Amecameca - Sacromonte

On Ash Wednesday, at the same time as a bustling, atmospheric market is held at its foot, huge numbers of pilgrims and tourists make the journey to Sacromonte ("Holy Mountain") rising 150 m (492 ft) above the town. A Way of the Cross marked out by brightly tiled stations ascends the hill to a little church containing a picture of Christ to which miraculous powers are attributed. The tiny shrine was erected in honour of Martín de Valencia, a cave-dwelling recluse who was among the first Franciscan patres in New Spain. Above it, on what was previously the Indian cult site of Teteoinán, stands another chapel, dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe.

The hill offers a superb panorama view over the Valley of Mexico and the mountains around, a scene dominated by the snow-covered Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl.

The convent church on Amecameca's main square has a fine Baroque altar. In the 16th c. Dominican monastery itself there is a well preserved cloister.