Exploring history & culture in Michoacan

The “soul of Mexico” was on display to travel agents last week, as the Mexico Tourism Board welcomed a tourism representative from the state of Michoacan in the country’s southwest.

Tour guide Deborah Lopez took agents on a week-long tour through the region, exploring the region’s cultural and natural heritage.

“In Michoacan, everything has a lot of history,” she said.

Here are some of the highlights:

Morelia

Guests taking part in one of Garcia’s Michoacan tours often land at Morelia International Airport, staying in the town throughout the week and exploring the surrounding regions or the community itself, including tourists draws such as the House of Crafts, the Candy Museum and the Morelia Cathedral.

“You can go every place from Morelia and stay comfortable by not moving from one hotel to another,” she explained. “There are many things to see within short distances so you can go and then come back and rest.”

Patzcuaro

Day two of the itinerary features an eight-hour tour of the “magic towns” of Patzcuaro and Santa Clara del Cobre, located in the state’s Lake District and the former heart of Michoacan’s pre-Columbian religious centre. Harkening to those cultural roots, Patzcuaro is among the top places for travellers looking to take in Mexico’s Day of the Dead festival, when the memories of deceased relatives are honoured from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1.

Uruapan

Travellers heading to Uruapan with Garcia take in a nine-hour tour of the region’s many attractions, including Cupatitzio Canyon National Park, Mexico’s second-most visited national park featuring 452 hectares of preserved space and 19.8 hectares for recreation.

Cuitzeo

Archaeology and history are the main travel draws in Michoacan’s Cuitzeo region. Renowned historic sites include the remains of pre-Hispanic culture at the Tres Cerritos archaeological zone and the former Convent of Saint Mary Magdalane, built in 1550, Garcia said.

Special tours

In addition to the main attractions, supplemental tours can be added on to itineraries, Garcia said, including those featuring folk traditions and annual natural phenomena, including the aforementioned Day of the Dead, as well as visits to the ‘Monarch Region’ where the namesake butterflies migrate to each winter. Gastronomic tours are also featured year-round, Garcia said, highlighting Mexico’s rising profile as a world-renowned culinary destination.

It’s these deeper aspects of a destination which Garcia said appeal to many Canadian travellers looking to experience something beyond sun and sand during a winter escape.

“Canadians are here mostly in the winter; they love the beaches but they are also sensitive people, which is why we’re trying to promote the cultural side of Michoacan,” she told PAX. “They like to see how everyone lives and it’s very special; they want that feeling of the Mexican way of life.”