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    Parroquia Santa Rosa Xochiac, Ciudad de México

    Photo by Joel Gomez, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Santa Rosa Xochiac

    Village Álvaro Obregón, Ciudad de México Municipality of Álvaro Obregón Valley of Mexico

    Forest-edge village below the Desierto de los Leones, known for its Christmas trees, a 1.2 km sawdust carpet and a year of patron-saint festivals.

    From Mexico City: 35 min by car (24 km by road) How to get there ↓

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    Tours to Santa Rosa Xochiac

    Day trips and guided outings from Metepec often include Santa Rosa Xochiac; with a local guide you can get there 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 Santa Rosa Xochiac

    • From Mexico City: about 35 min by road (~24 km)
    • Nearest airport: Toluca (TLC), 17 min by car to Metepec
    Rent a car at TLC Flights to TLC

    Route, map and directions ↓

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    Tours from Mexico City, near Santa Rosa Xochiac

    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

    Tours, prices and ratings from Viator, checked weekly. We may earn a commission if you book.

    About Santa Rosa Xochiac

    Santa Rosa Xochiac sits in the far west of Mexico City, in the Álvaro Obregón borough, at the edge of the forest that climbs to the Desierto de los Leones. It borders San Bartolo Ameyalco and, across the line in Cuajimalpa, San Mateo Tlaltenango, and its spine is the Calzada al Desierto de los Leones. The name joins Saint Rose of Lima to the Nahuatl Xochiac, glossed as a place of flowering water. By local tradition the village was founded in 1704 by people from San Bartolo Ameyalco and first called Cuauhtenco; it took its present name after visitors noticed the white wild roses here, suggested it, and donated the saint's image.

    For centuries people lived from farming and from the forest's timber. Roads and streets opened in the 1970s tied the village to the city, and many houses now stand where cornfields were; a number of residents work as gardeners. The village is known for its white roses.

    The reason to come is the festival calendar. In December four trees more than ten metres tall are cut, with official permission, and dressed in front of the Santa Rosa de Lima parish church. On 31 December and 1-2 January, the Virgin of Guadalupe feast brings a sawdust carpet of about 1.2 km, a night procession led by young women in white, and a closing dance on 2 January. The patron saint's day is 30 August, with masses, a fair, fireworks in the churchyard and arriero and chinelo dances. In Holy Week, Judas figures up to ten metres high are paraded and burned standing on Holy Saturday. On 2 November families who lost someone during the year are visited with candles.

    How to get to Santa Rosa Xochiac

    Drive from Mexico City: 35 min, 24 km

    By car or ride-hailing app, the way in is the Calzada al Desierto de los Leones, which climbs from Álvaro Obregón toward the forest; Santa Fe's shopping district is under 20 minutes away and the run from the Periférico depends heavily on traffic. There is no Metro or Metrobús to the village. By public transport, bus 116 goes up to the entrance of Desierto de los Leones National Park and can be boarded at several Metro stations; other buses reach Santa Rosa Xochiac or San Mateo Tlaltenango, and from there a taxi continues to the park gate or the former convent. Ask when you board whether the bus goes all the way to the village, since not every trip does.

    Directions to Santa Rosa Xochiac on Google Maps

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

    Where to stay Hotels in Santa Rosa Xochiac Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in Santa Rosa Xochiac. See prices →

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    From the nearest cities to Santa Rosa Xochiac

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

    Before you go to Santa Rosa Xochiac: hours, prices and tips

    Best time of day
    The festivals are the draw: the Virgin of Guadalupe feast from 31 December to 2 January (sawdust carpet of about 1.2 km, night procession), patron saint Santa Rosa de Lima on 30 August, the Holy Week Judas figures and Day of the Dead. Wikipedia · checked Oct 2026

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

    Visiting Santa Rosa Xochiac: what to see and do

    The Santa Rosa de Lima parish church, where the Christmas tree goes up and the Guadalupe procession starts.
    The small Guadalupe chapel, its back garden decorated for the year-end feast.
    The sawdust carpet of about 1.2 km, 31 December to 2 January.
    The fair and the arriero and chinelo dances on 30 August, the patron saint's day.
    The giant Judas figures of Holy Week, burned standing on Holy Saturday.
    Desierto de los Leones National Park, a short way up the Calzada al Desierto de los Leones.

    Plan your trip

    Places to stay in Santa Rosa Xochiac

    Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Santa Rosa Xochiac.

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    Tours & activities

    Day trips and guided outings from Metepec often include Santa Rosa Xochiac; with a local guide you can get there without a car.

    Viator GetYourGuide

    Rental cars

    Pick up a car at TLC (Toluca): about 17 min by road to Metepec, then 34 km more to Santa Rosa Xochiac, on your own schedule.

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    Flights

    The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Toluca (TLC), about 17 min by road from Metepec, the base for Santa Rosa Xochiac.

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    Travel insurance

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    Mobile data

    Signal can drop away from Metepec: download a map of the way to Santa Rosa Xochiac before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.

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    When to go to Santa Rosa Xochiac cool

    Santa Rosa Xochiac shares the climate of Metepec, 34 km away. The best months to visit are January, February, March, and December.

    See the month-by-month climate of Metepec

    The closest Pueblo Mágico: Metepec

    Red Calvario chapel at the top of its long stairway, Metepec, Estado de México cool
    Estado de México Metepec

    Metepec is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Santa Rosa Xochiac, with places to stay, food, and more to see.

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    Near Santa Rosa Xochiac

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

    Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.