In the 1530s and 1540s, Augustinian friars arrived in the valleys below Popocatépetl to convert the local population, and they built churches that look half like cathedrals and half like castles. The convent of San Juan Bautista in Yecapixtla is one of the finest: a tall, fortress-like church with crenellated walls, a striking Gothic rose window over the entrance and a vast atrium where the indigenous congregation gathered for open-air services. It is part of the UNESCO listing of the Earliest Sixteenth-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatépetl, a group of fourteen convents across Morelos and Puebla.
The town itself is famous throughout Mexico for one thing: cecina, thin slices of salted and air-dried beef, grilled and served with fresh cheese, cream, salsa and tortillas. On weekends, families drive from Mexico City and Cuernavaca to eat it at the market stalls and restaurants around the plaza, and the smell of the grills drifts through the streets.
The riding is excellent. The roads of the Ruta de los Conventos link the monasteries through the foothills of the volcano, winding through fields of corn, sugar cane and avocado, with the snow-capped cone of Popocatépetl looming over everything on clear mornings. The volcano is active, and occasionally puffs out ash clouds that can dust the region, so check the alert level before you head to higher ground. The roads are mostly paved but can be patchy, with speed bumps, known as topes, in every village, livestock and slow trucks. The rainy season from June to September brings afternoon storms; the dry months are the best time to ride.
Yecapixtla, with around seventeen thousand inhabitants, has fuel stations and basic services, and Cuautla, a larger town nearby, has more choice and a history tied to Emiliano Zapata and the Mexican Revolution. Bring cash for the market and small restaurants. After a plate of cecina, wander into the atrium of the convent in the afternoon, when the light softens and the bells ring out over the town.