Visit to Taxco (2 day trip)

Visiting the City of Taxco de Alarcón, Guerrero.

Introduction

Taxco is an old mining town in the southwest of the country. It is famous for its Spanish colonial architecture, silver jewelry production, as well as cobblestone streets with picturesque squares. The main square is the Plaza Borda which houses the iconic Church of Santa Prisca of the eighteenth century. In its historic center, you can see a viceregal urban landscape, whose buildings, squares, alleys, and old constructions make us think that time has not passed.

Routes

First day: Hill’s descent in the cable car to visit the former Hacienda del Chorrillo, the Parish of Santa Prisca, and Casa Borda. Later, there will be some free time to eat and tour the city center, where you can find silver jewelry stores and craft shops.

Day 1

8:00 a.m. Departure from Mexico City.

11:30 Arrival at the City of Taxco.

12:00 Registration at the Hotel.

13:00 Lunch Hotel.

14:00 Cable car to visit the former Hacienda del Chorrillo.

14:10 Visit the former Hacienda del Chorrillo.

16:00 Visit the Parish of Santa Prisca and Casa Borda.

17:00 Lunch in the center and a free visit to the silversmiths and craft shops.

Second day: Visit to the Cristo de la Cima, located on the Cerro de Atache; as well as the Viceroyalty and Spratling Museums.

Departure from Taxco to Mexico City at 4:00 p.m., where it is expected to arrive at 7:00 p.m.

Day 2

8:00 Breakfast at the Hotel.

9:00 Visit to the Cristo de la Cima.

11:00 the museums (Virreinal or Spratling).

14:00 Lunch.

16:00 Departure to Mexico City.

Cableway

Located in the old town of Ahuacatitlan, today conurbation to the city of Taxco. From the cable car, you can see this colonial town from a height of 173 meters. The route has a distance of 800 meters. When descending, you reach the former Hacienda del Chorrillo.

Ex Hacienda El Chorrillo

Built between 1525 and 1534, by order of the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, it was one of the first mining-beneficiation haciendas on the American continent. For more than 400 years, the place was used in the process of silver separating. This place was first known as Real de Minas de Cantarranas, the name of the area where it is located, however, over the years the name changed to Hacienda El Chorrillo due to its location between the Mulata river and the Chorrillo river. In this place is the Teaching Center for Foreigners, Taxco Campus (CEPE-Taxco), of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The site is listed as Historical and Cultural Heritage, and since 1992 it was granted in Comodatum to the UNAM.

Parish of Santa Prisca

The construction was carried out by José de la Borda, a mining businessman from the Taxco region, between 1751 and 1758. This is a good example of Mexican Baroque. Until 1806 it was the tallest building in the country.

Inside there are nine altarpieces worked in wood and covered with gold leaf. The main altarpiece is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and the patron saints of the city of Taxco, as well as a magnificent choir and an impressive organ.

Cultural Centre Taxco Casa Borda

It is a colonial building built by the architect Juan Joseph de Alva and financed by one of the richest miners of the time, as well as the Santa Prisca Parish, is this cultural house that exhibits monograms of the Sacred Family. It was built around 1759.

The Christ of the Top

The monumental statue of the Christ of Taxco is located at the top of Atache Hill, from where it is possible to see the city. It is a preeminent architectural work of 5 meters high, the construction was carried out in 2002. The statue of Christ extends its open arms to the city of Taxco from above.

Viceregal Art Museum

The Museum is housed in the place known as the Humboldt House, although this scientist spent only one night in it. The Museum is a walk through the history of Taxco, especially during the eighteenth century, during the mining boom when its main monuments were built: the Parish of Santa Prisca and Casa Borda. Its museographic exhibition provides a panoramic view of the city’s history, its importance as a mining centre, as well as details of the history of the Parish of Santa Prisca, and some works of sacred art, sumptuary objects, and daily life of the time.

Guillermo Spratling Archaeological Museum

Thanks to this versatile New Yorker, Taxco was revitalized when he came to live in the city in 1929, hence the museum bears his name. One of his hobbies was collecting pre-Hispanic pieces and when he died, he left more than two thousand objects in the municipality of Taxco.

This is how this museum was born in 1975 exhibiting archaeological findings from five regions of Mesoamerica that you can enjoy during the tour.