The lowlands of the Bajío lie between the two ranges of Sierra Madre (Occidental and Oriental). These lands are not so low since the average elevation of this “basin” is about 1500m. So, even on a topographical point of view, El Bajío deserves its name of attic of Mexico.
The urban landscape located in the North of Mexico City is structured around two types of cities : the ones whose prosperity relied on mine exploitation and the ones whose prosperity came from their fertile lands (creation of haciendas) and an abundant workforce.
Officially, the region is made of the States of Querétaro and Guanajuato. From our tourist perspective, we allow ourselves to add the States of Zacatecas, Aguascalientes and San Luis Potosí : North Bajío. These five States are the most beautiful adornment in Mexico : five pearls of the crown of New Spain, five"conservatories" of Mexican Colonial past. These five states are the heart of Colonial Mexico and occupy 181 000 km2.


Places like the Historical center of Zacatecas, the Zone of historical monuments of Querétaro, the Franciscan Missions of the Sierra Gorda de Querétaro, the historical city of Guanajuato and the adjacent mines are part of the Cultural Heritage of Humanity list maintained by Unesco. It is a distinction given only to places with an exceptional interest because of their characteristics and universal value.

It is there that history is highly engraved in the marble of time. The gold and silver mines of Zacatecas and Guanajuato made this land the most precious in the Spanish colonies. Father Michel Hidalgo rose the flag of Independence in Dolores. It is in Querétaro that Austrian Emperor Maximilian, who became king of Mexico with the help of France, was put to death. And it is there that was written the Constitution of the Republic still effective nowadays....

     

     Above picture : foreground, the temple San Diego, the theater Juárez on the right and in front of the temple, the Garden of Union.      On the left, the basilica and university of Guanajuato



For the visitor, El Bajío is an enchantment. Nowhere in Mexico, will you come across such charming cities. And, to go from one to another city, you’ll drive in a cultivated country décor which will be a change compared to the vast deserts and bare mountains so common in this country. You will also find excellent roadways, a good tourist infrastructure fitting every budget, celebrations and dynamic festivals in cities like Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, San Miguel and Zacatecas, and excellent craftsmen.
El Bajío, heart of colonial Mexico, is the guardian of Mexican culinary traditions.


     Right picture : clown on the stairs of the theater Juárez of Guanajuato


Aguascalientes : capital and state  
       Aguascalientes : practical and useful information

Guanajuato
       The capital
       The tourism (including San Miguel de Allende)
       Practical and useful information
       Discovering the celebrations and traditions

Querétaro
       The capital
       The tourism
       Practical and useful information
       Discovering the celebrations and traditions

The "Missions" of the Sierra Gorda

San Luis Potosí : capital and state  
        San Luis Potosí : practical and useful information

Zacatecas, capital and state
      Practical and useful information
      Discovering the celebrations and traditions




It is one of our preferred regions.

Your comments about the content of this page
No comment has been yet posted on this page.