Cerro Pélon and Historic centre of the city of San Juan de
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
545 km
Riding-time estimate
10 h 41
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Barrio de Arriba de San Juan Xoconusco it runs 545 km to Barrio de Arriba de San Juan Xoconusco; allow about 10 h 41 of riding. The stops in between: Chincua-Campanario-Chivati-Huacal, Cerro Altamirano, Town of Aculco and Historic centre of the city of San Juan de. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,750 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Cerro Pélon
Every winter, something close to a miracle arrives at Cerro Pelon. Monarch butterflies, which have flown from Canada and the northern United States, a journey of some four thousand kilometres, gather in the oyamel fir forests of the high volcanic mountains on the border between Michoacan and the State of Mexico. They cluster in the millions on the trunks and branches, so thick that the boughs bend under their weight, and when the sun hits them they leave the trees in a swirl of orange that sounds like rain. The sanctuaries here are part of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cerro Pélon is where the day begins. Next is Chincua-Campanario-Chivati-Huacal.
2. Chincua-Campanario-Chivati-Huacal
The mountains where Michoacán meets the State of Mexico are cold, high and thickly forested with oyamel fir, and every winter they host one of the great natural spectacles of the continent. The Chincua, Campanario, Chivatí and Huacal sanctuaries are part of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO site, and they are where millions of monarchs arrive from Canada and the United States after a journey of thousands of kilometres. Nobody has ever fully explained how butterflies that have never seen the place find it, but they do, usually in early November, around the Day of the Dead, which locals link to the souls of the departed.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chincua-Campanario-Chivati-Huacal comes up 48 km in. Next is Cerro Altamirano.
3. 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
95 km in you reach Cerro Altamirano. Next is Town of Aculco.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Historic centre of the city of San Juan de.
5. Historic centre of the city of San Juan de
San Juan del Río grew up as a stop on the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the royal road that ran north from Mexico City to the silver mines of Zacatecas and on to Santa Fe in New Mexico, and its historic centre is one of the sites along that route listed by UNESCO in 2010. For centuries, mule trains, wagons and travellers passed through here, stopping at inns and crossing the river on the stone bridge built in the early eighteenth century, which still stands. The centre has plazas, churches, convents and colonial houses of pink and grey stone, and a relaxed provincial atmosphere, despite the city's growth as an industrial centre.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 545 km.
Leg by leg
Cerro Pélon to Chincua-Campanario-Chivati-Huacal
Cerro Pélon → Chincua-Campanario-Chivati-Huacal is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chincua-Campanario-Chivati-Huacal to Cerro Altamirano
Chincua-Campanario-Chivati-Huacal → Cerro Altamirano is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cerro Altamirano to Town of Aculco
Cerro Altamirano → Town of Aculco is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Town of Aculco to Historic centre of the city of San Juan de
Town of Aculco → Historic centre of the city of San Juan de is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic centre of the city of San Juan de to back through Town of Aculco
Historic centre of the city of San Juan de → back through Town of Aculco is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Town of Aculco to back through Cerro Altamirano
back through Town of Aculco → back through Cerro Altamirano is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cerro Altamirano to back through Chincua-Campanario-Chivati-Huacal
back through Cerro Altamirano → back through Chincua-Campanario-Chivati-Huacal is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Chincua-Campanario-Chivati-Huacal to Cerro Pélon
back through Chincua-Campanario-Chivati-Huacal → Cerro Pélon is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.