The sweeping landscape of Mexico’s central highlands (also known as the Mexican Altiplano) is home to some of the country’s most picturesque and agreeable colonial towns and cities which offer an abundance of character and culture—and the benefits of mountain living.

The benefits of mountain living in Mexico

Living at elevation —typically, Mexico’s inland colonial towns and cities are situated at elevations of at least 4,000 feet above sea level— offers several benefits:

Ideal climates

Many places situated at elevation in Mexico offer the benefit of year-round temperate, low-humidity, climates created by a combination of the locations’ latitude and an average elevation around 6,000 feet above sea level which make it a pleasure to live and be outdoors, and an ideal location to enjoy active outdoor activities.

Enjoy plenty of daylight all-year

Year-round and especially during the winter, you benefit from at least ten hours of daylight every day of the year, with no shortage of daylight hours in the winter, and you also enjoy extended light into the evenings during the late spring and summer months.  You can learn about climates through the seasons in Mexico here on Mexperience.

Fresh highland air and breathtaking views

Enjoy crisp, fresh, mountain air which complements the magnificent views from local vantage points, and elevations that can aid your good health and general well-being without being too high so as to become uncomfortable.

Access to good local infrastructure and amenities

Many of Mexico’s popular colonial highland towns and cities offer provincial living with plenty of local fresh food and produce markets, (much of it grown locally), independent shops and boutique traders, with accessibility to popular big-brand stores, outlets, and supermarkets as well as specialized stores offering foods and homewares foreign residents often seek out when living here. Most colonial cities also have adequate-to-excellent healthcare facilities locally; in smaller towns, more extensive facilities are available in larger nearby cities.

Well-connected to transport links

You’ll discover that the highland towns are well connected by modern roads, most are serviced by frequent intercity bus services, and some also have airports nearby. High-speed internet access is available in your home, as well as wireless data over advanced mobile networks which form part of Mexico’s extensive communications infrastructure.

Integrate into genuine local communities

Many of the colonial towns and cities offer you the opportunity to participate and integrate in local communities.  Here you can discover authentic neighborhoods and real local community spirit, and if you choose to, you can integrate with local lifestyles and community groups, and forge long-term friendships.

Considerations for mountain living in Mexico

Mountain living isn’t for everyone.  Some people yearn to be near the ocean with year-round warmth, whereas highland towns tend to be cooler—and may even get cold at times during the winter months.  A very small number of people find that they can’t adjust to living at higher elevations, while others find the mountain towns too remote, rural, or provincial for their lifestyle preferences or intentions.

If you’re unsure, visit for an extended stay

An ideal way to determine if mountain life in Mexico will suit you is to invest in a trial period —perhaps six months to a year— and see how you respond to the experience.  When you take the time to explore, you’ll discover thriving communities where, when you’re prepared to integrate, local people will come to know and greet you by name, you’ll cultivate appreciable relationships, you’ll give and receive value as you trade at the local markets through transactions which feel human and personal… and over time, you become the community you seek.

When you look with care you’ll also find the very best of Mexico in these places—people, culture, climate, food, amenities, and real local communities. For some, Mexico’s highland towns and cities become exceptionally special places to live.

Choosing between urban and (semi) rural settings

Other than Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey, Mexico’s highland towns and cities are situated in provincial (rural or semi-rural) settings and we recommend your consider whether living in the Mexican countryside would suit you, as well as giving careful thought to your lifestyle needs as a whole as you short-list potential places to live instead of looking at certain aspects in isolation.

As with other places you may consider moving to in Mexico, you’ll need to plan and prepare for your new lifestyle, you might need to acclimatize to the higher elevation, and you’ll need to be prepared to forge your own story here. Hundreds of thousands of foreign residents enjoy a good life in Mexico; with some considered choices and forward planning, you could as well.

Explore highland towns and cities in Mexico

Here are some of the more popular colonial towns and cities foreign residents have settled in, as well as some which are less well-known and gaining attention in recent times.

Mexico’s colonial heartland

Querétaro, Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende for traditional colonial highland cities; Aguascalientes for a more contemporary living lifestyle; and Zacatecas if you’re seeking a mountain city off-the-beaten-track and on the edge of a mountain frontier.

South-central highlands

Cuernavaca, Tepoztlán, and Puebla.  These traditional provincial highland places are situated conveniently close to Mexico City and yet are far enough removed from the congestion of the capital to enjoy a genuine provincial atmosphere and feel.  For a more rustic option off-the-beaten track in this area, consider Taxco.

