"La perla del Bajío", as they call León, is the first important city that we find on the way through Guanajuato, the largest due to its industrial development.
"La perla del Bajío", as León is called, is the first important city that we come across on the way through Guanajuato, the largest due to its industrial development.
Here we can visit the Manuel Doblado Theater, the Expiatory Temple with its carved bronze door, the central square, with its perfectly manicured laurels and the arch, erected to commemorate each anniversary of the Independence of Mexico, as is tradition.
After León, we make a parenthesis towards the state capital, to visit San Francisco del Rincón, which in addition to its hot springs has a gallery with more than 100 works by Hermenegildo Bustos.
From León the highway takes us 32 kilometers ahead to Silao, a junction with Highway 110 that leads to Guanajuato.
Guanajuato is one of the cities with the most historical and architectural tradition in the country. Its most important buildings are the temples of the Valenciana and the Compañía de Jesús, the Teatro Juárez, the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, the Basilica Colegiata and the temples of San Diego and Cata. other buildings that have become known over time are the University of Guanajuato, the monument to Pípila and the Garden of the Union. The International Cervantino Festival is the most important cultural event of the year.
From Guanajuato we return to Silao to continue to Irapuato. (We will cover Dolores Hidalgo and San Miguel de Allende on another route). Before reaching Irapuato we can continue directly on Highway 45 until we reach Querétaro, but we prefer to enter that city to see the paintings of Cabrera in the Temple of San Francisco and then continue towards Pénjamo, to contemplate the baroque doorway of the church of The medicines.
On the way back to Irapuato there is a 20-kilometer stretch of highway that takes us directly to Salamanca. Nearby is La Pintada, a place of rocks with paintings and petroglyphs. Then we continue along highway 43 to Valle de Santiago where there are also petroglyphs and an area of lagoons.
From Valle de Santiago we travel on Highway 17 to Cortazar and then to Celaya. Here, we visit the 17th century convent of San Francisco, one of the largest in the country.
From Celaya we can visit Salvatierra, 37 km to the south by highway, and then to Yuriria, 38 km to the west. Yuriria Lake, which extends in front of the town, is surrounded by extinct volcanoes.
On the way back to Celaya, before traveling to Querétaro, it is worth stopping at Apaseo el Alto where there is a neoclassical church and an artisan center with objects from the Otomí, Mazahua and other cultures.
