Mexico’s Pueblos Magicos- More Than Meets The Eye

The official Pueblos Magicos program was launched by the Mexican Government in 2001 and after nearly getting cancelled in 2019 due to politics, the program continued and grew rapidly.  The initiative highlights Mexican towns with significant cultural and historic value….and really is a boon to these smaller towns that need the tourism.  We’ve been to many of the towns on the list (177 total on the list), and found them charming, safe, clean and vibrant.  Most of the towns on the list really bask in their status as Pueblo Magico and use it to their advantage, which means they welcome tourists and flaunt their historic and cultural pride.

We’ve traveled to Mexico a number of times as a family and lived in Mexico for nearly three years on our cruising sailboat.  During this time, we took numerous long road trips throughout Mexico, often purposefully going to some of these towns to check out the vibe and the majic of the area.  But we always wondered about the Pueblo Magico designation.  We heard these towns often had historical importance and that you could always see the church steeple throughout the town as it would be the highest structure (urban myth).  But to be honest, we never took the time to learn what else was needed for each town to gain and retain this special label.  Finally, in writing this post, I’ve researched all the info I ever wondered about.

To apply and receive the special Pueblo Magico designation, each town must meet the following criteria:

“The criteria included some of the following:

I. A formally constituted “Pueblo Mágico committee”, citizens who represent the pueblo or local community. If the town is accepted into the program, they are responsible for maintaining the designation by working with the local citizens. Their job is to represent the residents of the town and their interests to make sure that the declaration will benefit all and by working together to maximise the opportunities. This group has to be diverse, with no more than 15 people who are willing to contribute their work pro-bono. Group members should rotate periodically.

II. A town council accord, which states an agreement to apply for admittance into the program. The local authorities have to support inclusion in the program, as their support is essential for success. This document affirms the formal support.

III. Agreement of the state congress; state support is needed to assign resources, mainly for infrastructure.

IV. Direct economic contribution towards touristic development in projects, action plans and programs. Each town must try to differentiate from other towns. The plans should relate to the unique features of the town and why it should be considered.

V. An updated municipal touristic development program, with a time frame of at least three years. A long-term plan should be for 3 years to make sure the declaration is maintained, and that the town is working to improve conditions for tourists. The program should be updated every three years.

VI. Rules and local regulations should be updated to have a touristic focus during the current administration of the Municipality. This is to support and protect visitors and people dedicated to tourism activities.

VII. Evidence of the symbolic attraction of the aspiring community, or what makes the town unique.

VIII. Availability of health and public security services for tourists in case of an emergency.

IX. Documentation of private and social investment in touristic development and quality, including hotel rooms, restaurants, tours, museums, activities, etc.

Courtesy of Wikipedia”

So as you can read above, there’s a lot more involved than just “buildings must be shorter than the church steeple” like we thought.  Lots of work and time goes into this designation and we feel fortunate to have been able to travel to many of these cities and experience the wonderful and caring people who live in each place.

For a complete list of all 177 cities with the Pueblo Magico designation, you can check out the Wikipedia page….titled “Pueblos Magicos“.   Of course, the list isn’t without controversy as cities have been added to the list very quickly and some say the cultural significance has been watered down.  I agree with aspects of the criticism.  Having been to a number of the cities on the list, there’s a huge difference in culture and history when you look at places like Tequila or Santa Rosalia against Cozumel or Cancun.  There just is…..bustling tourist centers versus smaller cities steeped in history with retained soul and memory.

Suggestions for visiting Pueblos Magicos:

–  I try to think like a traveler and shed the tourist as soon as possible.

–  When traveling, we don’t wear expensive jewelry, clothes, shoes or carry expensive anything.  We limit our pictures to our phones and don’t often carry cameras.

–  When traveling anywhere, I highly suggest at least learning how to say “Hello”, “Thank you” and “Please” in the language of the country you’re visiting.

–  Some areas you visit might seem sketchy.  Ask advice from locals, hang out in areas where there’s other people and make reservations in better known areas, even if it’s slightly more expensive.  We visited LOTS of out of the way places in Mexico where we felt “zero” apprehension about going there….because we used a potent combination of local advice and internet research to figure out where to stay, how to get there and what to see.  Once there, local advice really helped to find the best places to eat and hard to find local places.

– Respect the Vibe.  Respect the locals.  Respect the culture, community and history.

While in Mexico we explored everywhere from popular tourist resorts to smaller out of the way places like San Cristobal de Las Casas and Santa Rosalia.  When road tripping, we rarely went places that were dangerous because we followed the advice from locals, who WANTED to keep tourists safe…especially low key travelers like us.  I can’t say enough about the places we visited on the list of 177 magical towns, keeping in mind we visited hundreds of other towns not on this list that we loved too.  If you want genuine experiences in Mexico, we’ve always had the best luck getting away from border towns and tourist traps and becoming travelers instead of tourists…staying low key and respectful of a culture different than our own, showing grace and patience the best we can.

We’ve been to about 40 towns on the Pueblos Magico list and look forward to exploring more of those towns in the long term.  In the short term, we’re in planning for a winter camping trip to Zion National Park in Utah, a winter trip to explore Lake Tahoe in California and we’re looking forward to a future trip to Greece and Iceland.

Here’s stories we’ve written about some of the “Pueblos Magicos” we visited: 

From The HelmsMistress: Roadtrip: Tequila, Tonalá and Guadalajara

From The HelmsMistress: Tales Of The Vagabond Family

From The HelmsMistress: The Tehuantepec and Chiapas – A Grand Finale for Mexico (Part I of II)

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