Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the S and Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
108 km
Riding-time estimate
2 h 09
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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 108 km round trip from Atlatlahucan - roughly 2 h 09 in the saddle. On the way it passes Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t, Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio and back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,650 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the S
Popocatépetl is one of the highest volcanoes in North America, at about 5,400 metres, and it still smokes. From Mexico City on a clear winter day you can see the plume, and on the south side, in the state of Morelos, the foothills are dotted with the monasteries that the first Spanish friars built in the sixteenth century. They arrived in waves, Franciscans in 1524, Dominicans in 1526 and Augustinians in 1533, and in a few decades they converted and taught the people of the valleys, building fortress-like convents with open-air chapels, huge atria for crowds, and cloisters decorated with painted scenes. Eleven of them became a World Heritage group in 1994.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the S is where the day begins. Next is Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t.
2. Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t
Ocuituco claims the first Augustinian convent built in Mexico, begun in the 1530s on the southern slopes of Popocatépetl, and the church of Santiago Apóstol with its cloister belongs to the same World Heritage group of early convents around the volcano as Cuernavaca's cathedral. Its cloister keeps a rare carved stone fountain, and the convent's thick walls and simple lines show the early, almost defensive style of the first missions.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio.
3. Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio
Tochimilco sits high on the southern slopes of Popocatépetl, the great volcano that towers over central Mexico, and on clear mornings the snow-capped cone seems close enough to touch. Here, in the sixteenth century, Franciscan friars built a monastery dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin, one of the early missions established to convert the indigenous population after the Spanish conquest. Its fortress-like church, with thick walls, battlements and a large atrium where crowds once gathered for open-air mass, is part of the UNESCO site of the Earliest Sixteenth-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl, listed in 1994. In the town square, an old aqueduct and fountain built by the friars still bring water from the mountain.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 54 km into the recorded legs you reach Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio. Next is back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t.
4. back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the S. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the S to Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t
Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the S → Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t to Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio
Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t → Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio to back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t
Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio → back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t to Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the S
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t → Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the S is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.