Discover Jalpan de Serra: Querétaro’s Hidden Sierra Gorda Gem
Sierra Gorda's heart
Quéretaro’s Sierra Gorda has a great natural and cultural heart that beats strongly in Jalpan de Serra, a Pueblo Mágico (Magical Town) about 184 kilometers from the city of Querétaro. To get there you need to take a curvy road for about three hours and a half.
Jalpan de Sierra's history
Originally, the area was inhabited by a people with a free soul, famous for having been the most fiercely opposed to evangelization, even preferring suicide to slavery, as recorded in the old Chichimeca legend “Sacrificio del Cerro de la Media Luna”.
The Chichimecan Pames resisted being conquered by the Spanish over 200 years, during the so-called Guerra de Sangre y Fuego (War of Blood and Fire), in which they were practically exterminated. Captain José de Escandón y Helguera, the winner of that war, founded Jalpan de Serra in 1744 and the tasks of pacification and evangelization were left in the hands of the religious brother Friar Junípero Serra, known as “the prince of the missionaries” or “the eternal pilgrim”. So, the name of the Pueblo Mágico (Magical Town) is composed of the Nahuatl voice for “place on sand”, Jalpan, and the name of the Friar.
The evangelization was consolidated with the construction of five Franciscan Missions in the area, declared by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites since 2003. La Misión Santiago, at Jalpan’s heart, was the first to rise, between 1751 and 1758.
What to visit in Jalpan de Serra?
Surrounded by mountains, forests, rivers, semi-desert areas, Caves and spectacular natural landscapes, Jalpan de Serra is also a perfect destination for practicing ecotourism. Even the Jalpan Dam, built with human technology, has become so immersed in nature that it has become a protected wetland, fundamental to the biodiversity of the area and home to an astonishing variety of birds.
Where is Jalpan de Serra located?
The Pueblo Mágico of Jalpan de Serra is located 184 kilometers from the city of Querétaro. It’s better to visit it from February to June and from October to November to avoid rainy days.
