Trip to Tlalpujahua - PUEBLO MAGICO

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Posted photos of my recent trip on my FB page.

Tlalpujahua is a town known as Mexico's Christmas town. They fabricate beautiful Christmas ornaments here.
Very peaceful quaint town. Worth the trip.

Wow! Great pics, Doc. Maybe next year for hubby and me.

I was there this week and found the place underwhelming to say the least. We spent the night there and went to see the other Pueblo Magico a few kms from there . it is called El Oro .
I think the Pueblo Magico is reaching..the latest blow is when they made hte town of Palenque Pueblo Magico..the ruins are fabulous but the town?? I think Ajijic should go for it and could beat a few of those town without trying too hard.

There is another Pueblo Magico that makes Christmas ornaments in Puebla state as well.

It is always nice to read the experiences of others who travel to "off the beaten path" towns. The last place we visited was Tapalpa, and can highly recommend it as well. High in the mountains so it is cooler, pretty town much like Mazamitla, and lots of outdoor activities. And, it is only 2 hours from here on good roads. I had never heard of Tlalpujahua until you posted your recommendation. Thanks!

WDBarr wrote:It is always nice to read the experiences of others who travel to "off the beaten path" towns. The last place we visited was Tapalpa, and can highly recommend it as well. High in the mountains so it is cooler, pretty town much like Mazamitla, and lots of outdoor activities. And, it is only 2 hours from here on good roads. I had never heard of Tlalpujahua until you posted your recommendation. Thanks!

Tapalpa is "off the beaten path"? I think you are getting to the party a little late.

Yes it is not off the beaten place but it is a charming place in a beautiful setting. It is a weekend place for the Tapatios and it is the future setting of a new National School of Ceramics. Not exactly an out of the way place but still very pleasant place.

One of my favorite little villages in the Tapalpa area is on the free road to/from Lake Chapala  It is north of Tapalpa (maybe 15 miles).  Really is off the beaten path...you turn off the two-lane highway to get into it.  It's called Ferreria de Tula and has a most astounding dam/reservoir right in the middle of the village (population maybe 500).  

i'm telling you, this thing looks like it could have been built by the Romans!  Our friend Sparks has a posting about it from 2010:

http://jalisco-mexico.blogspot.mx/2010/01/ferreria-de-tula.html

Looks like a nice quiet spot for a week-end, have you seen the cabañas they rent?

Brigitte, i'm fairly certain there are no cabins in the town itself. Way too small, i think. But on the two-lane highway coming north from Tapalpa to Ferreria de Tula, there are a number of signs for places to rent. i'm not even sure there is anywhere to eat in Ferreria de Tula. It's a place to stop, see the church and the dam, buy some fruit and/or drinks, and relax. Just the type of place that i love to visit and show to folks.

Used to do more daytrips and this was a favorite stop, as are, for example, Potrerillos and Las Trojes just on the other side of the hills north of Joco. (The panteon in Potrerillos is another jaw-dropper.) For an overnighter or weekend, but fairly close, you'll probably need to go to someplace larger (i like Sahuayo, Zamora, Cuyutlan, Comala, to name a few). Just depends on what you are looking for.

I want to go up there to check out the restauration of a chapel somewhere around Tapalapa so I was curious about the eco tourists cabins..I am sure we would eat in Tapalapa but it would be nice to stay out in the country.

We used to do a lot of road trips but we have pretty much stopped. When we are in Ajijic we pretty much stay there.

Bummer I wanted to see the pictures: Sorry, this content isn't available right now

I think a friend of mine just went and brought me back a beautiful pair of earrings, I would love to go.

Just google the name and or Pueblos Magicos there is a lot of information on the place. It is about 15 minutes from the Morelia Mexico cuota, Past Maravatio, go through the Contepec toll and right there you will see the exit for Tlalpujahua.

lucky wrote:One of my favorite little villages in the Tapalpa area is on the free road to/from Lake Chapala  It is north of Tapalpa (maybe 15 miles).  Really is off the beaten path...you turn off the two-lane highway to get into it.  It's called Ferreria de Tula and has a most astounding dam/reservoir right in the middle of the village (population maybe 500).  

i'm telling you, this thing looks like it could have been built by the Romans!  Our friend Sparks has a posting about it from 2010:

http://jalisco-mexico.blogspot.mx/2010/01/ferreria-de-tula.html

That is quite interesting. We like Tapalpa. We are also big fans of Comala, which has so much to see and do, including visiting the Volcan de Colima. This is where we take guests. It is definitely NOT off the beaten path and you can get there in about 3.5 hours.

brigitte wrote:I want to go up there to check out the restauration of a chapel somewhere around Tapalapa so I was curious about the eco tourists cabins..I am sure we would eat in Tapalapa but it would be nice to stay out in the country.

We used to do a lot of road trips but we have pretty much stopped. When we are in Ajijic we pretty much stay there.

About the cabins in Tapalpa, did you see this in the Mexico Daily News: Five Jalisco companies have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department because they are believed to be controlled by the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel. The firms are Mizu Sushi Lounge with outlets in Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara, tequila firm Onze Black in Guadalajara, cabin rental company Las Flores Cabañas in Tapalpa, publicity agency J&P Advertising and agricultural firm JJGON. The latter two are both located in Guadalajara...Americans are prohibited from doing business with the firms - See more at: http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/u-s-sanctions-five-cartel-linked-firms/#sthash.ivhQfgIi.dpuf -

By the way in Tlalpujahua we stayed at the big luxurious hotel Mansion San Antonio, it is a large hotel with no customers at least not while we were there, we were the only customers..
I heard from a friend up there that the" Michoacan growers" are moving to Sayula and Tapalpa so I guess it is true..
A friend of mine who is from Sayula went up the mountain with a shovel to get some clay he wanted to work with. He went where he had been going for years, when he got there some armed man asked him what he was doing and he told them he was on the land of his family friend Don so and so and was there to get clay, they told him to get out of there and never come back..he got the message. He told me the interesting people from Michoacans are planting avocado orchards in that area.
I would think they would not bother the few customers renting the cabins.

by the way just checked Las Cabañas Las Fores pretty nice, not my idea of cabañas ecoturistas, I do not think that the cabañas I was reading about.

I have a friend who lives in Guadalajara who has a handful of cabañas outside of Tapalpa. Takes about 10 minutes to get into town. Not sure if they are "eco-tourism" sanctioned, but he's a lovely human who is definitely not involved in any spooky business. He sells kitchen and bathroom fixtures in Guadalajara! He really is Aces as a human. As he said to me the last time I was staying at his house, "The most important thing here are my guests….and the trees."

Of course, Tapalpa area is a long way from the the origin of this thread…..ooops.