley with long, sweeping bends, hairpin after hairpin, through pine forest and then into tropical vegetation. Fog and rain can come in quickly, and rockfall is a risk, particularly after storms. Keep an eye out for livestock and slow trucks, and take the corners cautiously, because some are blind. The road continues to the Huasteca region, falling steeply to the tropical lowlands.
Jalpan has fuel, small hotels and restaurants around the plaza, and it is the best place to fill up before exploring the other missions, which lie along quiet country roads. The best time to ride is the dry season, from November to April, though summer storms freshen the forest. Try the local fruit and the zacahuil, a giant tamale from the Huasteca, if you find it on a market stall.