Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th and Former college of San Francisco Javier in
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
390 km
Riding-time estimate
6 h 37
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.
390 km from Tetela del Volcán to Tetela del Volcán, about 6 h 37 of riding. The stops in between: Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic, Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio, Central University City Campus of the Univ and Former college of San Francisco Javier in. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,800 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 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 is where the day begins. Next is Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic.
2. 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 comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio.
3. Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio
The Franciscans arrived in Cuernavaca in the 1520s, just a few years after the Spanish conquest, and the fortress like convent they built here, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin, is now the city's cathedral. Its massive church, with walls thick enough for defence and an open chapel for preaching to crowds of indigenous converts, is one of the earliest sixteenth century monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl listed as a World Heritage Site in 1994. Inside, murals uncovered in the twentieth century show the martyrdom of Christian missionaries in Japan in 1597, a striking reminder of how far the Franciscan world reached; one of the martyrs, Felipe de Jesús, was born in Mexico City.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 80 km into the recorded legs you reach Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio. Next is Central University City Campus of the Univ.
4. Central University City Campus of the Univ
The main campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, known as Ciudad Universitaria, is one of the great architectural achievements of the twentieth century. Built between 1949 and 1952 on a field of lava from the ancient eruption of the Xitle volcano, in the south of Mexico City, it brought together dozens of architects, engineers and artists to create a modern campus that would blend international modernism with Mexican traditions. Its most famous building is the Central Library, a tall block covered entirely in a mosaic by Juan O'Gorman, depicting the history of Mexico from pre-Hispanic times to the modern era. UNESCO listed the campus in 2007.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Central University City Campus of the Univ, about halfway. Next is Former college of San Francisco Javier in.
5. Former college of San Francisco Javier in
Tepotzotlán is a Pueblo Mágico just off the highway north of Mexico City, and its heart is a building that stops you in your tracks. The old Jesuit college of San Francisco Javier was a training centre for the order in New Spain, a place where novices learned theology and native languages before being sent out across the colony. When the Jesuits were expelled in 1767 the college passed to others, and today it houses the National Museum of the Viceroyalty, one of the best collections of colonial art in the country. It also forms part of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the silver road that ran north from the capital towards Santa Fe, inscribed by UNESCO in 2010.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Central University City Campus of the Univ comes up about 246 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio.
7. back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 308 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio. Next is back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic.
8. back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 390 km.
Leg by leg
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th to Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th → Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic is 36 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 Assomptio
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic → Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio to Central University City Campus of the Univ
Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio → Central University City Campus of the Univ is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Central University City Campus of the Univ to Former college of San Francisco Javier in
Central University City Campus of the Univ → Former college of San Francisco Javier in is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Former college of San Francisco Javier in to back through Central University City Campus of the Univ
Former college of San Francisco Javier in → back through Central University City Campus of the Univ is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Central University City Campus of the Univ to back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio
back through Central University City Campus of the Univ → back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio to back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic
back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assomptio → back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic to Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic → Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.