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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Historic centre of the city of Querétaro and Cerro Altamirano

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
223 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 58
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.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

A 223 km round trip from Santiago de Querétaro - roughly 3 h 58 in the saddle. The stops in between: Historic centre of the city of San Juan de, Cerro Altamirano and back through Historic centre of the city of San Juan de. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,600 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Historic centre of the city of Querétaro

    Querétaro is the city where Mexico was twice made, once by the Spanish and once by its own lawmakers. In the old centre, the streets run from one small square to the next, each with a baroque church, a fountain and a few trees, and the pace is calmer than in the big cities. The city was founded as an Otomí settlement and became a Spanish colonial town in the sixteenth century, and the historic centre was added to the World Heritage list in 1996 for its mix of baroque architecture and its unusual layout, which blends the regular Spanish grid with the winding lanes of the indigenous quarter.

    Read the complete Historic centre of the city of Querétaro write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Historic centre of the city of Querétaro is where the day begins. Next is Historic centre of the city of San Juan de.

  2. 2. 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.

    Read the complete Historic centre of the city of San Juan de write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Historic centre of the city of San Juan de comes up about 53 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cerro Altamirano.

  3. 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.

    Read the complete Cerro Altamirano write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    about 112 km into the recorded legs you reach Cerro Altamirano. Next is back through Historic centre of the city of San Juan de.

  4. 4. back through Historic centre of the city of San Juan de

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Historic centre of the city of San Juan de write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Historic centre of the city of San Juan de, late in the day. Next is Historic centre of the city of Querétaro.

  5. 5. Historic centre of the city of Querétaro

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Historic centre of the city of Querétaro write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Back at Historic centre of the city of Querétaro. That is the ride.

Leg by leg

Historic centre of the city of Querétaro to Historic centre of the city of San Juan de

Historic centre of the city of Querétaro → Historic centre of the city of San Juan de is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Historic centre of the city of San Juan de to Cerro Altamirano

Historic centre of the city of San Juan de → Cerro Altamirano is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Cerro Altamirano to back through Historic centre of the city of San Juan de

Cerro Altamirano → back through Historic centre of the city of San Juan de is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Historic centre of the city of San Juan de to Historic centre of the city of Querétaro

back through Historic centre of the city of San Juan de → Historic centre of the city of Querétaro is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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