Travel Mexico / Taxco, a place with colonial style

Originally called Tlacho by the Aztecs, meaning “the place of the ballgame,” Taxco is truly an enchanting town located on the slopes of a tropical hill and surrounded by rocky cliffs, some 85 kilometers south-west of Mexico City.

This old silver-mining city has retained its colonial charm thanks to a classical labyrinth of cobblestone streets and passageways surrounded by white stucco buildings whose red-tile roofs nuzzle against the hills of the Sierra Madre. New buildings must conform to the look & feel of the surrounding architecture, including a “colonial style” pemex gas station.

Throughout the day, the town is bustling with VW taxis, street merchants, and shoppers from Mexico City and beyond. Yet, for centuries it was the region’s wealth of silver that attracted foreigners. The first mine in the region opened in 1524 in what is now Taxco’s central plaza, by the direct order of Hernán Cortes, who had discovered that the Aztecs of this region had been using silver coins for centuries.
Nowadays, the silver mines are mostly a thing of the past. However, the centuries-old tradition of making handmade silver jewelry is as vibrant as ever, with the city consuming some two tons of silver each day.

From its peaceful highland setting and quaint colonial architecture to its mild, sunny weather, Taxco offers an enchanted land to all who make the journey from Mexico’s better known tourist destinations. And here, the silver is real.

Compártelo!

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