Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew and Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
201 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 10
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
201 km from San Andrés Calpan to San Andrés Calpan, about 4 h 10 of riding. On the way it passes Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio, Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic, Temple and Former Convent of the Immaculat and Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,850 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew
Calpan is a small town on the lower slopes of Popocatépetl, and in its centre stands a sixteenth-century Franciscan convent that is one of the masterpieces of early colonial art in Mexico. Built soon after the Spanish conquest, when friars were racing to convert the Indigenous population, the church is set within a huge walled atrium where crowds could gather for open-air Mass. In each corner of the atrium stands a posa, a small chapel used for processions, and the four posas at Calpan are covered in astonishing carved reliefs: the Last Judgment, the Annunciation, saints and symbols, carved by Indigenous craftsmen who mixed European designs with their own style.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew is where the day begins. Next is Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio.
2. 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
Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio comes up about 45 km into the recorded legs. Next is Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic.
3. Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic
Hueyapan sits high on the southern flank of Popocatépetl, in the far northeast of Morelos, where pine forest and orchards climb toward the volcano and the air is noticeably thinner than in the valleys below. In the sixteenth century, Dominican friars built a convent here dedicated to Santo Domingo, with a simple church, a cloister and a walled atrium where the indigenous population gathered for worship. It is one of the fourteen sites in the UNESCO listing of the Earliest Sixteenth-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatépetl, and while it is more modest than some of its neighbours, its setting is one of the most dramatic.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 65 km into the recorded legs you reach Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic. Next is Temple and Former Convent of the Immaculat.
4. Temple and Former Convent of the Immaculat
Zacualpan de Amilpas is a small town on the lower slopes of Popocatépetl in the state of Morelos, and its centre is dominated by a sixteenth-century convent built by Augustinian friars in the first decades after the Spanish conquest. The church and former convent of the Immaculate Conception belong to the group of early monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl that UNESCO listed in 1994, a chain of fortified religious houses that served as the base for the evangelisation of central Mexico.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Temple and Former Convent of the Immaculat, about halfway. Next is Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th.
5. Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th
Tetela del Volcán lives in the shadow of Popocatépetl. The town sits at about two thousand metres on the southern slope of the volcano in the state of Morelos, and the snow-capped cone, often trailing a plume of steam and ash, looms over everything. In the middle of town stands the sixteenth-century church and former convent of San Juan Bautista, founded by Dominican friars in the decades after the Spanish conquest. Its cloister has some remarkable murals, painted in muted reds and blacks, showing saints and friars of the order. It is one of the fourteen monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl that were added to the World Heritage list in 1994 as a group.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Temple and Former Convent of the Immaculat comes up about 117 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic.
7. back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 137 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic. Next is back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio.
8. back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 201 km.
Leg by leg
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew to Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew → Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio to Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic
Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio → Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic to Temple and Former Convent of the Immaculat
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic → Temple and Former Convent of the Immaculat is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Temple and Former Convent of the Immaculat to Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th
Temple and Former Convent of the Immaculat → Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th to back through Temple and Former Convent of the Immaculat
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th → back through Temple and Former Convent of the Immaculat is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Temple and Former Convent of the Immaculat to back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic
back through Temple and Former Convent of the Immaculat → back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic to back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic → back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio to Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew
back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio → Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.