Santa María Regla

Santa María Regla is a small hamlet: 154 people and 42 homes in the 2020 census, about 4 km northeast of Huasca de Ocampo at close to 2,000 metres. It sits right on the seam between the Sierra Baja and the Comarca Minera, and its population has risen and fallen over time; the 1940 and 1950 censuses recorded barely five residents, while by 1980 it had reached 328.

What puts the place on the map lies at the bottom of its ravine. There the river spills over five- and six-sided basalt columns, some upright and some lying sideways, formed as lava cooled slowly millions of years ago: these are the Basaltic Prisms, one of Hidalgo's most visited sights, with their own page in this guide. Beside them stands the Hacienda de Santa María Regla, built in the 18th century by the Count of Regla, Pedro Romero de Terreros, and the first silver-refining hacienda in the region.

Much of that hacienda's patios survive, above all the chapel, with a restrained baroque front and a tall tower attached to one side. It's a hotel today and takes visitors. For travellers, the hamlet is where the two come together: going down to see the water over the columns and walking the hacienda's stone walls, with craft stalls and food stands at the park entrance.