Town Libres, Puebla Municipality of Libres
The old San Juan de los Llanos, a city since 1989, with a Baroque church of cypress-wood altarpieces and a St John fiesta on 24 June.
From Huamantla: 35 min by car (43 km by road) How to get there ↓
Near here
Plan your visit to Libres
Where to stay near Libres
Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in Libres.
Tours to Libres
Day trips around Huamantla sometimes stop in Libres; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.
Tours from Puebla City
Africam Safari Zoo Admission with Transportation
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How to get to Libres
- From Huamantla: about 35 min by road (~43 km)
- Nearest airport: Puebla (PBC), 1 h 5 min by car to Huamantla
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Tours from Puebla City, near Libres
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About Libres
Before it was Ciudad de Libres, this was Hueytlalli, "great land" in Nahuatl, home to Otomí and Nahua people, and then San Juan Bautista de los Llanos. The town still has its founding record: on 27 February 1555, before the Royal Audiencia, Francisco Temamascuicuil, lord of Ixtacamaxtitlán, granted his brother Pedro Solcuats the land on which the new settlement was laid out.
Under Spanish rule it mattered as a stop on the route of gold and silver shipments bound for Spain; in 1663 its alcalde mayor was ordered to assist those convoys. Until 1686 the Santa Lugarda and La Noria haciendas belonged to the Jesuit college of Espíritu Santo. On 9 February 1860, after liberal troops had taken it, Governor Miguel Cástulo de Alatriste named it Villa de los Libres, and on 22 November 1989 it was made a city.
It now has 18,110 residents (2020) at about 2,380 m, on the edge of the Llanos de San Juan, a former lake bed farmed for barley, maize, tomatoes, potatoes and alfalfa. To the west the municipality climbs into the Sierra Norte, where pine, oak and fir forest survives in places.
The main sight is the church of San Juan Bautista, an 18th-century Baroque building with a cypress-wood altarpiece and moulded plasterwork. On 9 April 1876 General Villagrán attacked the town and fire damaged the main door, the altars and the organ; four new altars filled the gaps, one of them to the Virgin of Guadalupe, finished in gold leaf.
St John is honoured on 24 June, and on 15 August the Assumption procession walks over sawdust carpets. Every December many townspeople run with torches to the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Local cooking means lamb barbacoa, broad-bean stews, chileatole and pulque, with apple and tejocote preserves for something sweet.
How to get to Libres
Drive from Huamantla: 35 min, 43 km
From Puebla city it is about 85 km and 1 h 10 min by car: highway 150D east, then the Puebla–Xalapa highway (140D) and, for the last stretch, federal highway 129, the Teziutlán road that runs north–south through the municipality. From Huamantla it is about 44 km and 35 min via federal 136 to the 140D and then the 129. By bus, the Rome2Rio planner lists frequent Autobuses Vía departures from Puebla's CAPU, taking about 1 h 30 min.
Directions to Libres on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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From the nearest cities to Libres
- Huamantla · 43 km by road, 35 min
- Teziutlán · 64 km by road, 50 min
- Chiautempan · 83 km by road, 1 h 10 min
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Map of Libres
Neighbourhoods and villages of Libres
Part of Libres or just outside it, closest first.
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San Miguel · Village · in the centre
Neighbourhood of Ciudad de Libres, the old Villa de los Libres, on the edge of the Llanos de San Juan between the plain and the Sierra Norte. -
San Juan · Village · 1 km from the centre
Neighbourhood of Ciudad de Libres around the Baroque church of San Juan Bautista de los Llanos, whose patron gave the town its colonial name. -
San Carlos · Village · 3 km from the centre
Libres village named for Saint Charles Borromeo, at 2,411 m on the edge of the Llanos de San Juan, a land of barley, potatoes, barbacoa and pulque.
Day trips and tours from Libres
The closest Pueblos Mágicos and places to visit, with the drive from Libres and tours that leave from it.
Times marked ~ are estimated from the distance. Links open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Before you go: getting to and around Libres
- The nearest airport is Puebla (PBC).
- The best months to go are January, February, November, and December.
- Everything on this page is in or close to the centre: walk, or take a short taxi ride.
- For day trips a rental car gives the most freedom; the tours above leave from Libres.
Visiting Libres: what to see and do
The church of San Juan Bautista de los Llanos and its cypress altarpiece.
The gold-leaf altar of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Los Arcos, the old aqueduct that supplied the town.
The Puente Viejo in the Tetela quarter.
The Los Arcos spa pool in the San Miguel quarter, 5 km away.
The rock paintings at Rancho Viejo, 12 km from town.
The sawdust carpets of 15 August.
Plan your trip
Places to stay in Libres
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Libres.
Tours & activities
Day trips around Huamantla sometimes stop in Libres; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.
Rental cars
Pick up a car at PBC (Puebla): about 1 h 5 min by road to Huamantla, then 30 km more to Libres, on your own schedule.
Flights
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Puebla (PBC), about 1 h 5 min by road from Huamantla, the base for Libres.
Mobile data
Signal can drop away from Huamantla: download a map of the way to Libres before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.
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When to go to Libres cool
Libres shares the climate of Huamantla, 30 km away. The best months to visit are January, February, November, and December.
See the month-by-month climate of Huamantla
Weather in Libres now and the next 7 days
Live forecast from Open-Meteo. Chance of rain is the day's highest.
The closest Pueblo Mágico: Huamantla
Huamantla is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Libres, with places to stay, food, and more to see.
Also close to
- Ixtenco · Tlaxcala · 35 km away
- Tetela de Ocampo · Puebla · 41 km away
- Tlatlauquitepec · Puebla · 47 km away
- Tlaxco · Tlaxcala · 48 km away
- Teziutlán · Puebla · 55 km away
Near Libres
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.