Tours

DAY 1
US- MEXICO

Arrival into the Benito Juarez International Airport from the US. Your hosts, Ecotourism & Adventure Specialists, will meet and greet you at the airport & deliver your travel documents. Transfer to your hotel for overnight. Overnight at Hotel Camino Real.

DAY 2
MEXICO- PUEBLA

After breakfast at your hotel, transfer to the National Museum of Anthropology & History, where you will discover the vast cultural wealth of ancient Mexico and understand different aspects about the Spanish Conquest. Lunch at the Villa Maria Restaurant, where you will begin to discover the variety of gourmet dishes which come from different regions, before you proceed to Puebla de Los Angeles. Puebla was founded in the XVI century and was a stronghold for the Conquerors of New Spain during the Golden Age, which flourished on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean… Dinner on your own at recommended restaurants. Overnight at Hotel Camino Real or at your private colonial villa, La Casa de la Iluminada.

DAY 3
PUEBLA, COLONIAL GEM OF NEW SPAIN

After breakfast at your villa or hotel, our guide will take you on a fascinating discovery of Puebla’s colonial art and architecture. We will start on our Colonial History Walking Tour by visiting the Cathedral and the Zocalo, or Central Square. We will visit the largest book collection in Latin America at the Palafoxiana Library, within the Casa de la Cultura. We will proceed to the Museo Amparo, which houses an impressive Pre- Columbian and Colonial art collection before lunch at your hotel’s courtyard. In the afternoon, we will visit the House of the Dean and The Rosario Chapel in Santo Domingo Church. The rest of the afternoon will be free to walk around the Zocalo, and discover the Candy Street and the hand crafted ceramic shops on your own. Overnight at Hotel Camino Real or at your private colonial villa, La Casa de la Iluminada.

DAY 4
PUEBLA,CORNERSTONE OF MEXICAN HISTORY

After breakfast at your hotel or villa, our driver will pick you up to take you for a quick visit to the Gardens & Church of Analco and the Ovando Bridge. We will proceed to the Forts of Loreto and Guadalupe at the 5 de Mayo Civic Center to discuss an interesting passage of Mexican History and appreciate the Loreto & Guadalupe Forts. After our visit to the Museum of Non-Intervention we will appreciate a magnificent vista of the city of Puebla de los Angles, or Puebla de Zaragoza as its name was changed by Benito Juarez after the incidents which took place in these Forts... We will return to the Ovando Bridge to enjoy exquisite Mexican cuisine. After lunch we will visit the Parian Market and the Barrio del Artista, before we visit the House of the Serdan Brothers. Here we will explore another passage of Mexican History, the Revolucion Mexicana. In the evening you will enjoy a colonial music recital in a private colonial villa, the former residence of one very special XVIIth Century nun… by candlelight. Overnight at the Hotel Camino Real or at your private colonial villa, La Casa de la Iluminada.

DAY 5
CHOLULA- TONANZINTLA- ACATEPEC- HUEJOTZINGO

After breakfast at your hotel transfer to Cholula. Your guide will take you through an ancient pyramid, exploring a series of tunnels… As you come out on the other side you will explore the open Pre-Columbian plazas at the site. Continue to the Capilla Real to appreciate a unique architecture and visit the San Gabriel Convent. You will then proceed to Huejotzingo to see a monumental convent and appreciate an authentic Mole recipe for lunch. In the afternoon, proceed to San Francisco Acatepec, to appreciate its churche’s beautiful façade covered in talavera tiles… We have reserved Santa Maria Tonantzintla for the end of the day… where you will appreciate a truly unique style of indigenous baroque and have the opportunity to learn about the symbolism behind the many ornaments we will find in this church. After our explorations we will continue to Tlaxcala. Overnight at Hacienda Calinda.

DAY 6
CACAXTLA- TLAXCALA

After breakfast at your hotel head out to the city of Tlaxcala. Tlaxcala is the smallest of Mexican states but one of the richest history-wise. We will begin by exploring the archaeological site of Cacaxtla, famous for its impressive murals. It is interesting to note that Cacaxtla must have been an important trade centre or place of passage, where we may find Maya influences in the paintings. We will make a brief stop at the Xochitectl pyramid before we proceed to Tlaxcala, where we will visit the Regional Museum. After lunch we will explore the history of one Nahuatlac group, the Tlaxcalans, who were not allowed to establish their settlement along the shores of Lake Texcocoby the Aztecs, with whom an entrenched hatred derived. Later, this was to become a key element in how events turned out during the colonial period… Overnight at Hacienda Calinda.

DAY 7
TECOAQUE

After breakfast at your hotel you will head out to Calpulilpan and Tecoaque. At Calpulilpan we will have the rare opportunity to visit an archaeological laboratory, where the archaeologists will share some of the objects retrieved at the site of Tecoaque with us. Tecoaque means “Where the Gods were Eaten”, and was the scene of a rather sordid, but understandable passage of Mexican and colonial history. Archaeological evidence has proven what several Colonial chroniclers wrote with their own pens, as Tecoaque –formerly named Zultepec- was the site where 2 cultures clashed but the indigenous people won… The Acolguas, the people of Zultepec, intercepted & caught a column of Spaniards on the passage between the Atlantic and Tenochtitlan. They were kept captive for several months, and were gradually killed and eaten after performing ceremonies that went on for days at a time. The Acolguas then placed the Spaniard’s skulls on a Tzompantli, or Altar of Death, and give the large bones as trophies to their captors after performing ritualistic cannibalism. From Tecoaque, where we will have a vegetarian pic-nic, we shall proceed to Mexico City. Check in at our hotel. Farewell dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at Hotel Camino Real.

DAY 8
FLIGHT OAXACA- MEXICO CITY- US

After breakfast at your hotel transfer to the Benito Juarez International Airport for your flight back home. Farewell. Return from Mexico to the US.