Mineral del Monte

Mineral del Monte (also known as Real del Monte) is an old mining town of 14,000 people (2020) in Hidalgo. The mines have closed, but centuries of industrial, cultural and gastronomic history have remained in its streets that give it a distinctive touch compared to the rest of the Hidalgo populations.

Understand
A past treasure trove for silver and turquoise extraction, this community has long been centered around the lure for mineral wealth. In addition to its modern name, during the Viceroyalty it was known as "Real del Monte," because it was under the Spanish crown, and then Little Cornwall because of Cornish immigration that swelled around 1850 to satisfy mining labor needs.

Along with boom and bust cycles, Mineral del Monte had some rather ugly labor disputes and even military altercations because that's just a given when it comes to human nature and controlling things. But through it all Mineral del Monte retains a rich mining heritage today. One interesting caveat about the place is that, sitting in the Sierra de Pachuca at an elevation of 2712 m, it has a cold, wet climate and even snows here at times. So come prepared for a kind of alpine excursion when you arrive in this little nook of Mexico.

Get in
Mineral del Monte is 17 km northeast of the state capital of Hidalgo, Pachuca.

By car from Mexico City, take the Mexico-Pachuca highway and then the Pachuca-Real del Monte highway.

By bus from Mexico City, take a bus to Pachuca from the Central de Autobuses Norte. Once in Pachuca, go to the Hidalgo Market and from here take a wagon to Real del Monte.

Get around
Real del Monte is small enough to be accessible on foot, although the combination of the height and the slope of the town can be strenuous for some visitors. The town has a taxi service and is connected to other towns by wagons. To explore the surroundings it may be necessary to have your own car.

See
Be sure to just walk around the parque centro downtown to take in the colonial character of the town as a whole; it is preserved well and will make you feel as though you've stepped back in time.

Eat
The quintessential dish of the city is the pasty (Spanish: paste), which is a baked wheat-flour pastry, similar to an empanada. Traditionally, the Cornish pasty is filled with potatoes and ground beef; however, local re-interpretations might contain tuna, pineapple, red mole, or even chicken tinga. They are frequently consumed at lunchtime, and can be found in the myriad pasty shops that dot the city.
 * Pastes "El Portal", Portals 2. +527717971307. 07:00-22:00.
 * Pastes Real de Plateros, Hidalgo 55. +527712917509. 08:00-22:00.
 * Pastes Mina la Rica, Juarez 76. 09: 00-22: 00.

Go next

 * Pachuca
 * Huasca de Ocampo
 * Mineral del Chico
 * Tulancingo