Town 13 km northeast of Mascota
A cool, quiet mountain village above Mascota with adobe houses, a stone church, a mill museum and homemade nieves.
Navidad is a small village high in the sierra east of Mascota, about half an hour's drive away. Locals sometimes call it a little Switzerland for its cool climate, green slopes and pine forests, and it has a reputation as the place in the area where it is never really hot.
Its history goes back to the mid-1600s, when silver deposits were found in these mountains and a mining settlement grew up here. At its peak it is said to have had over a thousand residents; today only a few hundred people live in Navidad, many of them older, and the village feels unchanged: adobe houses with clay-tile roofs, a quiet plaza, and a stone church from around 1900.
Visitors come to wander, breathe the mountain air and eat. Navidad is known for its nieves and ice creams, and for the small Museo del Molino, which displays machinery and everyday objects from the 19th and 20th centuries. It makes a pleasant half-day trip from Mascota, especially combined with Yerbabuena and Cimarrón Chico on the way.
What to see and do
Walk around the plaza and the stone church.
Visit the Museo del Molino and its 19th- and 20th-century machinery.
Try the local nieves and ice cream.
Bring a jacket and enjoy the cool forest air on a walk outside the village.
Getting there
Navidad is about 19 km east of Mascota, roughly 30 to 40 minutes by car on a winding mountain road. There is no regular public transport, so go by car, taxi or with a local tour. Check museum opening times locally.
13 km northeast of Mascota
Directions from Mascota on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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Places to stay in Navidad
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Weather mild
Navidad shares the climate of Mascota, 13 km away. The best months to visit are Jan, Mar, Nov, Dec.
Make Mascota your base
Navidad is an easy trip from Mascota, a Pueblo Mágico with places to stay, food, and more to see.
More around Mascota
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Yerbabuena
· Town · 3 km away
A tiny village 4 km east of Mascota with cobbled lanes, a plaza and kiosk, and a stone chapel to the Virgin of Guadalupe from 1895. -
Cerro El Molcajete
· Mountain · 4 km away
An extinct volcanic cone just north of Mascota; a steep, forested climb rewarded with a view over the whole valley and town. -
Presa Corrinchis
· Lake · 7 km away
Mascota's reservoir on the Mascota River, about 7.5 km long, with kayaks, boat rides, fishing, horse rides and lakeside grills. -
Cimarrón Chico de la Raicilla
· Town · 9 km away
A hamlet east of Mascota named after raicilla, the sierra's agave spirit; home of Destilador del Real and a stop on the raicilla route. -
Cascada El Rincón de Ixcatán
· Waterfall · 10 km away
A 6-meter waterfall on the Arroyo de la Plata north of Mascota, with a rock-rimmed pool for swimming at the end of a short hike. -
Laguna de Juanacatlán
· Lake · 13 km away
A deep, forest-ringed mountain lake north of Mascota, believed to fill an old volcanic crater; boats, kayaks and a lakeside resort.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.