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    Satellite view of San Salvador Cuauhtenco and its fields in Milpa Alta, Ciudad de México

    Photo by EOX IT Services, Copernicus Sentinel data 2016, CC BY 4.0, via EOxCloudless

    San Salvador Cuauhtenco

    Town Milpa Alta, Ciudad de México Municipality of Milpa Alta Valley of Mexico

    A Milpa Alta pueblo originario with a Baroque church of the Divino Salvador, a market by the atrium and an August 6-9 fiesta with seed-and-foliage portals.

    From Mexico City: 40 min by car (32 km by road) How to get there ↓

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    Plan your visit to San Salvador Cuauhtenco

    Where to stay near San Salvador Cuauhtenco

    Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in San Salvador Cuauhtenco.

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    Tours to San Salvador Cuauhtenco

    Day trips around Tepoztlán sometimes stop in San Salvador Cuauhtenco; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.

    Tours from Mexico City Teotihuacan pyramids morning or afternoon without tourist traps ★ 4.9 (10,269) · From US$59
    Find tours on Viator GetYourGuide

    How to get to San Salvador Cuauhtenco

    • From Mexico City: about 40 min by road (~32 km)
    • Nearest airport: Mexico City (MEX), 1 h 25 min by car to Tepoztlán
    Rent a car at MEX Flights to MEX

    Route, map and directions ↓

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    Tours from Mexico City, near San Salvador Cuauhtenco

    Teotihuacan pyramids morning or afternoon without tourist traps ★ 4.9 (10,269) 5 h 30 min From US$59
    Balloon flight + Breakfast in cave + Pyramids + Pick up CDMX. ★ 4.9 (8,170) 2–8 h From US$149
    Xochimilco, Coyoacan and Frida Kahlo with Optional Lunch ★ 4.5 (8,395) 9 h From US$40
    Balloon flight + pick up in CDMX + Breakfast in Cave + Pyramids ★ 4.9 (7,685) 4–7 h From US$157
    Teotihuacan Hot Air Balloon Flight from Mexico City / Volare ★ 4.8 (4,447) 3–9 h From US$144

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    About San Salvador Cuauhtenco

    San Salvador Cuauhtenco is one of the twelve pueblos originarios of Milpa Alta, in the south of Mexico City. Its Nahuatl name means "at the edge of the forest", and people here take pride in a Xochimilca origin, unlike most of their neighbours, who were Momoxca. It is one of the most productive farming areas in the borough, though disputes over land ownership have run for a long time.

    The centre is the church of the Divino Salvador, from the 16th and 17th centuries, in plain Baroque. Its facade keeps pre-Hispanic ornament: eight cocolito figures and two bundles of cane fronds. Inside, the nave is vaulted, and the atrium, ringed by inverted arches, is still where people gather. Against the church wall, on Avenida Morelos, sits Mercado Público 244 "12 de octubre", a good place to eat. About 1.5 km away rises the Teoca volcano, and about 1.9 km off is San Pablo Oztotepec, the neighbouring pueblo, with its 16th-century church of San Pablo Apóstol.

    The fiesta of the Divino Salvador opens on 6 August with mañanitas and peaks on the 9th: local craftspeople raise monumental floral portals made of seeds and foliage, there are traditional dances, and the mayordomías serve community meals. August is the month of patron-saint fiestas across the borough, which eats nopal, mole and barbacoa.

    How to get to San Salvador Cuauhtenco

    Drive from Mexico City: 40 min, 32 km

    Milpa Alta has no Metro, Metrobús, Cablebús, Tren Ligero or trolleybus: only RTP buses, combis and licensed buses, so expect to combine them. From Tasqueña (Metro Line 2), Ruta 81 buses leave from the Paradero Sur toward Milpa Alta, stopping in central Xochimilco; you can also reach the Tren Ligero terminal at Xochimilco or Metro Tláhuac (Line 12) and take a bus from there. Xochimilco to Milpa Alta averages about 45 minutes, Tláhuac about an hour and Tasqueña at least two. The main stop is in the centre of Villa Milpa Alta, with another big one in San Pablo Oztotepec; buses, RTP and combis leave from there for the outlying villages, Cuauhtenco among them (no confirmed route number: ask at the stop). By car there are only two exits toward Xochimilco and one toward Tláhuac via San Juan Ixtayopan; the Xochimilco road is closed about twice a month and bottlenecks form toward Tláhuac and San Gregorio. The church is in the Jalapa area, on Avenida Morelos.

    Directions to San Salvador Cuauhtenco on Google Maps

    Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.

    Where to stay Hotels in San Salvador Cuauhtenco Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in San Salvador Cuauhtenco. See prices →

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    From the nearest cities to San Salvador Cuauhtenco

    Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.

    Before you go to San Salvador Cuauhtenco: hours, prices and tips

    Best time of day
    6 to 9 August, during the fiesta of the Divino Salvador: mañanitas, floral portals of seeds and foliage, dances and community meals run by the mayordomías; the main day is the 9th. Alcaldía Milpa Alta (press bulletin, Aug 2026) · checked Oct 2026

    Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.

    Visiting San Salvador Cuauhtenco: what to see and do

    The church of the Divino Salvador (16th-17th century), with pre-Hispanic cocolitos and cane bundles on the facade.
    The atrium ringed by inverted arches, the heart of village life.
    Mercado Público 244 "12 de octubre", on Avenida Morelos beside the church wall, for lunch.
    The seed-and-foliage portals of the fiesta, 6 to 9 August.
    The Teoca volcano, about 1.5 km away, and San Pablo Oztotepec with its 16th-century church.

    Plan your trip

    Places to stay in San Salvador Cuauhtenco

    Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around San Salvador Cuauhtenco.

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    Tours & activities

    Day trips around Tepoztlán sometimes stop in San Salvador Cuauhtenco; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.

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    Rental cars

    Pick up a car at MEX (Mexico City): about 1 h 25 min by road to Tepoztlán, then 23 km more to San Salvador Cuauhtenco, on your own schedule.

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    Flights

    The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Mexico City (MEX), about 1 h 25 min by road from Tepoztlán, the base for San Salvador Cuauhtenco.

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    Travel insurance

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    Mobile data

    Signal can drop away from Tepoztlán: download a map of the way to San Salvador Cuauhtenco before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.

    Airalo

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    When to go to San Salvador Cuauhtenco mild

    San Salvador Cuauhtenco shares the climate of Tepoztlán, 23 km away. The best months to visit are January, February, March, and December.

    See the month-by-month climate of Tepoztlán

    The closest Pueblo Mágico: Tepoztlán

    Tepoztlán's cliffs rising behind a white colonial church, Morelos mild
    Morelos Tepoztlán

    Tepoztlán is the Pueblo Mágico closest to San Salvador Cuauhtenco, with places to stay, food, and more to see.

    Also close to

    Closest to San Salvador Cuauhtenco

    Near San Salvador Cuauhtenco

    Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.

    Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.