Town Atenco, Estado de México Valley of Mexico Teotihuacan Valley
A town on the old shore of Lake Texcoco: a Franciscan chapel from 1571, cypress groves from Nezahualcóyotl's time and the 'two Mondays' feast.
From Mexico City: 40 min by car (35 km by road) How to get there ↓
Near here
Plan your visit to San Salvador Atenco
Where to stay near San Salvador Atenco
Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in San Salvador Atenco.
Tours to San Salvador Atenco
Day trips around Teotihuacán sometimes stop in San Salvador Atenco; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.
Tours from Zacatlan
Zacatlán Guided Tour walking through the Center
★ 5.0 (2) · From US$8
How to get to San Salvador Atenco
- From Mexico City: about 40 min by road (~35 km)
- Nearest airport: Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles) (NLU), 35 min by car to Teotihuacán
Links open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Tours from Zacatlan, near San Salvador Atenco
Tours, prices and ratings from Viator, checked weekly. We may earn a commission if you book.
About San Salvador Atenco
Atenco means "on the water's edge", which is exactly where San Salvador Atenco sits: on the eastern side of what was Lake Texcoco, between Ecatepec and Texcoco. It is the seat of Atenco municipality and had 19,823 people in 2020. The town glyph, copied straight from the Codex Mendoza, shows blue water with its shoreline and shells. People have been here a long time: two digs in the municipality turned up mammoth bones beside stone tools dated to around 7000 BC, and in 1428 Atenco came under Texcoco.
The finest building is the chapel of the Señor de Esquipulas, built by the Franciscans in 1571 from stone and red tezontle to convert local people. It keeps its original gilded altarpiece, and its Christ is a copy of the famous one at Esquipulas in Guatemala. Its festival, the "two Mondays" feast, falls on the second Monday after Ash Wednesday, with fireworks, fairground rides and food. In the centre stands the clock of the Divino Salvador, the town's patron.
Just southeast of town is the 34-hectare El Contador ejido park, also called Los Ahuehuetes. Its Montezuma cypresses date back to the time of Nezahualcóyotl, who by tradition came to this spot, then called Acatetelco, to rest and write. After the Conquest it went to Hernán Cortés, who gave it to his accountant (contador), hence the name. There are swimming pools, play areas and bikes for hire. On Tepetzingo hill there are remains of another of the poet-king's retreats.
Atenco was a farming town until the 1980s. In 2001 the federal government planned a new Mexico City airport here; the ejido farmers resisted and the project was dropped. In 2006 a police operation ended with more than a hundred arrests and serious abuse allegations, which the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights upheld in 2016. Part of the old lakebed, in Atenco and neighbouring municipalities, is now the Lake Texcoco Ecological Park, opened in 2024.
Local food runs to green-chile tamales at Carnival, choales (Judas tamales) in Holy Week, barbacoa and pulque.
How to get to San Salvador Atenco
Drive from Mexico City: 40 min, 35 km
From Mexico City it is about 38 km by road, around an hour depending on traffic. Atenco borders Texcoco to the south and Ecatepec to the west. By public transport, buses and combis from the Metro Indios Verdes terminal (Line 3) run to Atenco; or take one of the buses from the TAPO terminal (Metro San Lázaro) to Texcoco, which leave every 30 to 60 minutes and take about 40 minutes, then local transport north.
For the Lake Texcoco Ecological Park, drive the Peñón–Texcoco highway, where the entrances are signposted; the nearest Metro is Line B, between Villa de Aragón and Ciudad Azteca. Teotihuacán, the nearest Pueblo Mágico, is about 17 km north in a straight line.
Directions to San Salvador Atenco on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
Links open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
From the nearest cities to San Salvador Atenco
- Mexico City · 35 km by road, 40 min
- Pachuca · 79 km by road, 1 h 5 min
- San Martín Texmelucan · 86 km by road, 1 h 5 min
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Map of San Salvador Atenco
Neighbourhoods and villages of San Salvador Atenco
Part of San Salvador Atenco or just outside it, closest first.
-
Chiconcuac · Town · 2 km from the centre
A small town turned giant clothing market, famous for its wool sweaters, blankets and bargain-hunting crowds. -
Chiautla · Town · 3 km from the centre
San Andrés Chiautla, just north of Texcoco: a late 16th-century Franciscan church, a scorpion-handed Christ and a hill lit up every 12 May. -
Ocopulco · Village · 4 km from the centre
Chiautla village with an 1800 church whose tower is red tezontle, home of Zapatista land-reform fighters, and a fireworks fiesta each 25 March.
Day trips and tours from San Salvador Atenco
The closest Pueblos Mágicos and places to visit, with the drive from San Salvador Atenco 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 Salvador Atenco
- The nearest airport is Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles) (NLU).
- The best months to go are January, February, March, and December.
- 1 of the places on this page is 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 Salvador Atenco.
Before you go to San Salvador Atenco: hours, prices and tips
- Hours
- The Lake Texcoco Ecological Park opens Tuesday to Sunday, 7 am to 7 pm, from 2026; activities there are free. Chilango · checked Oct 2026
- Best season
- The Señor de Esquipulas "two Mondays" feast is on the second Monday after Ash Wednesday; the Divino Salvador feast is on 6 August, with sembradores, vaqueros, Moors-and-Christians, norteños and huizache dances; the Immaculate Conception is on 8 December. Wikipedia · checked Oct 2026
Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.
Visiting San Salvador Atenco: what to see and do
The 1571 chapel of the Señor de Esquipulas and its original gilded altarpiece.
The Divino Salvador clock in the town centre.
El Contador park (Los Ahuehuetes) and its cypresses from Nezahualcóyotl's day.
Tepetzingo hill, with remains of one of Nezahualcóyotl's retreats.
The 16th-century church of Santa Isabel Ixtapan and the monument to the mammoth found there.
The Lake Texcoco Ecological Park on the old lakebed.
Plan your trip
Places to stay in San Salvador Atenco
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around San Salvador Atenco.
Tours & activities
Day trips around Teotihuacán sometimes stop in San Salvador Atenco; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.
Rental cars
Pick up a car at NLU (Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles)): about 35 min by road to Teotihuacán, then 17 km more to San Salvador Atenco, on your own schedule.
Flights
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles) (NLU), about 35 min by road from Teotihuacán, the base for San Salvador Atenco.
Mobile data
Signal can drop away from Teotihuacán: download a map of the way to San Salvador Atenco before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.
Links open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
When to go to San Salvador Atenco mild
San Salvador Atenco shares the climate of Teotihuacán, 17 km away. The best months to visit are January, February, March, and December.
See the month-by-month climate of Teotihuacán
Weather in San Salvador Atenco now and the next 7 days
Live forecast from Open-Meteo. Chance of rain is the day's highest.
The closest Pueblo Mágico: Teotihuacán
Teotihuacán is the Pueblo Mágico closest to San Salvador Atenco, with places to stay, food, and more to see.
Also close to
- Otumba · Estado de México · 23 km away
- Tepotzotlán · Estado de México · 37 km away
- Zempoala · Hidalgo · 47 km away
- Villa del Carbón · Estado de México · 61 km away
- Tepoztlán · Morelos · 67 km away
Near San Salvador Atenco
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.