Tlalpujahua de Rayón
Tlalpujahua de Rayón is a small former mining town in the state of Michoacán, not very far from Mexico City (120 mi / 193.2 km), famous for its production of Christmas ornaments. Surrounded by forested mountains, this magical town has preserved its authentic charm. Just walking around and exploring the narrow streets lined with red-roofed adobe and sandstone houses is a magical experience in itself. It is also quite close to three famous monarch butterfly sanctuaries in the mountains of Michoacán: El Rosario, Sierra Chincua and Senguio.
In the early 20th century, Tlalpujahua was one of the main producers of gold and silver in Mexico, but in 1937 a landslide buried one third of the town in mud and debris. The second blow the town suffered happened when the Dos Estrellas Mine, the main source of income of its population, was nationalized. Without the investment of its former private French owners, the mine closed in 1959, and Tlalpujahua almost became a ghost town. What brought the town back to life was the Christmas ornament business, which started in the 1960s and currently represents 70% of the local economy.
The town was named after the López Rayón brothers, Ignacio, Ramón, José María, Rafael and Francisco, who fought in the Mexican War of Independence. They were all born in Tlalpujahua.
1. What to see
1.1. Convento de San Francisco
1.2. Santuario de Nuestra Señora del Carmen
1.3. The Christmas stores
1.4. Museo Hermanos López Rayón
1.5. Museo de la Mina Dos Estrellas
2. Where to eat
2.1. Cocina Clarita
2.2. Restaurante Frida Bistro-Café
2.3. La Terraza Restaurant Café
3. Where to stay
4. How to get there
5. The monarch butterfly sanctuary
What to see
📷 Convento de San Francisco
9 am - 2 pm, 4 pm - 7 pm Mon-Sat
9 am - 1:30 pm Sun
This 17th-century Baroque-style convent was poet Manuel Martínez de Navarrete's home. The chapel is where Leona Vicario and Andrés Quintana Roo were married. They were both prominent figures of the Mexican War of Independence.
Take a walk in Jardín Zaragoza, a small park right in front of the convent.
📷 Santuario de Nuestra Señora del Carmen
9 am - 3 pm Mon-Sat
10 am - 2 pm Sun
Without a doubt the most beautiful church in Tlalpujahua, it is a true architectural gem. This 18th-century Baroque church was dedicated to the Virgin of Carmen, patron of the miners. For ten days (July 7th-16th) every year the locals celebrate the Virgin of Carmen, so it might be a good time to visit if you would like to see folk dances and choose from a wider range of local handicrafts.
📷 The Christmas stores
La Casa de Santa Claus
Joaquín Muñoz Orta and his wife María Elena Ruiz Villagrán counted themselves among the many locals who chose to leave the town after the Dos Estrellas Mine was closed. They moved to Chicago, where they worked in a Christmas ornament factory and learned the skills that would save their hometown from poverty and oblivion. In the 1960s they returned to Tlalpujahua, where they opened a Christmas ornament workshop that grew into a leading company, Adornos Navideños SA de CV. Tlalpujahua is now known around the country as a Christmas town. It boasts around 150 workshops and the range of products is just overwhelming.
Make sure you visit at least one of these wonderful stores:
🎄 La Casa de Santa Claus (est. 1975)
📍 Allende 1, Centro
📅 9 am - 8 pm daily
🎄 El Taller de Santa Claus
📍 Torbellino 10, Centro
📅 10 am - 7 pm Mon-Sat
10 am - 6 pm Sun
🎄 La Casa de las Esferas
📍 Calle Libertad esquina con Melchor Ocampo
📅 10 am - 8 pm Mon-Fri
9 am - 9 pm Sat-Sun
🎅 Visit Feria de la Esfera de Tlalpujahua (The Tlalpujahua Christmas Ball Fair)
📍 Juárez 9, Centro
📅 10 am - 6 pm Mon-Fri
10 am - 8 pm Sat-Sun
📷 Museo Hermanos López Rayón
10 am - 4 pm Tue-Sun
Entry fee: 10 MXN
The López Rayón brothers, all born in Tlalpujahua, played an important role in the Mexican War of Independence (September 16, 1810 - September 27, 1821). Ignacio López Rayón is probably the most famous one, as he was actually the leader of the independence movement after Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla's death.