In the mountains west of Mexico City

The highland lakeside towns of Chapala, and Ajijic are home to the largest community of foreign residents in Mexico; the city of Morelia offers old-world colonial elegance, and the ancient highland town of Pátzcuaro offers an attractive blend of colonial indigenous cultures amidst an intimate colonial setting. If you’re seeking an urban lifestyle at elevation, Guadalajara offers vibrancy, culture, and all the benefits of a large metropolitan city, and is close to Ajijic, Chapala, and Jocotepec—small towns settled along the northern shoreline of Lake Chapala and home to tens of thousands of foreign residents, most from the US and Canada.

Further south, to Oaxaca and Chiapas

Oaxaca City remains one of the most authentic and cultured colonial cities in Mexico; and further south, in the breath-taking state of Chiapas, you’ll find the highland mountain town of San Cristobal de las Casas—somewhat off-the-beaten-track and close to the traditional indigenous mountain communities of San Juan Chamula and Zinacatán.

Discover more places to live in Mexico

Discover interesting and charming locations to live, work or retire in Mexico, and articles with helpful insights about choosing a place to settle here.

Resources for Living & Lifestyle in Mexico

Mexperience offers you a comprehensive online resource of information and local knowledge to help you discover Mexico, explore choices, find opportunities and plan a new life in Mexico.  Our resources include:

• Detailed knowledge about planning a move in Mexico
• Insightful articles about living and lifestyle in Mexico
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While close enough to be a long day trip from the capital, the fresh air, the colonial atmosphere and the allure of Taxco’s quintessential colonial character are best enjoyed by a longer stay, which will also give you the opportunity to explore Taxco by night with its softly-lit streets and alleys and more relaxed atmosphere.

Staying for a few days also offers an opportunity to see worthwhile nearby attractions including the beautiful blue-water wells of Atazala, William Spratling’s ranch, and the limestone caverns of Cacahuamilpa.  You can also take a cab ride up to the Cristo statue to experience remarkable panoramic views of the town and the surrounding natural beauty of this area.

The town itself is enormously picturesque, whether you’re on the mountaintop looking down into the city, gazing across one of the many vantage points afforded through the Taxco’s steep terrain, surreptitiously exploring the narrow streets and alleyways that break open into plazas and courtyards, or looking upwards to admire the great mountains that frame this idyllic colonial setting.  The natural light in this highland mountain town is something to behold, and the sunsets can be extraordinary.

A key attraction that draws visitors to Taxco is the abundance of high quality, reasonably priced silver craft-work available throughout the town.  The city is dotted with stores, stalls and markets selling a wide assortment of silver crafts. Many of the traders sell identical goods —rings, chains, bracelets, ornaments, curiosities— at remarkably variable prices, generally becoming less expensive as you move further from the center of the town, so it’s a good idea to wander off and meander down the side alleys and streets, to find merchants where you can compare the different styles and prices with those on offer in and near the center.

The famous Santa Prisca Cathedral, an impressive baroque structure that looks out onto the main plaza, is itself situated on a vantage point at Cerro del Atache mountain, making it readily visible.  The church was built, and paid for, between 1751 and 1758 by Don Jose de la Borda, a Spaniard of French descent and a devout Catholic who made his fortune from the town’s silver mines.  Borda himself reactivated silver mining here, as the industry had gradually diminished over the preceding two centuries when more profitable and easier to exploit deposits were discovered elsewhere in the country.

While wandering the picturesque winding streets, you are certain to come across the name of William Spratling, an architecture professor from New York whose work promoting Mexican art and artists made him popular among the country’s elite.  In the 1930s, Spratling began developing Taxco as a producer of fine silver-craft, a work that reignited the local economy then, and a trade for which the city remains famous to this day.  Taxco is home to the Spratling Museum, which honors the “Father of Mexican Silver,” and you can also visit his old ranch on the outskirts of town.

Taxco is arguably one of Mexico’s better-kept secrets on the colonial trail: unassuming, it offers authenticity and old-world nostalgia.  Explore Taxco patiently on foot and allow it to reveal its delightfully unexpected charms.

The bugs were always versatile vehicles, and particularly useful in their hey-day as taxis for short hauls around town. In Mexico City, they have been gradually replaced over the years by newer sub-compacts, and App-Cab services like Uber have also contributed to transforming the entire taxi-ride experience.

VW bugs, it is well known, last for years and years. So where are they all going?

The answer appears to be the provinces. The thousands of combis that used to supply most of Mexico City’s “collective” taxi routes can still very occasionally be seen in some smaller towns (although these, too, have been largely replaced by new-style vehicles), and likewise, VW bugs can still be seen as taxi cabs in some places.

