Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th and Historic Centre of Puebla
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
245 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 40
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.
From Yecapixtla it runs 245 km to Yecapixtla; allow about 4 h 40 of riding. It goes by way of Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic, 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. 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 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 is where the day begins. Next is Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic.
2. 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 comes up about 24 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 92 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 Dominic comes up about 221 km into the recorded legs. Next is Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th closes the day.
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 24 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 Saint Andrew
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic → Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew is 68 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 Dominic
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew → back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic is 67 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 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.