Central Mexico is the high country around the capital: valleys above 2,000 metres ringed by volcanoes, with Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl standing between Mexico City and Puebla. Mexico City is the base, with Teotihuacan an hour to the north-east and Puebla two hours to the south-east, and smaller towns such as Taxco and Tepoztlán within a day's reach to the south.
This page helps you choose and combine. Mexico City, Teotihuacan and Puebla each have their own page with the experiences worth booking there. Below are two trips that fit around them, the silver town of Taxco and the hilltop temple above Tepoztlán, and from the Mexico page the climb of Iztaccíhuatl and the monarch butterflies.
A long day from Mexico City, or a nightGo alone or with a tour
A steep hillside town built on silver, crowned by the Baroque church of Santa Prisca and full of silversmiths.
What it is
Taxco lies in Guerrero, 170 km south-west of Mexico City, and is bound up with silver. The Spanish found silver lodes here around 1532, and in the mid 18th century José de la Borda opened new mines; his Casa Borda of 1759, beside the main square, is now a cultural centre. Next to it rises the church of Santa Prisca, completed in 1758, one of the most striking Baroque buildings in the Americas. Silversmiths still work here, stamping their pieces 925.
How to do it
Estrella de Oro buses run from Mexico City; the last bus back leaves Taxco at 20:00. In town, Volkswagen Beetle taxis and combis climb the steep lanes. Day tours from Mexico City usually pair Taxco with Cuernavaca.
Good to know
Buy silver in shops away from the centre, where you can bargain. Thursday is pozole day, red and green. For the view, go up to the Cristo at the top of town.
Time needed
A long day from Mexico City, or a night
Best time
A Thursday, for pozole; Holy Week for the processions
A market town south of Mexico City, below a peak topped by a small Aztec temple to the god of pulque.
What it is
Tepoztlán sits in the Sierra de Tepoztlán, inside El Tepozteco National Park. On one peak, at 2,310 metres, stands El Tepozteco, a small temple to Tepoztécatl, the Aztec god of pulque. Down in town, the 16th century Dominican convent of the Nativity faces the main square, and the weekend market spreads along a whole street on Sundays.
How to do it
Pullman de Morelos buses leave Mexico City's southern terminal at Tasqueña every 30 minutes and take about an hour and a half. The path starts at the far end of Avenida 5 de Mayo: some 400 metres of steps, up to two hours' climb depending on your fitness.
Good to know
The summit site has been closed at times, after forest fires and for repair works, so check before you go. The convent was damaged in the 2017 earthquake and may still be shut.
Time needed
A full day from Mexico City
Best time
A weekday morning for the climb; Sunday for the market
Climb Iztaccíhuatl, the sleeping woman, with a guide
Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl National Park
Two days, with a night camping at La JoyaBook ahead
Climb the dormant volcano whose ridgeline Mexicans read as a sleeping woman, at 5,230 metres, linked by a high pass to the active Popocatépetl.
What it is
Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl meet at the high pass of Paso de Cortés. La Joya, at almost 4,000 metres, is the meeting point for the climb.
How to do it
Everyone registers and pays the park fee at the visitor centre at Paso de Cortés, then follows a dirt road of about 7 km to La Joya; access is tied to the visitor centre's hours, which the park has given as 7:00 to 21:00. There is no public transport to Paso de Cortés and no shop there, so bring supplies from Amecameca. The climb is long and very high, so many climbers camp at La Joya the night before, and go with a guide after acclimatising in Mexico City.
Good to know
Do not expect a glacier: UNAM declared the Ayoloco glacier extinct in 2021.
Watch monarch butterflies hang in clusters on the oyamel firs, then take flight as the midday sun warms them.
What it is
El Rosario, near Ocampo in eastern Michoacán, is the best known and most visited sanctuary in the UNESCO-listed Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, and the largest on the Michoacán side. In the cold the butterflies hang in motionless clusters and only take flight when the sun warms them. Piedra Herrada, near Valle de Bravo, is a sanctuary on the State of Mexico side.
How to do it
Visits are with certified local guides, on an uphill forest trail at high altitude, so walk slowly and keep quiet. Go on a sunny day around midday.
Good to know
The season runs from late November to the end of March: in 2025 to 2026 the Michoacán sanctuaries opened on 21 November and stayed open until 30 March, and January and February are usually the best months. Check your government's travel advice for Michoacán before you go.
Time needed
A full day from Mexico City
Best time
January and February, on a sunny day around midday
Hidden gems suggested by travellers. We check each one before it goes up; the words are theirs, not ours.
No traveller picks for Central Mexico yet. Know a place most visitors miss?
Plan your trip
Which places for what
Mexico City has the museums, the Centro Histórico, Coyoacán and Xochimilco, and most of the restaurants. Teotihuacan is the great pre-Hispanic city, best at opening time or from a balloon. Puebla has the Baroque churches, Talavera, mole and, next door, the pyramid of Cholula. Taxco is the silver town; Tepoztlán is for a hike and a Sunday market.
Combining them
In must30's view, base yourself in Mexico City for five days or so, with Teotihuacan as a day trip, then move to Puebla for two nights and see Cholula from there. Tepoztlán is an easy day out from the capital; Taxco, 170 km away, works better with a night.
Getting around
Buses do the work. Mexico City has separate terminals by direction: the Terminal del Norte for Teotihuacan, TAPO for Puebla and Tasqueña in the south for Tepoztlán. Within the capital, the Metro is fastest. Day tours cover Teotihuacan and Taxco if you would rather not change buses.
When to go
The rainy season runs from June to September, usually with dry mornings and wet afternoons. November to March is dry and clear, with cold dawns. Jacarandas bloom in early April, chiles en nogada are in season in August and early September, and Cinco de Mayo fills May in Puebla.
Questions travellers ask
Can you visit Teotihuacan and Puebla as day trips from Mexico City?
Teotihuacan, yes: buses take about an hour. Puebla is about two hours each way, so it is better with a night or two, which also leaves time for Cholula.
How many days do you need for Central Mexico?
In must30's view, about a week: five days in and around Mexico City with Teotihuacan, and two in Puebla. Add a day for Tepoztlán or a night in Taxco.
Which bus terminal do you need in Mexico City?
The Terminal del Norte for Teotihuacan, TAPO for Puebla and the southern terminal at Tasqueña for Tepoztlán.
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