— Querétaro and its surroundings —
Here are the keys to visiting Querétaro and its surroundings in a few days.
Our journey
Grab your backpack and head out on an adventure to visit Querétaro and its surroundings! Our route is an example of what you can do in just a few days to take in the sights of this region.
Step 1
Querétaro
After taking a BlaBlaCar from Puebla (3h30), we arrive in Querétaro, city in the north of Mexico City. As a reminder, BlaBlaCar(.Mx) is a great option to get around Mexico, most of the time 2 times cheaper and faster than by bus.
We were staying in a hostel, « El Mexa Hostel », that is located in the city centre and is very affordable (10 euros/night).
We discovered the whole historical centre of Querétaro for a day, which is really cute. Beautiful churches, colourful alleys, and green spaces: a lot of charm.
I also advise you to visit the Mercado Escobedo, a covered market where you can eat local food in a very Mexican atmosphere!
We also visited the Urban Museum and the Museum of Science and Technology. It is an interactive museum that should preferably be visited by several people. On the other hand, on its own, it is not necessarily worth the effort, even though it is free.
Step 2
Peña de Bernal
After a day in Querétaro, we left for Bernal. How to get there? You should go to the bus station (next to the stadium). Then take a bus with the company Flecha Amarilla, the ticket costs 75 pesos. After a 1 hour bus ride, we arrived in Peña de Bernal, a Mágico pueblo, and known for its monolith, one of the largest in the world.
It is a village with a lot of charm. This big rock gives another dimension to this town.
Tourism in Bernal is focused on selling quad bike tours. For the time being, we were good tourists! We spent 400 pesos per quad (200 pesos per person), for about 1 hour and 15 minutes in total: 35 minutes on the quad, tastings and a visit to a winery (a liquor shop rather). This quad tour allows you to get as close as possible to the monolith and to have a nice overview.
But we didn't have time to climb it, which is also possible. A 45-minute hike will take you almost to the top, and you'll get a great view of Bernal.
Step 3
Pinal de Amoles
After a short visit to Bernal, we met in the evening at Pinal de Amoles, a village in the mountains, specifically in the Sierra Gorda.
To get to this village, we had to wait a long time and not necessarily listen to all the locals. Often, when they don't know, they give false information and contradict themselves a lot. You have to take the same bus as to go to Bernal, it continues to Jalpan (terminus), passing by Pinal de Amoles. You will spend about 130 pesos leaving from Bernal and the bus runs about every hour, with no fixed schedule.
We had contacted Susy in advance (the page « Antiguo Pinal » on Facebook) and she had booked us a room for the short night ahead. The next day was a day trip with the same agency, and we had to get up early. We met the team at 4.20am for the departure to the first spot of the day: Mirador Cuatro Palos. A tip: to get the most out of this tour, I recommend doing it during the week. When we arrived at the beginning of the hike (20 minutes walk), there were already many tourists. However, the sunrise was breathtaking.
Then we had breakfast of gorditas, a local speciality, to our great delight. Then we successively visited Puente de Dios and the Cascada Chuveje, which was quite impressive.
As far as the excursion is concerned, there is a cost: we managed to negotiate a price of 900 pesos per person for the day. On the other hand, Susy found us a room in Pinal de Amoles for about 600 pesos, knowing that there were three of us.
For our return to Querétaro, we took the same bus as on the outward journey, from the Flecha Amarilla company, which cost us 175 pesos.