Why this ride
The stops in between: Natsitacua, Uxa Tequipa, Nihuetaritsié and Cuhixu Uheni. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,200 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Tuy Mayau and Cuhixu Uheni
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 984 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 16 h 59
- 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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Tuy Mayau
Out in the high desert of San Luis Potosí, near the town of Charcas, lies a landscape that for the Wixárika people, often called the Huichol, is the most sacred place on earth. Wirikuta is the land where, in their cosmology, the sun was born, and each year pilgrims walk or travel hundreds of kilometres from their homeland in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Jalisco and Nayarit to reach it, visiting a chain of sacred springs, hills and other sites along the way.
Read the complete Tuy Mayau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tuy Mayau is where the day begins. Next is Natsitacua.
2. Natsitacua
Every year, groups of Wixárika people, known in Spanish as Huichols, leave their homes in the Sierra Madre Occidental and walk, ride or drive hundreds of kilometres east to Wirikuta, the sacred desert in San Luis Potosí where, in their tradition, the sun was born. Along the way they stop at a series of sacred places, springs, hills and water holes, where they leave offerings and perform ceremonies. Natsitacua is one of these places, out on the high plains near the border of Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí, and the names of the neighbouring stops on the route, such as Nihuetaritsié, are in the Wixárika language.
Read the complete Natsitacua write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Natsitacua comes up about 120 km into the recorded legs. Next is Uxa Tequipa.
3. Uxa Tequipa
In the high desert of northern San Luis Potosí, among creosote bush, yucca and endless sky, lies a landscape that is sacred to the Wixárika, the people outsiders often call the Huichol. Every year, pilgrims walk or travel hundreds of kilometres from their homes in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Jalisco and Nayarit to Wirikuta, the place where, in their cosmology, the sun was born. Along the way they stop at a sequence of sacred sites, springs, rocks and hills, each with its own name, offerings and rituals. Uxa Tequipa is one of these places, and the route as a whole has been proposed for the UNESCO list as Huiricuta, the Wixárika sacred route.
Read the complete Uxa Tequipa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 189 km into the recorded legs you reach Uxa Tequipa. Next is Nihuetaritsié.
4. Nihuetaritsié
High desert stretches away in every direction here, dotted with yucca, nopal cactus and mesquite, under a sky that seems twice as big as anywhere else. For centuries the Wixárika have made pilgrimages from their homeland in the Sierra Madre Occidental across these plains to Wirikuta, the sacred desert near Real de Catorce, stopping at springs, hills and other holy places along the way. This is one of those places, a spot that matters in their ritual geography even if, to an outsider, it looks like empty desert.
Read the complete Nihuetaritsié write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nihuetaritsié, about halfway. Next is Cuhixu Uheni.
5. Cuhixu Uheni
Every year, groups of Wixárika pilgrims, the people known to outsiders as the Huichol, walk hundreds of kilometres from their homeland in the mountains of Jalisco and Nayarit to Wirikuta, a sacred desert in San Luis Potosí. The route crosses a chain of sacred places, springs, hills and rocks, where offerings are left and ceremonies performed, and Cuhixu Uheni, near the small town of Villa de Ramos, is one of them. The pilgrimage route as a whole has been put forward for World Heritage status as a living cultural landscape.
Read the complete Cuhixu Uheni write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cuhixu Uheni sits at 494 km, about halfway. Next is back through Nihuetaritsié.
6. back through Nihuetaritsié
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Nihuetaritsié write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Nihuetaritsié comes up about 637 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Uxa Tequipa.
7. back through Uxa Tequipa
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Uxa Tequipa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 799 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Uxa Tequipa. Next is back through Natsitacua.
8. back through Natsitacua
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Natsitacua write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Natsitacua, late in the day. Next is Tuy Mayau.
9. Tuy Mayau
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tuy Mayau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 984 km.
Leg by leg
Tuy Mayau to Natsitacua
Tuy Mayau → Natsitacua is 120 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Natsitacua to Uxa Tequipa
Natsitacua → Uxa Tequipa is 69 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Uxa Tequipa to Nihuetaritsié
Uxa Tequipa → Nihuetaritsié is 162 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Nihuetaritsié to Cuhixu Uheni
Nihuetaritsié → Cuhixu Uheni is 143 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cuhixu Uheni to back through Nihuetaritsié
Cuhixu Uheni → back through Nihuetaritsié is 143 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Nihuetaritsié to back through Uxa Tequipa
back through Nihuetaritsié → back through Uxa Tequipa is 162 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Uxa Tequipa to back through Natsitacua
back through Uxa Tequipa → back through Natsitacua is 69 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Natsitacua to Tuy Mayau
back through Natsitacua → Tuy Mayau is 120 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Natsitacua and Nihuetaritsié · 119 km
- Uxa Tequipa and Nihuetaritsié · 83 km