Acapulco still has a few of the VW taxis buzzing up and down the main coast road, but the place for which the bug is particularly well suited is colonial Taxco, an old silver mining town in Guerrero state that’s still the country’s best-known place for buying silver handicrafts, even though there is only limited silver mining there now.

Taxco is built on the side of a mountain, with its main square and famous Santa Prisca church at the top. Access is along some very narrow, steep, cobbled roads, many of which are two-way traffic but only really wide enough for a single file of cars. This is where the bug comes into its own: not only able to squeeze in and out through very small gaps in the traffic, but also able to handle the sharp climbs as well as any four-by-four, so not surprisingly most of the taxis in town are VWs.

It’s hard to see what could replace them in Taxco.

Just over 100 miles (160 km) southwest of Mexico City is one of Mexico’s most beloved colonial towns. Perched on a steeply sloping hillside 5,000 feet above sea level, Taxco (“tass-ko”) was once a silver mining town, but with silver nearly exhausted, it is now best known for its silver craft.

The American architect and writer, William Spratling, established the first silver workshop in Taxco in the 1930s and revitalized the slumbering economy. Today, Taxco is one of Mexico’s principal tourist destinations, and silver jewelry and goods are the mainstay of its local market traders.

This city is picturesque in a very traditional Mexican way—white stucco buildings with red-roof tiles, winding cobbled streets, antique churches, and romantic little plazas overlooked by bougainvillea-laced balconies. Because it was laid out on a steep incline with no regard to logical patterns, Taxco’s streets have a roller-coaster feel about them—true seat-grabbing ascents, descents and twists—especially if you take a ride in the Vocho (Beatle) taxis or combis (mini-buses).

As a well-preserved colonial town, Taxco is a treasure trove of valuable historical architecture. In the town center, you will find many examples of sixteenth through nineteenth century architecture. The pride of Taxco, El Templo Santa Prisca, was a gift from Taxco’s great silver-mining baron, Don Jose de la Borda, who nearly went broke financing its construction. This eighteenth century baroque style cathedral marks the heart of town; its unmistakable rose-colored twin towers dominate the main plaza, Plaza Borda, and beguile onlookers with its elaborate beauty.

As a silver crafts center, Taxco is unrivaled in Mexico. Hundreds of platerias (silver shops) line the streets, offering beautiful designs at a great value. See What to Buy in Taxco, below for tips about trading here.

Taxco’s streets are a bustle of activity and they come alive particularly over the weekends. The locals as well as visitors fill the main plaza and restaurants on a Saturday night—chatting, laughing, and merry-making. Because sidewalks are so conspicuously absent on its colonial cobbled-streets, you must share the road with lots of foot and vehicular traffic. It can feel congested at times, but you can always slip down an alley to find a quiet café and take a reprieve from the crowds.

A city rich in artistry, history, and romanticism, Taxco is worthy of any traveler’s short list of must-see places in Mexico.

Key Attractions

Colonial Center

The center of the city has been excellently preserved and has a great colonial feel and atmosphere about it. The streets are cobbled and steep; small alleyways lead off the roads and some eventually break open into quaint little plazas.

Taxco is an authentic colonial city. It has been declared a national heritage site by the government and building regulations here are strict—take a look at the local gasoline station to see how keen they are to keep the place looking and feeling colonial.

By night the town lights up softly, adding a wonderful feel and atmosphere to the whole place; the lighting, coupled with fewer people as day-trippers leave, changes the ambiance of the town as it becomes more relaxed and romantic.

Taxco also has several noteworthy churches; the most magnificent, Parroquia de Santa Prisca, is on Plaza Borda (the Main Square) and its pink stonework is revered world-wide. The interior decoration here is also magnificent: marvel at the of the gold-covered altars and the exquisitely sculpted figures. There are seven other colonial-era sanctuaries that noteworthy: Capilla de Santa Veracruz, Capilla de la Santisima Trinidad, Capilla de San Miguel Arcangel, Capilla de la Virgen de Guadalupe and Ex-Convento de San Bernadino de Siena

Museums and Art in Taxco

Casa Borda Centro Cultural

The eighteenth century home of benefactor Jose de la Borda, this magnificent mansion sits on the western end of Plaza Borda. It exhibits sculptures, paintings and photos by artists from the state of Guerrero, and serves as the town’s main cultural center.

Museo de Arte Virreinal

Built in the sixteenth century, this Moorish-influenced grand edifice is one of Taxco’s oldest colonial houses and exhibits works of religious art from the colonial period. Among its small and modest collection are relics taken from Santa Prisca including a well-preserved example of a colonial funeral altar.

