Town 11 km south of Paracho
A Purépecha woodworking town on the Paracho–Uruapan highway, lined with furniture workshops and roadside showrooms.
San Juan Capácuaro is a Purépecha town of some six and a half thousand people on Highway 37, between Paracho and Uruapan, in the municipality of Uruapan. Like Paracho with its guitars, Capácuaro lives from wood: furniture making and carpentry are the town's main work, and you notice it the moment you drive in.
Houses along the highway double as workshops and showrooms, with chairs, tables, beds, wardrobes, doors and carved pieces stacked by the road, much of it in pine from the forests of the Meseta. The traffic between Uruapan and Zamora gives the carpenters a constant stream of buyers, and stopping to browse is part of the drive for many locals.
Capácuaro is also the turning point for Angahuan and the Paricutín volcano, which are reached by the road heading west from here, so it is a natural stop on the way. Away from the highway, the town keeps the language, wooden houses and community life typical of the Meseta Purépecha.
What to see and do
Browse the furniture workshops and showrooms along Highway 37.
Watch carpenters at work in the roadside workshops.
Compare prices and woods before buying; many pieces are made to order.
Turn west here for Angahuan and Paricutín.
Getting there
Capácuaro is about 15 minutes south of Paracho on Highway 37 toward Uruapan. Buses and combis between Paracho and Uruapan pass through town.
11 km south of Paracho
Directions from Paracho on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
Plan your trip
Places to stay in Capácuaro
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Capácuaro.
Tours & activities
Guided tours, tastings, and day trips in and around Capácuaro.
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Weather cool
Capácuaro shares the climate of Paracho, 11 km away. The best months to visit are Jan, Mar, Apr, Nov.
Make Paracho your base
Capácuaro is an easy trip from Paracho, a Pueblo Mágico with places to stay, food, and more to see.
More around Paracho
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Nurío
· Town · 8 km away
Purépecha village whose painted 17th-century church, the "Purépecha Sistine Chapel," burned in 2021 and has been rebuilt by local carpenters. -
Cherán
· Town · 11 km away
A Purépecha town that rose up against illegal loggers in 2011 and now governs itself through a community council. -
Cocucho
· Town · 16 km away
A highland village known for its huge clay jars, shaped by hand and fired in open bonfires by local women. -
Angahuan
· Town · 22 km away
Purépecha-speaking village and base for Paricutín, with an early colonial church and guides with horses for hire. -
Templo de San Juan Parangaricutiro
· Landmark · 24 km away
A church tower and altar rising from a sea of black lava, all that is left of a town buried by Paricutín in 1944. -
Ocumicho
· Town · 25 km away
The village of clay devils: Purépecha women shape wild, colorful diablitos and scenes by hand, no two alike. -
Zona Arqueológica de Tingambato
· Archaeological site · 26 km away
An older, Teotihuacan-influenced ceremonial center with a ball court and a rich tomb, east of Paracho on the road to Pátzcuaro. -
Volcán Paricutín
· Mountain · 27 km away
The volcano that rose from a cornfield in 1943: ride or hike across the lava from Angahuan to its still-steaming crater. -
Zacán
· Town · 27 km away
A Purépecha village on Paricutín's slopes that hosts the great Purépecha artistic contest of music and dance every October. -
La Tzaráracua
· Waterfall · 33 km away
Michoacán's best-known waterfall, where the Cupatitzio River drops some 40–60 meters into a canyon south of Uruapan. -
Lago de Camécuaro
· Lake · 33 km away
A spring-fed national park lake of clear, turquoise water among ancient ahuehuete cypresses, near Tangancícuaro.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.