Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic and Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
217 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 15
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.
A 217 km round trip from Oaxtepec - roughly 4 h 15 in the saddle. The stops in between: Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t, Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio, Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew and back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,850 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. 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 James t.
2. Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t
Ocuituco claims the first Augustinian convent built in Mexico, begun in the 1530s on the southern slopes of Popocatépetl, and the church of Santiago Apóstol with its cloister belongs to the same World Heritage group of early convents around the volcano as Cuernavaca's cathedral. Its cloister keeps a rare carved stone fountain, and the convent's thick walls and simple lines show the early, almost defensive style of the first missions.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio.
3. 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
about 65 km into the recorded legs you reach Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio. Next is Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew.
4. 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
back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio sits at 124 km, about halfway. Next is back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t.
6. back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t comes up about 188 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 James t
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic → Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t to Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio
Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t → Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio is 33 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 Andrew
Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio → Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew to back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew → back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio to back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t
back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio → back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t to Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint James t → Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.