Cerro Altamirano and Stretch of the Camino Real between Aculco
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
167 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 34
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 167 km round trip from Contepec - roughly 3 h 34 in the saddle. It goes by way of Town of Aculco, Stretch of the Camino Real between Aculco and back through Town of Aculco. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,650 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Cerro Altamirano
Every autumn, millions of monarch butterflies fly thousands of kilometres from Canada and the United States to spend the winter in the fir and pine forests of central Mexico. Cerro Altamirano, near the village of Contepec in the state of Michoacán, is one of the mountains where they gather, part of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. When the butterflies are here, roughly from November to March, the branches of the trees are covered with them, so thickly that they sag under the weight.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cerro Altamirano is where the day begins. Next is Town of Aculco.
2. Town of Aculco
Aculco is a quiet stone town in the northwest of the State of Mexico, on the high plateau at well over two thousand metres, where the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the colonial road to the north, passed through on its way from Mexico City. The town was a staging post, and its well-preserved centre, with a broad plaza, the Franciscan church and convent of San Jerónimo and old houses built of pinkish stone, is part of the UNESCO listing for the route. It was here, in November 1810, that royalist troops defeated Miguel Hidalgo's insurgent army, an early setback in the War of Independence that people still mention with a kind of local pride.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Town of Aculco comes up 37 km in. Next is Stretch of the Camino Real between Aculco.
3. Stretch of the Camino Real between Aculco
For almost three centuries, wagon trains loaded with silver rolled north and south along the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the royal road that linked Mexico City with the mining towns of the north and eventually with Santa Fe in what is now New Mexico. It was one of the longest trade routes in the Americas, carrying silver, mercury, goods, people and ideas across thousands of kilometres. In 2010 UNESCO listed a series of sites along the route, including stretches of the old road, bridges, haciendas and towns. This section, between Aculco and San Juan del Río, crosses the high plateau on the border between the State of Mexico and Querétaro.