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    Santiago Tepopula church, Estado de México

    Photo by ArCaRa, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Santiago Tepopula

    Village Tenango del Aire, Estado de México Valley of Mexico Volcano Route

    Farming village 2 km south of Tenango del Aire on the Sierra Nevada foothills; Santiago feast from 24 to 27 July.

    From Cuautla: 50 min by car (52 km by road) How to get there ↓

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    Where to stay near Santiago Tepopula

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    Tours to Santiago Tepopula

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

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    How to get to Santiago Tepopula

    • From Cuautla: about 50 min by road (~52 km)
    • Nearest airport: Mexico City (MEX), 1 h 33 min by car to Tlayacapan
    Rent a car at MEX Flights to MEX

    Route, map and directions ↓

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    About Santiago Tepopula

    Two kilometres south of the Tenango del Aire seat, Santiago Tepopula spreads over the foothills of the Sierra Nevada at about 2,400 m, with Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl behind it. The Nahuatl name is glossed as "stony hill of reed grass". It is the municipality's second-largest community (2,418 people in the 2010 census) and was formally given village status in 2009.

    Farming sets the pace: maize and beans above all, plus some small-scale cattle. The village also has a place in the state's political history. A local social movement of the mid-1980s helped the Unified Socialist Party of Mexico win the Tenango del Aire town hall in 1984, the party's first municipal victory in the State of Mexico, with Tepopula-born Edmundo Rojas Soriano as mayor.

    The time to come is the feast of Santiago Apóstol, from 24 to 27 July, celebrated mostly as a fair. The rest of the year it is a quiet place you can walk round quickly, best paired with a visit to Tenango del Aire.

    How to get to Santiago Tepopula

    Drive from Cuautla: 50 min, 52 km

    Santiago Tepopula lies about 2 km south of Tenango del Aire and about 10 km west of Ayapango and Amecameca. The easy way is to reach Tenango del Aire first: by car it is about 45 km and 45 minutes from Mexico City's TAPO terminal according to Rome2Rio (approx.), and Volcanes buses leave TAPO every half hour for the area, taking just over an hour. From Tenango it is a short taxi or car ride to Tepopula. Tlayacapan, the nearest Pueblo Mágico, is about 25 km away in a straight line, in Morelos.

    Directions to Santiago Tepopula on Google Maps

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

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

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    From the nearest cities to Santiago Tepopula

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

    Before you go to Santiago Tepopula: hours, prices and tips

    Best season
    Patron-saint feast of Santiago Apóstol from 24 to 27 July, mainly a fair. Wikipedia (es): Santiago Tepopula · checked Oct 2026

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

    Visiting Santiago Tepopula: what to see and do

    The church of Santiago, the village church.
    Views of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl from the Sierra Nevada foothills.
    The Santiago Apóstol fair, 24 to 27 July.
    Tenango del Aire, 2 km away: the San Juan Bautista parish and the Casa de Madera museum.

    Plan your trip

    Places to stay in Santiago Tepopula

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    Tours & activities

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

    Viator GetYourGuide

    Rental cars

    Pick up a car at MEX (Mexico City): about 1 h 33 min by road to Tlayacapan, then 25 km more to Santiago Tepopula, on your own schedule.

    EconomyBookings Discover Cars

    Flights

    The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Mexico City (MEX), about 1 h 33 min by road from Tlayacapan, the base for Santiago Tepopula.

    Kiwi.com

    Travel insurance

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

    SafetyWing

    Mobile data

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

    Airalo

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    When to go to Santiago Tepopula mild

    Santiago Tepopula shares the climate of Tlayacapan, 25 km away. The best months to visit are January, February, March, and December.

    See the month-by-month climate of Tlayacapan

    The closest Pueblo Mágico: Tlayacapan

    Fortress-like facade of the San Juan Bautista convent, Tlayacapan, Morelos mild
    Morelos Tlayacapan

    Tlayacapan is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Santiago Tepopula, with places to stay, food, and more to see.

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    Closest to Santiago Tepopula

    Near Santiago Tepopula

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

    Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.