Town 8 km south of San Joaquín
An 18th-century mountain mining village of adobe houses, fossil hunting and an Easter-Sunday 'burning of the devils'.
El Doctor is a small mining village high in the mountains of Cadereyta municipality, a short drive south of San Joaquín. It was founded in the second half of the 18th century, when Spanish miners came to work the veins of these hills, and it still has the feel of an old real de minas, with adobe houses, stone walls and a church watching over a quiet main street.
Its full name is San Antonio El Doctor. According to local tradition, the image of its patron, Saint Anthony of Padua, was brought by a doctor who arrived with the miners, and the nickname stuck to the whole village.
Today El Doctor draws visitors for its mountain scenery and its open space. You can hike or ride the trails, explore caves in the surrounding hills, look for marine fossils left from when this land lay under the sea, and climb to a lookout with a cross for wide views over the sierra. Its best-known tradition is the quema de diablos at Easter: on Resurrection Sunday, villagers in devil masks and old clothes take part in the burning of Judas figures, a custom that goes back generations.
What to see and do
Walk the main street and look at the adobe houses and the church of Saint Anthony.
Hike up to the lookout with the cross for views over the sierra.
Look for marine fossils in the surrounding hills, ideally with a local guide.
Come on Easter Sunday for the quema de diablos.
Rent an ATV or bring a mountain bike for the dirt trails.
Getting there
El Doctor is about 8 km south of San Joaquín in a straight line, roughly 20 to 30 minutes by car on mountain roads; follow the signs for El Doctor. Services are basic, so bring cash and fill up before leaving San Joaquín.
8 km south of San Joaquín
Directions from San Joaquín on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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Weather cool
El Doctor shares the climate of San Joaquín, 8 km away. The best months to visit are Feb, Mar, Apr, May.
Make San Joaquín your base
El Doctor is an easy trip from San Joaquín, a Pueblo Mágico with places to stay, food, and more to see.
More around San Joaquín
-
Zona Arqueológica de Ranas
· Archaeological site · 1 km away
Hilltop ruins of a pre-Hispanic cinnabar-mining town with ball courts; closed since Oct 2025 for repairs, so check first. -
Grutas Los Herrera
· Cave · 2 km away
Show caves 2.5 km from San Joaquín, with walkways, lighting and six chambers of stalactites on a guided tour. -
Cascadas Las Maravillas
· Waterfall · 5 km away
Three waterfalls, the tallest about 30 m, with turquoise pools at the end of a half-hour forest trail, 25 minutes from San Joaquín. -
Zona Arqueológica de Toluquilla
· Archaeological site · 5 km away
A long, narrow ridge-top city with four ball courts, the best preserved in the Sierra Gorda; closed since Oct 2025. -
Grutas de Xajhá
· Cave · 19 km away
Thermal pools inside caves at the bottom of the Moctezuma River canyon, on the Querétaro–Hidalgo border; go with a local guide.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.