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Tlalpujahua is a mountain town on Michoacán's eastern edge, near the border with the State of Mexico. Gold and silver mining built its fortunes, and today the cobbled streets, adobe houses and red-tiled roofs climb a wooded hillside. Since the mid-twentieth century, the town has become famous for producing hand-blown glass Christmas ornaments.
The Templo de San Francisco looks out over the valley, and the Santuario del Carmen tells a dramatic story: its tower survived a mudslide from mine waste in 1937 that buried much of the old neighborhood, while the venerated image inside was moved to a new church. The Museo Hermanos López Rayón honors the independence-era brothers born here, and Mina Dos Estrellas, an old gold mine, can be toured underground. Ornament workshops welcome visitors to watch glassblowers and painters at work, and the weekend shops and Sunday market are busy with buyers.
Tlalpujahua suits travelers who enjoy crafts, history and mountain air. The Feria de la Esfera and the Christmas season draw big crowds, so book early. Parque Nacional Hermanos Rayón offers forest walks, and the monarch sanctuaries near Angangueo make a natural pairing in winter.
WiserMap travel guideTlalpujahua Mexico Christmas Ornaments and Gold Mine HistoryVisit Tlalpujahua in Michoacán, a former gold-mining Pueblo Mágico known for handblown Christmas ornaments, the Dos Estrellas mine and a decorated church.Read the guide
A 17th-century Franciscan church and former convent with a simple stone facade and a quiet atrium shaded by trees, one of the oldest buildings in this former mining town. The interior has colonial altarpieces. It is a short walk downhill from the main square.
The town's main church on a hill, famous for its interior covered in colourful folk paintings and decorations made with seeds and grains. It holds the revered image of the Virgin of El Carmen, rescued after the 1937 mudslide. Visit quietly, as services are frequent.
The bell tower of the old El Carmen church, which still rises out of the ground after a huge mudslide of mine waste buried the church and neighbourhood in 1937. It is a striking reminder of the town's mining past. Read the panels at the site to learn about the disaster.
A historic gold and silver mine just outside town, once one of the richest in the world in the early 1900s, now a mining museum with guided tours into tunnels and old processing buildings. Bring a jacket, as the tunnels are cool, and wear shoes with good grip.
A museum in the birthplace of the López Rayón brothers, independence leaders from Tlalpujahua, with exhibits on their lives, the independence war and the town's mining history. It is on a central street. Allow under an hour, and check opening times before visiting.
Tlalpujahua is famous across Mexico for hand-blown glass Christmas baubles, made in hundreds of family workshops and factories. Many workshops let visitors watch the glass being blown and painted, and sell ornaments direct. Prices are lowest outside the busy autumn season.
A large Christmas ornament fair held each year from about October to December, when stalls fill the town selling glass spheres and decorations of every size and colour. Weekends are very crowded. Visit on a weekday if you can, and wrap fragile purchases carefully.
A small national park on a forested hill above Tlalpujahua, created to honour the Rayón brothers, with pine forest, trails and the remains of a fort used during the independence war. Views extend over the town and valleys. Go in the morning, and bring warm layers.
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