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    Around Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo, Estado de México: Iglesia de santa ana

    Photo by nikolas jurado cordo…, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo

    Village Tenancingo, Estado de México Municipality of Tenancingo Southern Estado de México

    Flower-growing village in Tenancingo that covers its parish in flowers twice a year, the Monday before Ash Wednesday and on 26 July.

    From Toluca: 45 min by car (55 km by road) How to get there ↓

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    Tours to Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo

    Day trips and guided outings from Malinalco often include Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo; with a local guide you can get there without a car.

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    How to get to Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo

    • From Toluca: about 45 min by road (~55 km)
    • Nearest airport: Toluca (TLC), 1 h 14 min by car to Malinalco
    Rent a car at TLC Flights to TLC

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    About Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo

    Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo is a village in the municipality of Tenancingo, in the south of the State of Mexico. Its name pairs the patron saint, Saint Anne of Nazareth, with a Nahuatl word that Wikipedia glosses as "at the edge of the plain." According to EWTN News (February 2026), about nine in ten residents work in flowers, growing them, selling them or making arrangements; the surrounding region is a major producer and exporter.

    That shows in the parish church. On the Monday before Ash Wednesday it is filled with flowers as an offering to the Lord of Mercy: roses, gerberas, oriental lilies, solidago and chrysanthemums climb the walls and columns, and biblical and Passion scenes are built on iron frames and covered in fresh blooms. Setting it up takes about 15 days and more than a hundred people. The diocese puts the custom at roughly 30 years old; the coordinator recalls that the church was first filled with figures around 2015.

    A similar celebration repeats on 26 July, the feast of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim. Catholic News Service reported in 2022 that several hundred volunteers spent three weeks building lattices and that more than a million donated flowers were used, in animal shapes, rosaries and Bible passages, with traditional dancers performing outside the church. Spanish Wikipedia's Tenancingo article gives 27 July for the feast, so check the date before you go. Outside those dates it is a quiet village of greenhouses and houses.

    How to get to Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo

    Drive from Toluca: 45 min, 55 km

    Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo is in the municipality of Tenancingo, in the south of the State of Mexico. Per Wikipedia, Tenancingo city is about an hour from Toluca and two from Mexico City; the village is roughly 13 km in a straight line from Malinalco (about 15 minutes by car per the draft estimate) and about 36 km from Toluca. There is no published information on highway numbers or bus lines to the village itself; the sensible plan is to go to Tenancingo first (buses run from the Toluca terminal, but no timetable is published) and take a shared van or taxi from there, or drive with a map using the coordinates 18.971, -99.626. On the days of the flower offerings it gets crowded: arrive early and park before the centre.

    Directions to Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo on Google Maps

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

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    From the nearest cities to Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo

    • Toluca · 55 km by road, 45 min
    • Taxco · 90 km by road, 1 h 25 min
    • Cuernavaca · 65 km by road, 1 h 30 min

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

    Before you go to Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo: hours, prices and tips

    Best time of day
    On the Monday before Ash Wednesday the church is filled with flowers as an offering to the Lord of Mercy; a similar celebration on 26 July, the feast of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim. EWTN News, Feb 2026 · checked Oct 2026
    Best season
    Patron feast on 26 July; Spanish Wikipedia's Tenancingo article says 27 July, so confirm before going. Catholic News Service, 2022 · checked Oct 2026

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

    Visiting Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo: what to see and do

    The parish church of Santa Ana, covered in flowers on the Monday before Ash Wednesday.
    The feast of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim (26 July), with floral displays and dancers outside the church.
    The flower greenhouses and fields around the village.
    Biblical scenes built from fresh flowers on iron frames.

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    Tours & activities

    Day trips and guided outings from Malinalco often include Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo; 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 1 h 14 min by road to Malinalco, then 13 km more to Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo, on your own schedule.

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    Flights

    The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Toluca (TLC), about 1 h 14 min by road from Malinalco, the base for Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo.

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    Mobile data

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

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    When to go to Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo mild

    Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo shares the climate of Malinalco, 13 km away. The best months to visit are January, February, March, and December.

    See the month-by-month climate of Malinalco

    The closest Pueblo Mágico: Malinalco

    Facade of the Divino Salvador convent church in Malinalco, Estado de México mild
    Estado de México Malinalco

    Malinalco is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Santa Ana Ixtlahuatzingo, 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.