15 within 3½ hours · 6 under 2 hours
From the hot lowlands of Apatzingán, every Pueblo Mágico is uphill and cooler. The road climbs into the Meseta Purépecha to Paracho, Mexico's guitar-making town, then on to the lake country around Pátzcuaro, Tzintzuntzan and the copper workshops of Santa Clara del Cobre, all within about two hours. Tacámbaro, at the edge of the hot country, is the closest taste of pine forest and coffee. For a weekend, head over the sierra to Cotija and Mazamitla, or down to the Pacific at Zihuatanejo.
Best months for the area: Jan, Mar, Apr, Nov (when most of these towns are dry with comfortable afternoons)
Day trips (under 2 hours) 6
Close enough to drive there and back from Apatzingán in a day. Closest first.
~1 h 20 min · 90 km
Best: Jan, Mar, Apr, Nov
Fiestas: Mar, Apr, Jun, Jul, Aug, Oct
~1 h 45 min · 120 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Fiestas: Feb, Jun, Sep, Nov, Dec
~1 h 55 min · 130 km
Best: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Fiestas: Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov
Weekend escapes (2 to 3½ hours) 9
Worth a night or two. Closest first.
~3 h 5 min · 210 km
Best: Jan, Mar, Apr, Nov
Fiestas: Feb, Jul, Sep, Oct, Nov
~3 h 20 min · 230 km
Best: Jan, Mar, Apr, Nov
Fiestas: Jan, Feb, Jul, Aug, Sep, Dec
On the map
Getting there
Apatzingán has no airport with scheduled flights; the usual one to fly into is Uruapan (UPN).
A car is the easiest way to reach most of these towns; the bigger ones also have direct buses from Apatzingán. Each pueblo's page has its own getting-there notes.
Drive times are from OpenStreetMap routing without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the distance and may run longer on mountain roads.