Museo de Guillermo Spratling

This museum is named after the great twentieth century American patron of the city, William Spratling, who opened a silver workshop here, producing unique silver designs which skillfully combined pre-hispanic motifs and modern art-deco styles. His love and promotion of the city brought about its economic revival. The museum hosts pre-Columbian works of art from Spratling’s private collection—the inspiration for many of his designs. You can also see some fine examples of Spratling’s signature silver design work in the form of jewelry, tableware, and other decorative pieces. To see more of his silver work, you’ll need to visit the Rancho Spratling (see below), located in Taxco Old Town.

Panoramic Views

One of Taxco’s main attractions are its topographical vantage points from which to admire a sprawling carpet of green hills, valleys, and cliffs. You will find several great vantage points in and around town, but two of the best for panoramic views of the town and surrounding mountains are the Monte Taxco and the Cristo Monumental.

Monte Taxco

The only cable car system in town leads straight up to a four-star hotel resort named Monte Taxco. Go to the north side of town—just off Avenida de los Plateros—and look for the signs to the teleferico (cable car station). There’s a small fee to pay, and on the cable run you’ll enjoy an eye-catching ascent over a deep gorge with good views across the city and the surrounding mountains. Named for its location, the Monte Taxco Hotel has a restaurant and bar which is precisely positioned to give you a panoramic view of Taxco and the surrounding natural landscape.

Cristo Monumental

Opened in 2002, the Cristo Monumental (Christ Monument) is now one of Taxco’s most prominent landmarks and an exceptional vantage point. The towering statue of Christ with outstretched arms (reminiscent of Rio’s famed Cristo) stands atop Cerro de Atachi. The statue itself is three meters in height set on a pedestal and looks over Taxco like a protective symbol. You can walk (you’ll need to be fit for the steep climb) or take a taxi up to the monument.

Attractions Near Taxco

Las Grutas de Cacahuamilpa – These are limestone caverns (grutas), formed naturally over the course of millions of years by water flowing down through the mountains. Some of the chambers reach heights of around 250 feet. There is about a mile of pathways through the caves, which a guided tour will take you through and highlight the main attractions inside. The caves are about 30 miles north-east of Taxco, but well worth a visit. Tours are generally in Spanish, and occasionally an English tour will be offered if there is sufficient demand. The air temperature inside the caves is considerably lower than the temperature outside, so if you’re prone to chills, take a pull-over with you.

Taxco El Viejo – About five miles south of Taxco is Taxco El Viejo (Taxco Old Town), which features a couple of attractions and offers visitors serene surroundings.

Ex-Hacienda San Juan Bautista – This is an old Ex-Hacienda named after Saint John the Baptist, which today hosts the School of Earth Sciences (an offshoot of the Guerrero State University) and a museum.

Rancho Spratling – This ranch is a working silver craft workshop that today continues the traditions of high quality silver craft that William Spratling started in the 1920s. You can witness the silver artisans at work; silver goods are available for purchase. The ranch is just south of the Ex-Hacienda San Juan Bautista.

Getting There & Around

Getting There

By Air – The closest airport to Taxco is the Cuernavaca airport, although most visitors to Taxco will arrive at Mexico City’s airport. Connect to the Mexperience guide about Flights and Air Travel in Mexico.

By Bus – You can travel to Taxco on a luxury bus from Mexico City (southern bus terminal, known as Taxqueña) or from Cuernavaca. The trip takes around three hours from Mexico City or less than two hours from Cuernavaca. The buses leave frequently with services every day of the week. For detailed information about bus transportation read the Mexperience guide to Bus Travel in Mexico.

By Car – Driving to Taxco is fast and efficient using the toll-road from Mexico City south of Highway 95D. Taxco is beyond the colonial city of Cuernavaca and will take you around 2 – 3 hours to get to from the capital. See additional information about Driving in Mexico on Mexperience.

Car Rental – To explore Mexico’s colonial towns and cities, consider renting a car for your visit. Having your own car will give you more flexibility than using public transport options and, in some cases, offer you access to places which are otherwise difficult to visit without the use of a car. Read our guide to Car Rental in Mexico to learn what you need to know about car rental here.

Getting Around

Local Buses – Besides using your feet to get around this very walk-able town, try the local transportation. Known as combis, these mini-buses are an economical way to get around town. To get to the town center, look for the combis that have “Zocalo” written on the windshield.

