Tequisquiapan & Pena de Bernal

We had spent our morning sampling cheese and wine, so we were already feeling pretty great about or day so far. As part of our tour through the countryside, we would be making stops at two more of Querétaro’s most popular destinations. We were excited to go exploring. First, we have Pena de Bernal, home to one of the 10 largest monolithic rock structures in the world which was followed by Tequisquipan, famous for being the ‘center of Mexico’.

There was a lot of really interesting history (including several museums) that we didn’t have time to visit. Querétaro has a fascinating history, and the historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Querétaro State is home to just over 2 million people, with just over half living in the capital city. We were only here for a day and a half, so there are many things we will need to go back and visit again.

During our trip we had originally planned on going straight from San Miguel de Allende to Puebla, but were convinced to make the stop in Querétaro. We’re glad we did.

This was the third stop of the day, after enjoying wine and cheese on the Ruta de Queso y Vino. As a result, we were hungry. We found an incredible local spot for tacos and sopes and then found a place to sit back and enjoy a drink while taking in the scenery. The town is quite small, with many shops, restaurants and hotels catering the influx of tourists. Dominating the backdrop of every view, the massive 430 meter tall monolith rises out of the dry landscape, it takes over every photograph.

It really is quite impressive. We could have hired a taxi to take us to one of the lower viewpoints on the mountain, but we had already decided we will be coming back on a dedicated trip to do some actual hiking around the area. It would likely require a day or two to accomplish properly and we only had two hours.

The final stop on our drive around Querétaro was the small colonial town of Tequisquiapan. It is another of the countries Puebla Magicos (Magic Towns) and it was a nice place to wander and explore. One of the town’s claims to fame is that it is the geographic center of Mexico. It was a neat little town, and if time had allowed, would have been worth spending a night or two enjoying some tranquility.

We only had a few days to enjoy Querétaro, and it impressed us. We now have a better idea of what to plan for the next time we are in the area. The next morning after our tour, we were on our way to the bus station. We had a few days left on our trip, which would be split between Puebla and Mexico City. Stay tuned for more pictures and stories coming up next week!

Tequisquiapan & Pena de Bernal