In the high dry country of southern Zacatecas, the land is cut by canyons and spiny with mesquite, nopal cactus and agave, and the names of its places are a trail of Indigenous words. They sit in the region between the villages of Susticacán and Tepetongo, in the zone south-west of Zacatecas city where the highlands begin to drop towards the Juchipila valley, and the world around them is that of the Caxcan and Zacateco peoples who held the area before the Spanish arrived.
What I can say is that this was a frontier. In 1541, a great Indigenous rising known as the Mixtón War, led by Caxcan chiefs, nearly pushed the Spanish out of western Mexico, and it was only suppressed after a hard campaign. A few years later, the strike of silver at Zacatecas started the great mining boom that shaped the region, and the roads, haciendas and chapels that you see on the way are a product of those centuries of silver, cattle and maize.
Riding is a pleasure here, if a quiet one. Highways cross high plains of grass and thorn scrub at around two thousand metres, and the smaller roads wind between adobe villages with a plaza and a church, with goats in the verge and the occasional dog asleep in the sun. The altitude keeps the air fresh, and the days are warm and the nights cool. The rainy season from June to September brings afternoon storms, and the landscape turns green, while the dry months from November to April are clear, with crisp mornings.
Fuel is the thing to plan. The villages of Susticacán and Tepetongo are small, and you should not count on a pump, so fill the tank in Zacatecas or in a larger town on the main road before heading out. Carry water, and in the small tiendas you can buy sweet bread, cold drinks and cheese.
If you can find someone local to point out the site, the hills here are rewarding on foot, with views over the valleys and a sense of a very old country.