San Sebastián del Oeste

San Sebastián del Oeste is a small colonial town in the western part of Jalisco. It's a town whose history and mining tradition reaches back into the pre-Hispanic era and whose old homes and rolling cobblestone streets invite meandering explorations. The town has been designated one of Mexico's Pueblos Mágicos.

Understand
The town was settled in 1605 under the direction of Francisco Cortés de San Buenaventura, nephew of Hernan Cortes (he who conquered the Aztecs). San Sebastian attracted miners due to the discovery of gold in the area and mining became its chief source of income and fueled its growth through the early 20th century. The Mexican Revolution changed its fate in the 1910s, when the mines shut down and the local population declined from its peak of almost 20,000. The town's population was about 630 in 2020, making it essentially a ghost town, and one of Mexico's smallest towns to be designated as a Pueblo Magico.

By car
From Puerto Vallarta, drive east on Jalisco state highway JAL-544. It's a good, modern road with through a mountainous area. Very scenic, with lots of mountain passes and a few twisty sections along the way, but it's an easy drive because you don't need to make any turns or get off the highway until you get to La Estancia, where you'll take the turnoff to San Sebastian. From downtown Puerto Vallarta, it's 90-minutes of drive time for the 68-km trip.

By bus
Autotransportes Talpa Mascota (ATM) operates five buses per day from Puerto Vallarta to the nearby town of Estancia. From there, it's a 10-minute taxi ride into San Sebastian. The 90-minute bus trip costs about M$220 (Sep 2023). The buses are clean, comfortable and modern.

Get around
The town is compact and walkable, and some of the best-known sites are best accessed via well-maintained, marked hiking trails (even when they're far enough that you might be tempted to drive or bike it). There are usually a few taxis around the zocalo, and hotels can call a taxi for you. Uber and other ride-hail apps do not serve this town.

Festivals

 * Fiesta de San Sebastian - January 20, the most important festival of the year honors the town's patron saint. The celebration includes charreadas, a midway fair with rides and games, and regional music and dances.

Raicilla
Tequila is usually the drink of choice in Mexico, and most especially in the state of Jalisco where it is revered as a part of Mexico's most cherished heritage. In a small area of western Jalisco that includes San Sebastián del Oeste there's a much more localized tradition that few Mexicans and even fewer foreigners have ever heard of, and that's the story of a spirit called raicilla. Like tequila, raicilla is part of the mezcal family. Its production methods are basically the same as for mezcal, but it is made from a blend of certain varieties of agave grown in the local area. Basically, raicilla is a mezcal made from a blend of Agave angustifolia ("Chico Aguiar" or "Yellow"), Agave maximiliana, Agave inaequidens and Agave rhodacantha. Raicilla is sometimes labeled as de la costa (coastal) or de la sierra (mountainous). Raicilla from San Sebastian is de la sierra and each brand can have differences in flavor or aroma that are attributed to local growing condition (the terroir concept, as in wine). It's an interesting drink that you might never get another chance to try, so carpe diem and pass the bottle!





Connect
Although the town has cell service and you'll probably get good signal, it's often 3G, even in 2023. The signal does drop in places as you get outside the town.

Go next

 * Sayulita
 * Costalegre
 * Tequila