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    Feria Anual San Francisco Xochicuautla, Estado de México

    Photo by XochiLerma, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    San Francisco Xochicuautla

    Village Lerma, Estado de México Municipality of Lerma Toluca Valley

    An Otomí community in Lerma at 2,789 m: October feast of San Francisco with arrieros dancers and a sacred forest contested by the Toluca-Naucalpan highway.

    From Toluca: 35 min by car (27 km by road) How to get there ↓

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    Day trips and guided outings from Metepec often include San Francisco Xochicuautla; 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 San Francisco Xochicuautla

    • From Toluca: about 35 min by road (~27 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 San Francisco Xochicuautla

    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 Francisco Xochicuautla

    San Francisco Xochicuautla, "Xochi" to locals, is an Otomí (Hñañú) community in Lerma municipality, at 2,789 m, with 3,980 residents in 2020. The Nahuatl name is read as "place of trees and flowers". Wikipedia says indigenous people founded it in pre-Hispanic times, and in 1863 it received part of the woods of the Hacienda de San Nicolás Peralta from a donation by Gregorio de Mier. Its main church marked 100 years since its reconstruction in 2019.

    The best moment to visit is 4 October and the days around it, the feast of St Francis of Assisi. On the first day the images are carried down from the chapels to the main church, there is mass and, on weekdays, fireworks castles; the following Sunday the church is dressed in flowers and lights and the streets in cut-paper banners. Arrieros dance in their hats with clay pieces. The next Monday they throw kitchenware, sweets, fruit and toys to the crowd and stage a playful fight with the "rateros", costumed people who steal their banners; it ends with firework toritos. On Tuesday they say goodbye and the church stewards climb Cerro de la Verónica to fire rockets. On 13 September the chapel of the Señor de la Exaltación holds another eve with arrieros dancing and a shared meal.

    The community is also known for defending its forest, which the Hñañú people regard as sacred: since 2007 the Supreme Indigenous Council has opposed the route of the Toluca-Naucalpan highway through those woods. If you come to walk or for the fiesta, do so with that context in mind.

    How to get to San Francisco Xochicuautla

    Drive from Toluca: 35 min, 27 km

    San Francisco Xochicuautla is in Lerma municipality, about 12 km in a straight line northeast of Lerma de Villada, about 24 km straight-line from Toluca and about 21 km from Metepec, the nearest pueblo; by car allow roughly 30 minutes from Toluca (an estimate). A chapel (the Señor de la Exaltación) stands on the village's main road. There is no published published public transport timetables: ask about colectivos to Xochicuautla in Lerma or at the Toluca terminal. During the October feast stalls and rides fill the sports field, so allow extra time.

    Directions to San Francisco Xochicuautla on Google Maps

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

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

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

    Before you go to San Francisco Xochicuautla: hours, prices and tips

    Best time of day
    Early October, during the patron feast. Wikipedia (es) · checked Oct 2026
    Best season
    The feast of St Francis of Assisi is 4 October and the nearest weekend, with arrieros dancing; the eve of the Señor de la Exaltación is 13 September. Wikipedia (es) · checked Oct 2026

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

    Visiting San Francisco Xochicuautla: what to see and do

    Come for the feast of St Francis of Assisi (4 October and the nearest weekend), with arrieros dancing.
    Go into the main church, rebuilt more than a century ago.
    Attend the 13 September eve of the Señor de la Exaltación at the roadside chapel.
    Climb Cerro de la Verónica, where the church stewards fire rockets.
    Walk the Otomí forest respectfully; the community is defending it.

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    Tours & activities

    Day trips and guided outings from Metepec often include San Francisco Xochicuautla; with a local guide you can get there without a car.

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    Rental cars

    Pick up a car at TLC (Toluca): about 17 min by road to Metepec, then 21 km more to San Francisco Xochicuautla, 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 San Francisco Xochicuautla.

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

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    When to go to San Francisco Xochicuautla cool

    San Francisco Xochicuautla shares the climate of Metepec, 21 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 San Francisco Xochicuautla, with places to stay, food, and more to see.

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

    Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.