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    Around Montecillo: the Centro Cultural Mexiquense Bicentenario concert hall, about 1.2 km away on the México–Texcoco highway, Texcoco

    Photo by Omar Islas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Montecillo

    Village Texcoco, Estado de México Municipality of Texcoco Valley of Mexico

    Texcoco village on the México–Texcoco road, home of the Colegio de Postgraduados main campus and a short hop from Chapingo.

    From Mexico City: 40 min by car (36 km by road) How to get there ↓

    Near here

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    Plan your visit to Montecillo

    Where to stay near Montecillo

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    Tours to Montecillo

    Day trips and guided outings from Teotihuacán often include Montecillo; 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 Montecillo

    • From Mexico City: about 40 min by road (~36 km)
    • Nearest airport: Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles) (NLU), 35 min by car to Teotihuacán
    Rent a car at NLU Flights to NLU

    Route, map and directions ↓

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    Tours from Mexico City, near Montecillo

    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 Montecillo

    Montecillo is where the Colegio de Postgraduados keeps its main campus, in the municipality of Texcoco at roughly 2,245 m above sea level. The 2020 census counted 4,787 residents. It is known less for a historic core than for that agricultural teaching and research institution, which began in 1959 as part of the Escuela Nacional de Agricultura (today the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo), became a federal decentralized agency by presidential decree in 1979, and formally set up the Montecillo campus as an academic-administrative unit in 2005. The grounds hold laboratory buildings, experimental plots, a farm and greenhouses, and most of the college's science graduate programmes are taught here, from soil science and botany to hydrosciences and forestry. This is a working campus rather than a sight: its website lists no tours or visitor hours.

    The surroundings make an easy short outing. Km 33.5 of the same highway has the Centro Cultural Mexiquense Bicentenario, and km 38.5 the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, set in a former hacienda. Texcoco's municipal record lists a three-day patron feast on 22 July for Santa María Magdalena in the community of Magdalena Panoaya y Montecillo. Texcoco's centre is some 7 km off by air.

    How to get to Montecillo

    Drive from Mexico City: 40 min, 36 km

    By car: Montecillo sits on the federal México–Texcoco highway at km 36.5 (the campus address is Carretera México–Texcoco km 36.5, Montecillo). Texcoco is linked to Mexico City by the Peñón–Texcoco motorway and by the federal Los Reyes–Lechería road. Kilometre markers count from the capital, so you pass the Centro Cultural Mexiquense (km 33.5) first, then Montecillo, then Chapingo (km 38.5). Mexico City lies some 28 km from Texcoco.

    By public transport: buses leave Mexico City's TAPO for Texcoco every 30 to 60 minutes (ADO, about 40 minutes; 50 pesos in April 2023). Texcoco's communities are served by buses and taxis, and a taxi or ride-hail covers the last stretch; Texcoco's centre is 7 km off by air, around 15 minutes' drive (my own figure, unsourced). No official source publishes a minibus route.

    Directions to Montecillo on Google Maps

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

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

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    From the nearest cities to Montecillo

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

    Before you go to Montecillo: hours, prices and tips

    Best season
    Three-day patron feast on 22 July for Santa María Magdalena, listed for the community of Magdalena Panoaya y Montecillo. Wikipedia (Texcoco de Mora) · checked Oct 2026
    Rules
    The Colegio de Postgraduados campus is a working research centre; its website lists no public tours or visitor hours, so write to the campus office ([email protected]) before going in. Colegio de Postgraduados · checked Oct 2026

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

    Visiting Montecillo: what to see and do

    See the Colegio de Postgraduados' Montecillo campus from the road at km 36.5 of the México–Texcoco highway; labs and plots are working areas, so write ahead if you want to go in.
    Visit the Centro Cultural Mexiquense Bicentenario (km 33.5), with its concert hall, auditorium, library, museum and open-air theatre.
    Drive past the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo (km 38.5), housed in the former Chapingo hacienda.
    Continue to Texcoco and climb Texcotzingo, Nezahualcóyotl's retreat with its stone bathing pools.
    Walk the Parque Nacional Molino de Flores Nezahualcóyotl, a ruined colonial hacienda with picnic areas.

    Plan your trip

    Places to stay in Montecillo

    Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Montecillo.

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    Tours & activities

    Day trips and guided outings from Teotihuacán often include Montecillo; with a local guide you can get there without a car.

    Viator GetYourGuide

    Rental cars

    Pick up a car at NLU (Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles)): about 35 min by road to Teotihuacán, then 27 km more to Montecillo, on your own schedule.

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    Flights

    The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles) (NLU), about 35 min by road from Teotihuacán, the base for Montecillo.

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    Travel insurance

    Medical and trip cover for Mexico, by the week or month.

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    Mobile data

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

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    When to go to Montecillo mild

    Montecillo shares the climate of Teotihuacán, 27 km away. The best months to visit are January, February, March, and December.

    See the month-by-month climate of Teotihuacán

    The closest Pueblo Mágico: Teotihuacán

    Hot-air balloons drifting over the Pyramid of the Sun at dawn, Teotihuacan, Estado de México mild
    Estado de México Teotihuacán

    Teotihuacán is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Montecillo, with places to stay, food, and more to see.

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    Closest to Montecillo

    Near Montecillo

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

    Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.