Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic and Historic Centre of Puebla
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
285 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 24
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 285 km round trip from Oaxtepec - roughly 5 h 24 in the saddle. On the way it passes Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th, Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew, Historic Centre of Puebla and back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,850 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
Oaxtepec sits at roughly thirteen hundred metres on the warm southern side of the volcanic highlands of Morelos, where the air is noticeably softer than in Mexico City, an hour or two north. The Dominican convent here is one of the sixteenth-century monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl that UNESCO listed in 1994, a group built by the first friars after the conquest, with fortress-like walls, a large atrium for open-air preaching and thick buttresses against the earthquakes that have always visited this region.
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
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
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th comes up about 37 km into the recorded legs. Next is Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew.
3. 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
about 112 km into the recorded legs you reach Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew. Next is Historic Centre of Puebla.
4. Historic Centre of Puebla
Puebla was founded in 1531 as a Spanish city from the start, laid out on a grid between the volcanoes and the road from Veracruz to Mexico City, and it grew into one of the richest towns of New Spain. Its historic centre is a World Heritage site, and walking through it you see why: dozens of churches, palaces and mansions, many covered in the hand-painted Talavera tiles for which the city is still famous. The cathedral, with its two tall towers, dominates the main square, and a few blocks away the Rosary Chapel of the church of Santo Domingo is a dazzling space of gilded stucco and carved angels that has to be seen to be believed.
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 248 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 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th to Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th → Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew to Historic Centre of Puebla
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew → Historic Centre of Puebla is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic Centre of Puebla to back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew
Historic Centre of Puebla → back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew to back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew → back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th is 74 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 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.