Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic and Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
243 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 03
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.
From Hueyapan it runs 243 km to Hueyapan; allow about 4 h 03 of riding. The stops in between: Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th, Ancient Convent of the Nativity, Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc and back through Ancient Convent of the Nativity. 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. 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
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic is where the day begins. Next is Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th.
2. Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th
In the 1530s and 1540s, Augustinian friars arrived in the valleys below Popocatépetl to convert the local population, and they built churches that look half like cathedrals and half like castles. The convent of San Juan Bautista in Yecapixtla is one of the finest: a tall, fortress-like church with crenellated walls, a striking Gothic rose window over the entrance and a vast atrium where the indigenous congregation gathered for open-air services. It is part of the UNESCO listing of the Earliest Sixteenth-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatépetl, a group of fourteen convents across Morelos and Puebla.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th comes up about 24 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ancient Convent of the Nativity.
3. Ancient Convent of the Nativity
Tepoztlán sits at the foot of a wall of jagged volcanic cliffs in northern Morelos, and on the highest ridge above town, a small Aztec pyramid, the Tepozteco, dedicated to the god of pulque, clings to the rock. Down in the town, the Dominican convent of the Nativity, built in the mid-sixteenth century, is one of the monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl listed by UNESCO in 1994. Its massive church, with a facade carved with angels, the sun and the moon, and a large atrium, is impressive, and the cloister has remains of colourful mural paintings. Part of the convent houses a museum.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 59 km into the recorded legs you reach Ancient Convent of the Nativity. Next is Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc.
4. Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc
Xochicalco sits on a terraced hilltop south-west of Cuernavaca, and from the top you understand immediately why someone built a city here: the view runs over the valleys of Morelos in every direction, to the lakes, the hills and, on a clear day, the snowy shoulders of Popocatépetl far to the east. The city rose after the fall of Teotihuacan, flourishing roughly between AD 650 and 900, a time of upheaval when fortified hilltop centres grew strong by controlling trade. It was protected by moats, walls and ramparts, and its people mixed influences from the Maya, the Gulf Coast and central Mexico in a way that makes it unique.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th comes up about 218 km into the recorded legs. Next is Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic closes the day.
Leg by leg
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic to Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic → Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th to Ancient Convent of the Nativity
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th → Ancient Convent of the Nativity is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ancient Convent of the Nativity to Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc
Ancient Convent of the Nativity → Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc to back through Ancient Convent of the Nativity
Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalc → back through Ancient Convent of the Nativity is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ancient Convent of the Nativity to back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th
back through Ancient Convent of the Nativity → back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th to Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th → Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.