Tres Marías

Anyone who has driven from Mexico City to Cuernavaca knows Tres Marías: it is the mountain stop, at about 2,810 m, where the climate changes abruptly and fog drifts down through the pines. According to Wikipedia it is the largest locality in the municipality of Huitzilac, with 7,523 residents in the 2020 census, and it sits right on federal highway 95 and the 95D toll motorway, the two roads out to Morelos.

Its reputation is culinary. Along the road, at kilometre 26, there are fondas and stands serving fried quesadillas, taco placero with cecina, red and green longaniza with nopales and avocado, and other mountain snacks. Time Out México lists the area in its guide to places to eat on the way to Bahidorá and points to one restaurant with a chinelo statue at the entrance, as a way to tell it from the ones that send touts after travellers. Eat with a jacket on: at this altitude it is cool even in summer.

Beyond the road the village has a life of its own. It has a health clinic serving the area, and its main fiesta is San José. It lies in the municipality known as the gateway to Morelos, and from here you can reach the Lagunas de Zempoala and the Chichinautzin Biological Corridor.

It should also be said that the area has a bad name for roadblocks and highway robberies, and the state security commission has asked drivers not to stop on the road. Eat at a place with parking, in daylight, and keep going.