City Tultitlán, Estado de México Municipality of Tultitlán Valley of Mexico
Old salt-making village of Tultitlán, now 158,000 people: a 17th-century church, 16th-century crosses and a 15,000-year-old mammoth find.
From Mexico City: 40 min by car (35 km by road) How to get there ↓
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Plan your visit to San Pablo de las Salinas
Where to stay near San Pablo de las Salinas
Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in San Pablo de las Salinas.
Tours to San Pablo de las Salinas
Day trips and guided outings from Tepotzotlán often include San Pablo de las Salinas; with a local guide you can get there without a car.
Tours from Zacatlan
Zacatlán Guided Tour walking through the Center
★ 5.0 (2) · From US$8
How to get to San Pablo de las Salinas
- From Mexico City: about 40 min by road (~35 km)
- Nearest airport: Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles) (NLU), 48 min by car to Tepotzotlán
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Tours from Zacatlan, near San Pablo de las Salinas
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About San Pablo de las Salinas
San Pablo de las Salinas is one of the four pueblos of Tultitlán municipality and its biggest locality: 157,998 people in 2020, the third largest in Mexico that is not a municipal seat. It is an exclave of the municipality, northeast of the main section and separated from it by Tultepec and Coacalco, on a flat valley floor just north of the Sierra de Guadalupe at 2,248 m. In Teotihuacan times it was one of the stations where salt was made, which gives the name.
In December 1990, digging a septic pit at a house turned up large bones. INAH excavated from January to May 1991 and found the remains of four mammoths, plus a horse and a camel; the most complete mammoth seems to have been used by hunters about 15,000 years ago. The town has wanted to show the pieces in a local museum, so ask whether it has opened yet.
In the centre is a 17th-century church that keeps its façade, tower and a Baroque altarpiece; a 16th-century cross stands in the cemetery, and another with an 18th-century base is on Calle Justo Sierra. The big feast is San Pedro y San Pablo on 29 June, with a fair and fireworks; the Conversion of St Paul (25 January) is marked on the nearest Sunday. Holy Week has processions at the parishes of San Pedro y San Pablo and Señor de la Palma, and in April there is a pilgrimage to Chalma. On the plaza you eat roast chicken, nopalitos, carp and, on Sundays, carnitas and barbacoa.
How to get to San Pablo de las Salinas
Drive from Mexico City: 40 min, 35 km
By car: from Mexico City take the Mexico–Pachuca toll highway (85D) to Coacalco or Ecatepec and continue on the Circuito Exterior Mexiquense (MEX 5D), which runs beside the locality; the local avenues are Jorge Jiménez Cantú and Constitución de 1857. Tultitlán municipality names the Vía José López Portillo and the Circuito Exterior Mexiquense as its main access roads. San Pablo is about 27 km in a straight line from central Mexico City, roughly 45 minutes or more depending on traffic.
By public transport: Mexibús Line 2 serves Tultitlán and Coacalco along the Vía José López Portillo, from La Quebrada to Las Américas, and from there you take a combi or taxi towards San Pablo; there is no published published route to the plaza, so ask at the stop. Tepotzotlán, the nearest pueblo, is about 15 km as the crow flies, roughly 25 minutes by car.
Directions to San Pablo de las Salinas on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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From the nearest cities to San Pablo de las Salinas
- Mexico City · 35 km by road, 40 min
- Pachuca · 78 km by road, 1 h 5 min
- Toluca · 93 km by road, 1 h 20 min
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Map of San Pablo de las Salinas
Neighbourhoods and villages of San Pablo de las Salinas
Part of San Pablo de las Salinas or just outside it, closest first.
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Tultepec · Town · 5 km from the centre
Mexico's fireworks capital, with a huge pyrotechnics market, a March fireworks fair and a free museum of local mammoth finds. -
Fuentes del Valle · Town · 7 km from the centre
Residential colonia in Tultitlán with 82,274 people in 2020 and a Mexibús Line 2 station; not a tourist destination. -
Santa María Cuautepec · Village · 7 km from the centre
Smallest pueblo of Tultitlán at the foot of the Sierra de Guadalupe, with a 1737 Baroque chapel and feasts on 2 February and 15 August. -
Tultitlán de Mariano Escobedo · Town · 9 km from the centre
Old San Antonio Tultitlán: Franciscan stone churches, an ancient cypress on the square and the June feast of San Antonio, close to the Suburbano train.
Day trips and tours from San Pablo de las Salinas
The closest Pueblos Mágicos and places to visit, with the drive from San Pablo de las Salinas and tours that leave from it.
Times marked ~ are estimated from the distance. Links open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Before you go: getting to and around San Pablo de las Salinas
- The nearest airport is Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles) (NLU).
- The best months to go are January, February, March, and December.
- 4 of the places on this page are more than 3 km from the centre: take a taxi, a ride-hailing app or a local bus.
- For day trips a rental car gives the most freedom; the tours above leave from San Pablo de las Salinas.
Before you go to San Pablo de las Salinas: hours, prices and tips
- Best time of day
- The biggest feast is San Pedro y San Pablo on 29 June; the Conversion of St Paul fair is held on the Sunday nearest 25 January. Wikipedia (es): San Pablo de las Salinas · checked Oct 2026
Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.
Visiting San Pablo de las Salinas: what to see and do
The 17th-century church of San Pablo, with its façade, tower and Baroque altarpiece.
The 16th-century cemetery cross and the cross on Calle Justo Sierra.
The mammoth and other finds from the 1991 dig, if the local museum is open.
The main plaza, with Sunday food: carnitas, barbacoa, carp and nopalitos.
The feast of San Pedro y San Pablo on 29 June.
Plan your trip
Places to stay in San Pablo de las Salinas
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around San Pablo de las Salinas.
Tours & activities
Day trips and guided outings from Tepotzotlán often include San Pablo de las Salinas; with a local guide you can get there without a car.
Rental cars
Pick up a car at NLU (Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles)): about 48 min by road to Tepotzotlán, then 15 km more to San Pablo de las Salinas, on your own schedule.
Flights
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles) (NLU), about 48 min by road from Tepotzotlán, the base for San Pablo de las Salinas.
Mobile data
Signal can drop away from Tepotzotlán: download a map of the way to San Pablo de las Salinas before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.
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When to go to San Pablo de las Salinas cool
San Pablo de las Salinas shares the climate of Tepotzotlán, 15 km away. The best months to visit are January, February, March, and December.
See the month-by-month climate of Tepotzotlán
Weather in San Pablo de las Salinas now and the next 7 days
Live forecast from Open-Meteo. Chance of rain is the day's highest.
The closest Pueblo Mágico: Tepotzotlán
Tepotzotlán is the Pueblo Mágico closest to San Pablo de las Salinas, with places to stay, food, and more to see.
Also close to
- Teotihuacán · Estado de México · 25 km away
- Otumba · Estado de México · 35 km away
- Villa del Carbón · Estado de México · 40 km away
- Zempoala · Hidalgo · 51 km away
- Jilotepec · Estado de México · 56 km away
Near San Pablo de las Salinas
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.