Chilpancingo de los Bravos Attractions
How to get there
From Mexico City by bus (approximately 4.5 hours) or car (MEX 95, about 300km/186mi).
Chilpancingo de los Bravos, capital of Guerrero State, is situated in a valley on the slopes of the Sierra Madre del Sur. The city itself has little in the way of tourist attractions but its location at a junction on the Cuernavaca to Acapulco road makes it an excellent base from which to explore the still largely undisturbed mountainous regions both near at hand and further afield.
History
Since ancient times the area around Chilpancingo (Náhuatl: "place of the wasps") has been the home of a succession of Indian tribes, the Olmecs being the first to leave any traces. In the colonial period its role as a staging post for east-bound merchandise, en route to the central highlands, gave the town its chief raison d'être. In 1813 Chilpancingo's prestige increased when it became the venue for the first Mexican National Congress, chaired by José María Morelos. The soubriquet "de los Bravos" was acquired in 1825, being recognition for the outstanding contribution of the three Bravo brothers to the cause of Mexican independence. Today the city is a centre for the agriculture and forestry in the surrounding area.
Pride of place must go to the Museo Regional with archaeological finds mainly from Guerrero. Of the rest, only the Government Palace (Palacio de Gobierno; frescos illustrating Mexican history), the parish church, and the zoological garden are at all noteworthy.
From Mexico City by bus (approximately 4.5 hours) or car (MEX 95, about 300km/186mi).
Chilpancingo de los Bravos, capital of Guerrero State, is situated in a valley on the slopes of the Sierra Madre del Sur. The city itself has little in the way of tourist attractions but its location at a junction on the Cuernavaca to Acapulco road makes it an excellent base from which to explore the still largely undisturbed mountainous regions both near at hand and further afield.
History
Since ancient times the area around Chilpancingo (Náhuatl: "place of the wasps") has been the home of a succession of Indian tribes, the Olmecs being the first to leave any traces. In the colonial period its role as a staging post for east-bound merchandise, en route to the central highlands, gave the town its chief raison d'être. In 1813 Chilpancingo's prestige increased when it became the venue for the first Mexican National Congress, chaired by José María Morelos. The soubriquet "de los Bravos" was acquired in 1825, being recognition for the outstanding contribution of the three Bravo brothers to the cause of Mexican independence. Today the city is a centre for the agriculture and forestry in the surrounding area.
Pride of place must go to the Museo Regional with archaeological finds mainly from Guerrero. Of the rest, only the Government Palace (Palacio de Gobierno; frescos illustrating Mexican history), the parish church, and the zoological garden are at all noteworthy.
Chilpancingo de los Bravos Surroundings
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Juxtlahuaca Caves
The Juxtlahuaca Caves contain wall paintings from over 3000 years ago. Human remains and pottery were also discovered in the caves.
Oxtotitlán Caves
7km/4.3mi north of Chilapa lies the village of Acatlán near to where the Oxtotitlán Caves were discovered as recently as 1968. The two 30 m (98 ft) -deep stalactitic caves, reached after about 45 minutes up-hill walking, contain paintings which have been dated to between 900 and 700 bc. The motifs suggest Olmec origin. Pictures include a male figure seated on a jaguar throne, stylised jaguar heads and children's faces.
Chilapa, Mexico
Chilapa (population: 21,000; fiesta: June 3rd-4th, dancing; Sunday market), 56km/35mi east of Chilpancingo, was at one time the state capital. It has a modern cathedral and a 16th c. Augustinian monastery.
Olinala, Mexico
Roughly half-way (34km/21mi) along the final stretch of road between Atliztac and Tlapa, a side turning branches left to Olinalá, 35km/22mi to the north. This little place is famous for its lacquerwork, the lacquer being applied both to wood and to a gourd-like rind using a process which dates back to pre-Hispanic times. (Olinalá lacquerwork is found on sale in shops and markets in many reasonably-sized towns.)
Tlapa, Mexico
Tlapa, about 66km/41mi north of the Oxtotitlán Caves, is a Tlapanec settlement with a 16th c. Augustinian monastery. The Tlapanecs probably migrated here in the 9th c. from the south-west of what is now the USA.
