Discover Huasca de Ocampo: Hidalgo's Enchanting Pueblo Mágico

Spend an ideal weekend

A mining past, enchanted oyamel forests and basaltic prisms are the essence of Huasca de Ocampo, one of the three Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns) of Hidalgo that are hidden in the leafy corridor of the mountain, located a few kilometers from the city of Pachuca.

 

Like its neighbors Real del Monte and MIneral del Chico, Huasca feels like wanting to spend a weekend in full contact with nature, starting with the famous basaltic prisms. These capricious formations can be appreciated from a zip line or on foot.

 

From here we go downtown Huasca, which is tiny but charming. Walking through its cobbled streets is to be enchanted by the aroma of Mexican “Barbacoa” and freshly baked “Pastes” (stuffed dough patties) and the colors of its ceramic, coarse cotton fabrics and hand-carved wood crafts.

 

If we go a little further, we arrive at the Bosque de las Truchas (Trout's Forest). Its name already gives an idea of why it is one of the places to visit in Huasca de Ocampo; It has an immense hatchery of rainbow trout, which is prepared a thousand ways. While waiting for the typical dish to be ready, there are boats to navigate a turquoise lake, ATVs rental to get lost in the forest, a place to swim for those hot days, and rustic cabins if you are there when the night falls.

 

Visit "Bosque de los espiritus" (Spirit's Forest)Museo de los Duendes (Goblin’s Museum) is nearby, inside the Barranca Honda Hotel. What to do when you visit?: Watch out for these mischievous beings; It is said that they live in the forest, they may play with your hair and braid it like horse manes. Several examples associated with this supernatural phenomenon are on display in the museum, designed inside a rustic cabin decorated with hundreds of goblin figurines. At night, the hotel offers a walk to make a wish at a tree inhabited by the “spirits” of nature.

 

To discover the mining past of Huasca de Ocampo, you can sleep, eat or simply take a guided tour of the San Miguel Regla and Santa María Regla Ex-haciendas. There are also boat rides through the San Antonio Regla dam; at a depth of 15 meters you will see the old building of the San Antonio hacienda. However, part of a chimney and tower stick out from the water, giving the route a ghostly appearance.

 

You should consider a visit to Peña del Aire, a rock formation that simulates the face of a pre-Hispanic warrior. Watching the sunrise there is a favorite activity, like zip-lining or canyoneering (with waterfall jumps) through the Barranca de Aguacatitla.

 

The best season to visit the Pueblo Mágico (Magical Town) Huasca de Ocampo, Hidalgo, is between the months of February and May, when the rains are almost zero and the climate is mild.