Sleepy yet Frantic: Jalpan de Serra

Jalpan de Serra is in the center of Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve. It's an area popular for ecotourism. As usual we eschew such activities, content ourselves with a quick tour on the bus/car ride, though from what we could see from the bus, we were not too particularly impressed with Sierra Gorda.

The town itself is another one of those pueblos magicos. Its church is one of the UNESCO Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda of Querétaro. The place is still little more than a village, rather sleepy even for a weekend. However, the busy main road is only one block from the plaza and lends a frantic feeling to the whole place.

We did manage a peaceful walk to the lake just south of town, giving us an idea of the waterfalls, lakes, and streams that attract visitors to the area.

The blablacar ride from San Luis to Rioverde took us from grey-brown deserts up to green forests over 2000 meters above sea level.


The facade of the mission church in Jalpan with the Franciscan Coat of Arms above the door.




Walking above Jalpan and then down to Lake Jalpan with its dam and spillway.






































A model of the church facade in the local museum.


Video of the lake. Here's the link: https://flic.kr/p/2of6tDU.


Video of a nun ringing the church bell. A must see! Link here: https://flic.kr/p/2ofdkgS.