Jilotepec

Jilotepec is a small city in the northwestern part of Mexico State. Although the town has a scenic colonial center, it is most popular as an outdoor weekend destination with rolling hills, idyllic waterfalls, and some mountain cliffs that are ideal for rockclimbers. The town has been designated as one of Mexico's Pueblos Mágicos.

Understand
Jilotepec is a small city of about 10,000 residents, though when you count all the surrounding smaller towns and rural bedroom communities the number swells to 10 times that for the whole municipality (county). The city is officially known as Jilotepec de Molina Enríquez, and was known as Jilotepec de Abasolo until 1986.

History
Jilotepec was settled by indigenous Otomi about 1,000 years ago. Like many indigenous settlements in Central Mexico, it became a tributary of the Aztec Empire when it was conquered in 1379.

Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 1560s, with Franciscan missionaries in tow. They established the town's main church, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul.

By bus
From Mexico City Terminal Autobuses del Norte, Autovias operates buses every 2 hours throughout the day. The 2-hour bus ride costs M$100.



By car
From Mexico City, drive north on federal highway MEX-57D (Autopiste Mexico-Querétaro), which is a toll road. The drive will take about 2 hours.

See




Do

 * Parque Ecoturístico Las Peñas - Located in the community of Dexcani Alto, this is an area for practicing extreme mountain sports, including climbing and rapelling, mountain biking and hiking.
 * Presa de Danxhó - Man-made lake with an area for adaptive aquatic sports
 * Presa de Avellan
 * Presa de Arena
 * Bosque de Canalejas, including El Llano State Park

Festivals

 * Carnival Xhita - celebrated during the carnival season each year (January–February), the celebrations in Jilotepec incorporate indigenous elements combined with Christian era Mardi Gras festivities. The Xhita custom involved rituals to help ensure a good harvest for the coming season. Men dress up as certain characters, notably bulls. The festival begins forty days before Ash Wednesday and ends on Fat Tuesday.

Buy




Eat
Jilotepec is home to a couple of regional delicacies that are sure to offend the delicate sensibilities of "refined" foreigners. Huitlacoche, also spelled cuitlacoche, is known to gourmets as the truffle of Mexico. It is essentially a blue-gray colored corn fungus that has a deep, woodsy or smoky flavor. Regarded as a delicacy by the Aztec, it's a food that's been embraced by today's innovative cooks who seek authentic bold flavors. Guisanos de maguey are caterpillars of moths that lay eggs in maguey (agave). They're coomonly solds as "white" (meocuiles) or "red" (chinicuiles). The white are more common in Jilotepec. What do they taste like? A bit nutty and crispy, like chicharrones but with a lower fat content. Mmmmm, mmmm!

Most hotels have restaurants on-site.

Go next

 * Tula
 * San Juan del Rio
 * Villa del Carbón