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    FacadeTemoayaChurch1, Estado de México

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

    Temoaya

    Village Temoaya, Estado de México Toluca Valley

    An Otomí municipal seat north of Toluca: a shrine with a huge equestrian Saint James, a Sunday market with taco de plaza, and hand-knotted rugs.

    From Toluca: 25 min by car (23 km by road) How to get there ↓

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    Where to stay near Temoaya

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    Tours to Temoaya

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

    Temazcal Wellness & Otomi Heritage Adventure from Mexico City From US$250
    Find tours on Viator GetYourGuide

    How to get to Temoaya

    • From Toluca: about 25 min by road (~23 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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    Popular tours to Temoaya

    Temazcal Wellness & Otomi Heritage Adventure from Mexico City 11 h From US$250

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    About Temoaya

    Temoaya is a small town of about 3,630 people (INEGI 2020) at 2,685 m in the hills north of Toluca, but it is the seat of the municipality with the largest Otomí population in the State of Mexico, and in the town itself almost a third of residents identify as Indigenous. The name comes from the Nahuatl Temoayan, "place of descending", and the Aztec glyph shows footprints going down a hill; in Otomí the town is called Nthekunthe, "meeting place of brothers". The Spanish town was formally founded in 1593, after friars had built a church dedicated to Saint James, and it became a parish in 1720.

    The big plaza is lined with old adobe houses under red tile roofs, and just north of it stands the Santuario del Señor Santiago. Its nave was begun in the 16th century and burned at the end of that century; inside, the image that draws pilgrims is a very large equestrian Saint James the Moor-slayer, carved by Indigenous craftsmen in the early colonial years and showing pre-Hispanic traits. Because of it the church was named a sanctuary in 1986, and the main feast falls on 25 July, with shepherdess dances to drum and violin, conchero dancers and charreadas.

    Temoaya has no permanent market: trade happens at the Sunday tianguis, which is also when the food comes out, barbacoa, carnitas, longaniza, tlacoyos and the local taco de plaza, filled with acociles (tiny crayfish), cow's foot, pork rind, broad beans and avocado. The other local pride is hand-knotted rugs made with Persian techniques and Mexican designs, started in 1968 as a job-creation scheme; today they are knotted mostly by women in San Pedro Arriba, 5 km away, and each square metre takes about 40 days. The town's charro ring hosts the Día del Charro on 14 September. On Cerro La Catedral just outside town is the Centro Ceremonial Otomí, opened in 1980.

    How to get to Temoaya

    Drive from Toluca: 25 min, 23 km

    Temoaya is about 18 km from Toluca and 85 km from Mexico City. Driving from the capital, take the Mexico–Toluca toll highway or federal road, leave at the Toluca airport exit and follow the frontage road towards Toluca to the Temoaya junction; the road from there to town is narrow. Allow roughly an hour to an hour and a half.

    By bus, Autobuses Zina leaves Mexico City's Terminal Poniente (Observatorio) about every 20 minutes and Flecha Roja hourly, taking an hour to an hour and a half; there is also service from Cuatro Caminos. Alternatively, ride the El Insurgente train from Observatorio to Lerma station and catch a Zina bus to Temoaya from there (about 25 minutes). Metepec, the nearest Pueblo Mágico, is about 42 km away, around 40 minutes by car.

    Directions to Temoaya on Google Maps

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

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

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    From the nearest cities to Temoaya

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

    Before you go to Temoaya: hours, prices and tips

    Hours
    The tianguis is on Sundays; the town has no permanent market, so that is the day to eat and shop. Wikipedia · checked Oct 2026
    Best time of day
    A weekend: Saturday for the rug workshops and the town, Sunday for the tianguis and the Centro Ceremonial Otomí. Chilango · checked Oct 2026
    Best season
    Patron feast of Señor Santiago on 25 July, with dances and charreadas; Día del Charro on 14 September at the charro ring. Wikipedia · checked Oct 2026

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

    Visiting Temoaya: what to see and do

    Step into the Santuario del Señor Santiago, north of the plaza, to see its huge equestrian Saint James.
    Walk the plaza and the streets of tile-roofed adobe houses.
    Come on a Sunday for the tianguis and try taco de plaza, barbacoa and tlacoyos.
    Visit the hand-knotted rug workshops in San Pedro Arriba, 5 km away.
    Come on 25 July for the Santiago feast, with shepherdess dances and a charreada.
    Go up to the Centro Ceremonial Otomí, in the forest just outside town.

    Plan your trip

    Places to stay in Temoaya

    Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Temoaya.

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    Tours & activities

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

    Viator GetYourGuide

    Rental cars

    Pick up a car at TLC (Toluca): about 17 min by road to Metepec, then 24 km more to Temoaya, 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 Temoaya.

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    Travel insurance

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

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    Mobile data

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

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    When to go to Temoaya cool

    Temoaya shares the climate of Metepec, 24 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 Temoaya, with places to stay, food, and more to see.

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    Near Temoaya

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

    Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.