Temple and Former Convent of Saint Michael and Ancient Convent of the Nativity
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
320 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 35
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 Huejotzingo it runs 320 km to Huejotzingo; allow about 5 h 35 of riding. It goes by way of Historic Centre of Puebla, Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio, Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th and Ancient Convent of the Nativity. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,800 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 Michael
Behind a crenellated wall in the middle of Huejotzingo lies one of the earliest Christian buildings in the Americas: the Franciscan convent of San Miguel Arcángel, built in the decades after the Spanish conquest on the lower slopes of the volcanoes west of Puebla. The friars arrived here within a few years of the fall of Tenochtitlan, and the church, convent and walled atrium they raised are a textbook example of how the missionaries worked, with great open courtyards where crowds of indigenous converts could gather for teaching and mass. Huejotzingo is part of the UNESCO site of the Earliest Sixteenth-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatépetl, listed in 1994.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Michael is where the day begins. Next is Historic Centre of Puebla.
2. 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
Historic Centre of Puebla comes up about 29 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 79 km into the recorded legs you reach Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio. Next is Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Ancient Convent of the Nativity.
5. Ancient Convent of the Nativity
Tepoztlán sits at the foot of a wall of jagged volcanic cliffs in northern Morelos, and on the highest ridge above town, a small Aztec pyramid, the Tepozteco, dedicated to the god of pulque, clings to the rock. Down in the town, the Dominican convent of the Nativity, built in the mid-sixteenth century, is one of the monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl listed by UNESCO in 1994. Its massive church, with a facade carved with angels, the sun and the moon, and a large atrium, is impressive, and the cloister has remains of colourful mural paintings. Part of the convent houses a museum.
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 197 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio.
7. back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 320 km.
Leg by leg
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Michael to Historic Centre of Puebla
Temple and Former Convent of Saint Michael → Historic Centre of Puebla is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic Centre of Puebla to Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio
Historic Centre of Puebla → Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio is 50 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 John th
Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio → Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th to Ancient Convent of the Nativity
Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th → Ancient Convent of the Nativity is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ancient Convent of the Nativity to back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th
Ancient Convent of the Nativity → back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th is 39 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 back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio
back through Temple and Former Convent of Saint John th → back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio is 44 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 Historic Centre of Puebla
back through Temple and Former Convent of the Assumptio → back through Historic Centre of Puebla is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Historic Centre of Puebla to Temple and Former Convent of Saint Michael
back through Historic Centre of Puebla → Temple and Former Convent of Saint Michael is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.