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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Temple and Former Convent of Saint Mathhew and Historic Centre of Puebla

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
267 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 05
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.

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Why this ride

From Atlatlahucan it runs 267 km to Atlatlahucan; allow about 5 h 05 of riding. It goes by way of 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. 1. Temple and Former Convent of Saint Mathhew

    In the green valleys south of Mexico City, on the slopes below Popocatépetl, sixteenth-century friars built a chain of fortress-like monasteries, and the church and former convent of San Mateo at Atlatlahucan is one of them. The Augustinians arrived in the 1530s, after the Spanish conquest, and set about converting the local Nahua population, building enormous, thick-walled churches with open-air chapels where crowds could attend mass in the courtyard. The group of fourteen early monasteries on the slopes of the volcano was listed by UNESCO in 1994, and the architecture is a rare sight: plain, defensive on the outside, but inside the cloister are murals painted in black and white by indigenous artists under the friars' direction.

    Read the complete Temple and Former Convent of Saint Mathhew write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Temple and Former Convent of Saint Mathhew is where the day begins. Next is Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th.

  2. 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.

    Read the complete Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    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 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew.

  3. 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.

    Read the complete Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    about 103 km into the recorded legs you reach Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew. Next is Historic Centre of Puebla.

  4. 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.

    Read the complete Historic Centre of Puebla write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Historic Centre of Puebla, about halfway. Next is back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew.

  5. 5. back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew sits at 151 km, about halfway. Next is back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th.

  6. 6. back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    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 239 km into the recorded legs. Next is Temple and Former Convent of Saint Mathhew.

  7. 7. Temple and Former Convent of Saint Mathhew

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Temple and Former Convent of Saint Mathhew write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Temple and Former Convent of Saint Mathhew closes the day.

Leg by leg

Temple and Former Convent of Saint Mathhew to Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th

Temple and Former Convent of Saint Mathhew → Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th is 28 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 Mathhew

back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th → Temple and Former Convent of Saint Mathhew is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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