Historic centre of the city of Querétaro and Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent M
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
312 km
Riding-time estimate
6 h 05
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.
312 km from Santiago de Querétaro to Santiago de Querétaro, about 6 h 05 of riding. On the way it passes Former hacienda of Chichimequillas, Protective town of San Miguel and Sanctuar, Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent M and back through Protective town of San Miguel and Sanctuar. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,250 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
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.
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 Former hacienda of Chichimequillas.
2. Former hacienda of Chichimequillas
On the high, dry plain northeast of Querétaro, the village of Chichimequillas grew up around an old hacienda, one of the many great estates that lined the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the Royal Inland Road that connected Mexico City with Santa Fe, in what is now New Mexico, for nearly three centuries. Silver, mercury, cloth, livestock, missionaries and soldiers travelled this route, and haciendas like this one supplied food, water and rest. The route was listed by UNESCO in 2010 as a series of sites, and the hacienda is one of them; its old buildings, chapel and walls hint at the wealth and power once concentrated here.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Former hacienda of Chichimequillas comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Protective town of San Miguel and Sanctuar.
3. Protective town of San Miguel and Sanctuar
San Miguel de Allende is a hill town in the highlands of Guanajuato, a little over two thousand metres above the sea, with cobbled streets climbing between ochre and rose-coloured walls, and in the middle of it the Gothic spires of the parish church rise improbably above the rooftops. The point on your map is in the centre of the town, and the sanctuary of Atotonilco, about fourteen kilometres away on the road to Dolores Hidalgo, was inscribed together with the town by UNESCO in 2008.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 81 km into the recorded legs you reach Protective town of San Miguel and Sanctuar. Next is Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent M.
4. Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent M
Guanajuato is a town that has been dug into, built over and tunnelled through, and it has a character all of its own. It sits in a narrow canyon in the highlands of central Mexico, and the silver mines that made it rich lie in the hills around it. In the eighteenth century the Valenciana mine was among the richest in the world, and the profits built grand churches, theatres and mansions, all painted in bright colours and packed into steep, winding streets. UNESCO listed the town and its mines in 1988.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historic centre of the city of Querétaro closes the day.
Leg by leg
Historic centre of the city of Querétaro to Former hacienda of Chichimequillas
Historic centre of the city of Querétaro → Former hacienda of Chichimequillas is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Former hacienda of Chichimequillas to Protective town of San Miguel and Sanctuar
Former hacienda of Chichimequillas → Protective town of San Miguel and Sanctuar is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Protective town of San Miguel and Sanctuar to Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent M
Protective town of San Miguel and Sanctuar → Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent M is 77 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent M to back through Protective town of San Miguel and Sanctuar
Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent M → back through Protective town of San Miguel and Sanctuar is 76 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Protective town of San Miguel and Sanctuar to back through Former hacienda of Chichimequillas
back through Protective town of San Miguel and Sanctuar → back through Former hacienda of Chichimequillas is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Former hacienda of Chichimequillas to Historic centre of the city of Querétaro
back through Former hacienda of Chichimequillas → Historic centre of the city of Querétaro is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.