The final entry to our 3-day trip to Guanajuato City. Start with our 24hrs in Guanajuato City post, followed by our 48hrs one, and then add these places! This time you’ll get an insight into what made Guanajuato so appealing to the Spanish, during the conquest.
Have a lovely trip!
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Mining Heritage
Although built as a flooding and traffic solution, the eight kilometers of underground tunnels connecting the city are the first suggestion of the city’s rich mining heritage. The real history, however, developed in the surrounding areas where the Spanish knew they’d find mountains filled with silver and gold. In fact, Guanajuato City soon became one of New Spain’s most important mining centers.
- Bocamina San Ramón
It’s an active mine. You will only descend 60 meters, which have been adapted for tourism, but people are still working at 520 meters. There’s not much to see, just the walls, which still have some silver, gold and quartz residue. Its beautiful courtyard is now mainly used as a wedding venue.
- Bocamina San Cayetano (La Valenciana)
Our favorite. This place will transport you to 1557 when Spanish forced the locals to work 12hrs a day pulling out and carrying up to the surface batches of 500 kilos of gold and silver on their backs. According to our guide, more people died during the 300 years of mining slavery, than on the 11 years war of Mexico’s independence.
Note: if you have bad knees, skip this one.
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Traditional Jewelry
If you are looking for an original souvenir to remember your trip, we spotted a few stores selling ‘Joyería de Pajarito’, a baroque jewelry design with little birds and flowers that was very famous back in the colonial period when the exploitation of mines was at its peak.
The best store we saw was called ‘Joyería Corazón de Plata’ in Positos street (near Diego Rivera’s Museum). Here, prices seemed fair, for the amount of work put into each piece, and you get to see how they handmake all the silver jewelry.
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Chocolate tasting
The owner of Xocola-t boutique, Jonathan Martínez, has been experimenting with chocolate for almost 10 years now, mixing it with Mexican popular dishes or drinks, like the ones filled with pork rinds or mezcal. It may sound disgusting, but we promise it isn’t. Especially when having a guided tasting with Jonathan, paired with beer, wine or mezcal. It also makes a great souvenir for family and friends (let them guess the flavour).
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The famous mummies
We’re torn with this one. Guanajuato gained a lot of popularity with this museum showcasing more than 100 mummified bodies, from fetuses to senior people, due to the fact that apparently they are the only bodies in the world to which mummification occurred naturally. If you have a scientific and forensics background, you’ll find it fascinating. To us, it was just too morbid (sorry if the photo is disturbing).
Having said that, at the end of the tour you’ll find a photo opportunity with coffins that rounds up perfectly our Mexican humor on death, which kind of makes the trip worthwhile. Especially if you get to see small children getting inside the coffins and playing dead while their parents laugh and take their picture. Welcome to our beautifully bizarre Mexico, LOL.
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Picturesque streets
More than hopping from one attraction to the other, to enjoy Guanajuato you must get lost in its callejones, all lined up with colorful houses and balconies filled with flowers. The streets you can’t miss are: Truco, Del Campanero, Cantaritos, De Sopena and Del Potrero.
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Dinner at Casa Valadez
It’s also a great place for breakfast and lunch, but at night you’ll hear Guanajuato’s famous estudiantinas playing and the audience singing along. Their enchiladas with mole were delicious– and we both are very picky when it comes to mole. It’s one of our favorite dishes.
Useful information
Map
We’ve pinpointed all the sites mentioned in the three articles on to this map, to save you some time!
Chocolate Tasting
Book your tasting in advance on their Facebook page or at 47-3130-0250. The tastings with mezcal and beer are around $250 mxn (price on tasting with wine depends on the bottle you choose). You can ask Jonathan to give the tasting in English.
Mines tour
We highly recommend you take a taxi, but if you prefer a tour, there’s a small travel agency right below the Basilica of Our Lady of Guanajuato that has good prices.
