Town Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos, Jalisco
Former wheat-hacienda town near Lake Chapala, with an 1875 bell tower, a Porfirian theatre and its patron fiesta on 8 December.
From Ocotlán: 40 min by car (41 km by road) How to get there ↓
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Plan your visit to Atequiza
Where to stay near Atequiza
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Tours to Atequiza
Day trips around Ajijic sometimes stop in Atequiza; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.
Tours from Guadalajara
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How to get to Atequiza
- From Ocotlán: about 40 min by road (~41 km)
- Nearest airport: Guadalajara (GDL), 39 min by car to Ajijic
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Tours from Guadalajara, near Atequiza
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About Atequiza
Atequiza is a town in the municipality of Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos, about 16 km from Lake Chapala. Its name comes from Nahuatl and is usually translated as where water springs. It grew around a hacienda: in 1556 Juan Ortiz de Urbina founded the Estancia de Santa Ana de Atequiza, which over the centuries passed through several families and became a major wheat producer as well as a sheep ranch.
Its heyday belonged to the Gallardo and Cuesta Gallardo families, who by about 1900 had gathered some 12,800 hectares. In those years the Casa Grande, the theatre, the La Florida house and the church tower, dated to 1875, were built or improved. On 24 November 1810 Miguel Hidalgo spent a night at the hacienda with about seven thousand men, and in the early 1900s José Cuervo's La Constancia distillery turned out corn and cane alcohol. In 1927 26 German families settled here, and in 1934 the ejido received its land.
Today it is a suburban town with several schools, among them a rural teachers' college that arrived in 1950, and a weekly tianguis running since 1979. The patron-saint fiesta peaks on 8 December, the Immaculate Conception, and Day of the Dead is celebrated in November.
How to get to Atequiza
Drive from Ocotlán: 40 min, 41 km
Atequiza is about 43 km from Guadalajara by road, close to 40 minutes by car without traffic. The route leaves along Avenida de la Paz, takes the Chapala road (MEX 23) and then the MEX 35, the Ocotlán–La Barca highway, then a short stretch into town. Atotonilquillo is about 2 km away and Ajijic, a Pueblo Mágico, about 36 km and 33 minutes.
By bus, the Chapala Plus line leaves Guadalajara's Central Vieja with hourly departures to Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos; no direct departure to Atequiza is published, so the last stretch is by taxi. Confirm times with the line before going.
Directions to Atequiza on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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From the nearest cities to Atequiza
- Ocotlán · 41 km by road, 40 min
- Guadalajara · 43 km by road, 40 min
- Tepatitlán · 84 km by road, 1 h 20 min
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Before you go to Atequiza: hours, prices and tips
- Best season
- Patron-saint fiesta on 8 December (Immaculate Conception); Day of the Dead in November. Wikipedia: Atequiza · checked Oct 2026
Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.
Visiting Atequiza: what to see and do
Church with its 1875 bell tower, built in the hacienda era
Casa Grande and its central courtyard
Teatro de Atequiza, from the Porfirian period
La Florida, the country house built around 1900
Former railway station on the México–Irapuato–Guadalajara line opened in 1888
Patron-saint fiesta on 8 December and Day of the Dead in November
Plan your trip
Places to stay in Atequiza
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Atequiza.
Tours & activities
Day trips around Ajijic sometimes stop in Atequiza; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.
Rental cars
Pick up a car at GDL (Guadalajara): about 39 min by road to Ajijic, then 16 km more to Atequiza, on your own schedule.
Flights
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Guadalajara (GDL), about 39 min by road from Ajijic, the base for Atequiza.
Mobile data
Signal can drop away from Ajijic: download a map of the way to Atequiza before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.
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When to go to Atequiza mild
Atequiza shares the climate of Ajijic, 16 km away. The best months to visit are January, March, April, and November.
See the month-by-month climate of Ajijic
Weather in Atequiza now and the next 7 days
Live forecast from Open-Meteo. Chance of rain is the day's highest.
The closest Pueblo Mágico: Ajijic
Ajijic is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Atequiza, with places to stay, food, and more to see.
Also close to
- Tlaquepaque · Jalisco · 33 km away
- Mazamitla · Jalisco · 55 km away
- Jiquilpan · Michoacán · 62 km away
- Cocula · Jalisco · 71 km away
- Sayula · Jalisco · 74 km away
Closest to Atequiza
-
Atotonilquillo · Town · 2 km away
-
Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos · Town · 7 km away
-
Santa Cruz de la Soledad · Village · 9 km away
-
Chapala · Town · 12 km away
-
Juanacatlán · Town · 13 km away
-
Isla de Mezcala · Landmark · 16 km away
-
Isla de los Alacranes · Nature reserve · 16 km away
-
Cajititlán · Town · 18 km away
Near Atequiza
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.