Uxa Tequipa and Nihuetaritsié

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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

   Uxa Tequipa is where the day begins. Next is Natsitacua.

2. 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 89 km into the recorded legs. Next is Nihuetaritsié.

3. 3. 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

   about 207 km into the recorded legs you reach Nihuetaritsié. Next is back through Natsitacua.

4. 4. 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 Uxa Tequipa.

5. 5. 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

   Back at Uxa Tequipa. That is the ride.