Cuernavaca is a city 85 km from Mexico City, which is the capital of the state of Morelos, with a population of just over 300,000 people. Cuernavaca’s twin city is Argentina’s General Villegas.
We spent two days in the city. We booked our hotel on Booking.com on the day of arrival with a 40% discount. The Holiday Inn Express and Suits hotel is beautiful, with a huge green area and a convenient location near a public transportation stop.
So, what’s a must-see in the city of “eternal spring”.
The historic center, the best decoration of which, in my opinion, is the Former Palace of Cortez, one of the ancient secular castles of the 15th century. Opposite the palace of Cortez is the stop of the tourist train that follows route number 1 (there are 4 routes in total). The ticket price is 45 pesos. The first route operates daily; the duration of the trip is 1 hour 15 minutes.
Also in the Historic Center is the Cathedral of Cuernavaca (Catedral de Cuernavaca), founded in the 16th century (1529-1552) and granted cathedral status in 1891. The patron saint of the cathedral and the city is St. Mary. Opposite the Cathedral is a stop of tourist train route number 2. This route operates daily only from 13.00 to 16.00.
Jardin Borda
This mansion, built back in the 18th century, was formerly the summer home of the wealthy miner Tasco José de la Borda. Borda collected several species of plants in the gardens, built a church himself and two swimming pools, terraces, stairs and picturesque fountains. Jardin Borda also has a museum and organizes city events. For those who love beautiful fountains, flowers, birds, fish and cats will be delighted.
Opening hours are Tuesday-Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The cost of admission: for adults 30 pesos; for children 15 pesos. Admission is free on Sundays.
Palacio de Gobierno
A government palace located in the Zócolo district. The facade of the three-story palace, built between 1955 and 1969, faces Plaza de Armas Square. Inside are a collection of frescoes by the famous Mexican painter Diego Rivera.
Museo de Medicina Tradicional y Jardin Etnobotanico
National Institute of Traditional Medicine and Ethnobotanical Garden, part of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (Instituto nacional de Antropologia e Historia).
The museum occupies the building of the old Villa Olindo (La Antigua Villa del Olindo), also commonly known as Casa de India Bonita, designed by the architect Maximilian de Habsburgo in 1866.
Every day from 9:00 to 16:30. Entrance is free.
The garden occupies a huge area with many exotic species of plants. On one of the flowers we saw a beautiful “beeline” butterfly. Interestingly, we just caught the dry season, which lasts in Cuernavaca from October to May. During this period, many plants and trees drop their leaves. In some places there were yellow dry leaves, which reminded us of our Russian autumn.
Among the plants was the “flower of the dead” – Tagetes thin-leaved (another name is Mexican velveteen), which is used for decoration on the “Day of the Dead” and in traditional Mexican medicine for stomach ailments and diarrhea.
Another plant (or rather not the plant itself, but the name) that caught our attention is the tropical croton, called “bad woman” (Mala Mujer) here. This plant is poisonous – in contact with the skin it causes itchy blisters. In traditional medicine in Mexico is used against warts.
In the museum of traditional medicine there are huge exhibits devoted to homeopathy, treatment with the help of spirits, “purification” of consciousness, etc. Of course, traditional medicine in Mexico is sometimes astonishing. What is the “black salt” to get rid of bad neighbors. It’s scary to imagine how it works…
After the witch market in Mexico City, though, I thought I wouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore.
Parque Ecológico San Miguel Acapantzingo
Ecological Park of San Miguel. The park is open daily from 7.00 to 21.00. Entrance to the park costs 10 pesos. In the park is a free wi-fi zone. By the way, it catches and is actually great.
In the park itself there is a Science Museum (El museo de ciencias de Morelos), which I really liked. The museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; weekends and holidays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The museum has a hall devoted to the properties of water, climate change, etc. We also saw a big stand devoted to our Dmitry Mendeleev. The museum will also be very interesting for children, there are a lot of interactive games and expositions.
There is also Casa de la Tierra (House of the Earth) in the archaeological area, where you can watch the work of the scientific program, which monitors climate change, receives information about natural disasters, such as tsunamis, hurricanes and many others.
There are other interesting museums in Cuernavaca, like the Casa Museo Robert Brady. I have only listed the ones that are iconic for this city.
There are direct buses to Cuernavaca from Mexico City’s South Bus Station. The ticket price depends on the bus company and is about 150 pesos. What we liked about the Mexican buses is that they give free water and snacks (most often cookies or cookies) before boarding.