You will also learn here about the mining history of the region, specifically about the Dos Estrellas Mine. Old mining tools and equipment are exhibited in the museum.
📷 Museo de la Mina Dos Estrellas
9 am - 4 pm daily
Free entry
The former Dos Estrellas Mine, one of the main gold mines in the world at the beginning of the 20th century, is now a museum. You will see a mineshaft, eight workshops and a collection of plans and photos.
Where to eat
Cocina Clarita
📍 Mercado Municipal, Centro
📅 8 am - 7 pm Mon-Fri
7:30 am - 7 pm Sat-Sun
💚 Try: chilaquiles rojos con pollo (shredded chicken with tortilla chips topped with a red chili pepper or tomato sauce, sour cream and cheese)
Restaurante Frida Bistro-Café
📍 5 de Mayo 23-C, Centro
📅8 am - 8 pm Sun-Thurs
8 am - 10 pm Fri-Sat
💚 Try: the breakfast combos
La Terraza Restaurant Café
📍 Allende 10-A, Centro
📅 10 am - 7 pm daily
💚 Try: aporreadillo (Michoacán-style beef jerky served with a salsa-dipped fried egg, rice and beans)
Where to stay
📍 Hermenegildo Galeana 46, Centro
📍 Hermenegildo Galeana 25, Centro
Hotel de la Parroquia Tlalpujahua ⭐⭐⭐
📍 Cerrada del Fresno 15, Centro
How to get there
🚗 By car (recommended route: Mexican Federal Highway 15D)
🚌 By bus
Go to Terminal Central de Autobuses del Poniente, better known as Terminal de Observatorio, one of the four main bus stations in Mexico City.
The Caminante buses leave every hour from 5:30 am to 8 pm daily. See the bus schedule 👉here. The bus will leave you in El Oro, another magical town, only 4.9 mi (7.9 km) from Tlalpujahua. You can take a taxi from El Oro to Tlalpujahua. The buses that go to Mexico City depart every 40 minutes from El Oro.
🚙 With 👉Aztec Explorers, certified and experienced bilingual guides who will provide you with transportation
The monarch butterfly sanctuary
On our way up to the monarch butterfly sanctuary
I visited Tlalpujahua with the Aztec Explorers guides and a small group of like-minded travelers, and it was an experience I highly recommend to anyone who wants to visit Michoacán. It was a day trip that included a visit to El Rosario, the most important monarch butterfly sanctuary in Mexico, and a tour of Tlalpujahua. The best time to visit El Rosario is from November 15, when the sanctuary officially opens, to mid-March (the period when the butterflies spend the cold season in Mexico). In spring they start their migration back to the United States and Canada.
Our adventure started in the small mountain town of El Rosario with a walk through a pine and sacred fir tree forest. The sanctuary lies a little further up the mountain and it's absolutely spectacular. Get ready to see countless monarch butterflies flying around the trees.
I also loved the town with its fairy tale quality and its many handicraft and food stalls. Although it's traditional from the state of Morelos, I tried Yecapixtla-style beef jerky (cecina) in El Rosario and I will forever associate this amazing dish with Michoacán and the monarch butterflies. After a well-deserved lunch we continued our adventure in Tlalpujahua, where Lidia Herrera and her husband Peter Winkers, owners of the Aztec Explorers travel agency, showed us the main attractions of the town. We all felt safe throughout the trip and apart from informative it was a lot of fun. In the short time we spent there I felt I could actually move to Tlalpujahua for a couple of months, maybe even longer.