Taxis – Taxis in most of Mexico’s colonial towns and cities are not metered, so agree your price before you get in. Taxi travel is very affordable in Mexico, in comparison to the USA, Canada and Europe, and so provides a viable means of public transportation in Mexico. For detailed information, read the Mexperience guide to Taxi Travel in Mexico

Taxco Essentials

Telephone: Connect to the guide about Communications in Mexico on Mexperience for detailed information about keeping in touch and the latest table of national dialing codes.

Exchanging Currency: Banks with ATM machines are found in the central area of Taxco. During business hours the local Casas de Cambio will buy foreign currency in cash from you. For detailed information about exchanging and managing your money, read the Mexperience guide to Money in Mexico.

Pedestrians Take Note! Pedestrians and motor vehicles—including taxis, mini buses, mopeds, and 4×4 off-roaders which some visitors rent—share the narrow spaces between the picturesque buildings which make up the rich tapestry of architecture in this colonial town.  Take care when you are walking the streets, especially on Saturdays and Sundays when traffic and visitor levels increase significantly. Also wear a good pair of walking shoes—the steep cobble streets become even more precarious after a good rain, leaving stones very slippery.

Travel Insurance: We recommend that you are adequately covered with travel medical insurance and/or travel assistance insurance when you are visiting Mexico. Read the Mexperience guide to Travel Insurance in Mexico for full details and links to specialist insurance suppliers.

Internet Access: In addition to access via mobile data networks, internet cafes can be easily found in towns and cities across Mexico.  WiFi is ubiquitous now, and you can connect easily and often free from cafes, shops, hotels, etc.

What to Buy in Taxco

Visitors would be remiss to visit Taxco without engaging in its main trade: silver shopping. The main streets of Taxco feature an endless string of platerias (silver shops) and you can hardly pass by one without having an eager vendor beckon you to look inside. Jewelry, platters, statuettes—whatever may be fashioned from silver—you can be sure to find it here and at a good price.

There exist three commercial venue types in Taxco where you can make silver purchases: an established silver shop, a jewelry center where rows upon rows of stalls are manned by small independent silver traders, and street fairs and markets. It’s a good idea to take some time to browse several places before purchasing anything so that you get an idea of the available styles, quality and prices. The silver shops on Plaza Borda tend to charge higher prices and may not be as open to negotiation, but they also are among the most reputable vendors.

Whichever one you choose to patronize, you should know how to distinguish sterling silver from silver-plated. Pieces made from solid silver are stamped “.925” which certifies that the piece is at least 92.5% silver. Objects which are cast in cheaper metals—nickel and pewter are the most common—and covered with a thin silver plating are unstamped .

Some of the more unscrupulous traders may try to palm-off imitation silver, known as “alpaca” or nickel silver; however, there isn’t a huge amount of fraud of this kind as silver is a relatively inexpensive precious metal, especially compared to gold, but it’s possible to be misled, especially if you buy from vendors off the street. A little forward research can help you to buy good quality silver pieces.

We recommend that you look up the current international price for silver, quoted per ounce, so that you arrive in Taxco with an idea of the value of the pieces that you are considering for purchase. Solid silver pieces are priced based on their weight, and price mark-ups for artisanship are added depending upon the designs or if a notable artisan has been involved in the creation of the piece. Carry a small magnet on your person and use this to test pieces which are purportedly solid silver: precious metals are not magnetic.

Beware of taxi drivers trying to give you ‘advice’ on where to buy silver. Some silver shops give tips or commissions to drivers who bring potential customers to their stores. A common ruse is for the taxi driver to belittle ‘other’ places and tell you that a certain other place offers better quality at a fraction of the cost.

All good establishments will offer you a printed receipt displaying the store’s name, a description of the item, and its sale price; this can be used in case any matters arise afterwards relating to the purchase you made.

Although silver is the primary product visitors shop for in Taxco, don’t overlook some of the other authentic Mexican crafts which are sold here too; for example, embroidered clothing, papier-mâché art, wood carvings, brightly painted scenes on amate (wood bark) paper, and hand-woven baskets.

Local Climate

Taxco enjoys year-round warm and dry weather. Its altitude makes it feel spring-like year-round. Rains tend to happen more frequently during the months of April thru November, but as with most monsoon areas, they tend to be fierce and brief in the late afternoon, leaving the evenings dry and cooled off. The winter months can get cooler in the evenings and overnight, so take a sweater with you if you are traveling in Taxco during these times.

Weather & Climates in Mexico

Learn more about the weather and climates through the seasons and regions by connecting to the Mexperience guide about Weather and Climates in Mexico