Chignahuapan

Chignahuapan is a scenic small town in Puebla. It has a colorful downtown core, waterfalls and other natural scenery, and some traditional restaurants with tasty regional cuisine. It is a popular weekend destination that is one of Mexico's Pueblos Magicos.

Understand
In 2017, it was home to 20,000 people.

Get in
The closest commercial airports to Chignahuapan are Puebla International Airport (2 hours, 15 minutes by car) and Mexico City-Santa Lucia International Airport  (2 hours, 20 minutes by car). From Mexico City, the drive to Chignahuapan is 190 km (2 hours and 20 minutes) via Federal Highway MEX 132 in the direction of Tulancingo de Bravo. From Puebla, it is 112 km from Chignahuapan, via federal highway MEX 121 and Puebla Highway 119D.

By bus
Autobuses Supra and ATAH both operate several buses each day to Chignahuapan leaving from Puebla Terminal CAPU. The 2-hour trip costs about M$200. Second-class bus lines also operate on the route at about half the price.



Get around
Chignahuapan is a good size small city so you may want to use a taxi for points outside the core centro. A taxi sitio is located next to Plaza de Armas. Taxis in Chignahuapan are baby blue with yellow doors.

A good option to get your bearings the first day is the town's Axolot Bus. These double decker buses do a tour past downtown sites and then make three stops outside Centro: 1) a "sphere" factory making Christmas ornaments, 2) the lake, and 3) Ensenada winery. The tour route takes 1½ hours and costs M$120 (a bargain). There are usually touts selling Axolot Bus tickets in the Plaza de Armas.

See






Do



 * Almoloya Lagoon (Lake Chignahuapan) - Beautiful lake with opportunities for sports fishing, boat rides, nature watching, and admiring the sunsets. On Day of the Dead, it is a site of the local celebration. The lake is fed by 9 springs and is one of only 3 lakes where the axolotl live in the wild.

Festivals

 * Festival de la Luz y la Vida - the local celebration of Day of the Dead, November 1. According to Meso-american tradition, to reach Mitlan, the city of the dead, spirits had to overcome several challenges, one of which was crossing the Chignahuapan River. Locals help the spirits find the crossing and build a large ceremonial pyramid in the lake.

Stay safe
Puebla is one of the safest states in Mexico and no special precautions need to be taken to visit here. Just do your normal common-sense precautions and you'll have a great time.

Go next

 * Tulancingo
 * Huachinango
 * Poza Rica