Choose wisely. Connect locally.Add your business Sombrerete is a colonial silver town in the northwest corner of Zacatecas, founded in 1555 and later one of the richest places in New Spain. Its old centre keeps wide streets, Baroque churches and a monastery older than most of Mexico's famous plazas.
Ex-convento de San Mateo
Templo de Santo Domingo
Sierra de Órganos National Park
Film-set scenery
Sombrerete is the kind of place where the layout of the colonial town is still intact. Small plazas link narrow streets, a stream called the Diezmo runs through town, and churches from the 16th and 18th centuries stand a few blocks apart.
Its historic centre, together with La Noria de San Pantaleón and Sierra de Órganos National Park, is part of the UNESCO-listed Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, and the town became a Pueblo Mágico in 2012.
The mines produced silver, gold, lead, tin and mercury, and by 1570 the settlement was officially a town.
The San Mateo monastery complex was established in the 1560s and served as the region's main religious centre until the 19th century.
The San Mateo monastery was the main religious centre of the region until the 19th century. Photo: Ray Ordaz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Begun in the 18th century, this Baroque church was one of 22 built in the state by Count Fernando de la Campo, who is buried inside. The interior holds valuable religious art.
The Santo Domingo church is Baroque and holds the tomb of Count Fernando de la Campo. Photo: Arturosanchez, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Dated 1777, the church has a three-level Baroque facade decorated with niches, sculptures and gargoyles. Inside you will find a number of valuable paintings and a main altar topped by an image of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.
This small chapel is dedicated to an image of the Virgin Mary brought from Seville, made of wood donated by Juan de Tolosa in 1556. A stone altar sits inside, and the roof is held up by 52 thick beams.
La Soledad dates from the 18th century and is easy to recognise by its Moorish bell tower and Churrigueresque facade. It makes a good photo stop on a walk between the larger churches.
Built in the 16th century, this chapel has an empty interior without pews, and its floor covers more than a hundred graves of unidentified people.
A small municipal museum, opened in 2000, traces the economic, social and cultural development of the region from pre-Hispanic times. Combine it with a stroll through the main plaza to see the layout of the old mining settlement.
The mountain beside town was named by Friar Jerónimo de Mendoza, who thought its profile looked like the three-cornered hat of the era, a sombrerete. You can see it from many streets, and the surrounding peaks carry crosses placed by local residents as acts of faith.
About 21 km northwest of Sombrerete along Highway 45, this park protects towering rock formations that resemble organ pipes. It covers about 11 square kilometres at 2,120 to 2,560 metres, and a dirt road of roughly 10 km leads in from the highway.
Sierra de Órganos is known for rock formations that resemble organ pipes. Photo: Tomás Esparza, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Directors have filmed westerns here since the 1950s, including The Tall Men, The War Wagon and Big Jake. The cliffs and scrub give that scenery a familiar look even if you have never seen the films.
The scenery has served as a filming location for many Western films. Photo: Toto the egg, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sombrerete's signature street food is brujitas, fried turnovers of thick corn dough filled with beans or shredded meat. The name means little witches, because they are said to fly out of the baskets when brought to market.
Drink fruit wines such as quince, or try rompope, a creamy eggnog-style liqueur. Pan ranchero, a lard bread baked in an adobe oven, is typically made for Holy Week.
Popular dishes to try in Sombrerete
Centro is the practical base. Several hotels line the main avenue and the streets near the gardens, so you can walk to the churches and plazas, and many offer on-site restaurants or off-street parking.
Villa Insurgentes is a small town near Sierra de Órganos and may appeal if you plan an early start in the park, though choices are limited, so check availability before committing. Durango is the larger city to the west and works as a base if you are touring the region and happy to travel by road each day.
Where to stay in Sombrerete
At about 2,300 metres, Sombrerete is cool most of the year. Spring and autumn offer mild days and cool nights, while July and August bring the heaviest rain.
The calendar is built around religious festivals. The Virgin of the Candelaria is celebrated in February, the town founding is marked on June 6, and the Noria de San Pantaleón festival takes place on July 27.
Sombrerete lies about 168 km from the state capital, Zacatecas, on the road to Durango. Direct buses run from Zacatecas and take a bit under four hours, and there is a daily direct bus from Durango. The bus terminal is small, modern and clean, with no ATM on site.
Highway 45 connects Zacatecas with Durango and passes near Sierra de Órganos. If you drive, allow extra time on mountain roads and plan fuel stops.
Arrive in the morning and walk the plaza, then visit San Mateo, Santo Domingo and San Juan Bautista.
Drive or take a taxi northwest to Sierra de Órganos early in the day. Walk among the rock towers, picnic, and return to town for dinner and brujitas.
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