Sayula is a traditional town about 100 km south of Guadalajara, with a lively main plaza, a handsome downtown church and several chapels. It is known for its cajeta, a milk caramel, and for a Carnaval with dancing, floats and street vendors. During holidays some downtown streets close to make room for a big open-air market. The writer Juan Rulfo's birth was registered here in 1917.
History
Sayula's name comes from the Nahuatl Tzaulan, which points to Nahuatl-speaking roots in the area. A traveler named John Lewis Geiger, who crossed Mexico in the early 1870s, described a town of low, whitewashed adobe houses and poorly paved streets that made its living from salt and pulque. By the 1890s Sayula had grown into a busy commercial center, with merchants selling everything from carriages and ironware to arms and ammunition.
The town's best-known literary link is Juan Rulfo. He said he was born in Apulco, near San Gabriel, but his birth was registered in Sayula on May 16, 1917. The name traveled further in 1974, when the sailboat Sayula II, skippered by Ramón Carlín, won the round-the-world regatta. Sayula was named a Pueblo Mágico in 2023.
Climate mild
Best months to visit: Jan, Mar, Nov, Dec (driest months with comfortable afternoons)
Average daily high and low (°C) and monthly rainfall, 2020–2024.
Plan your trip
Places to stay in Sayula
Hotel La Provincia Hotel · 390 m from the center Find on Booking.comLinks open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you. Hotel names from OpenStreetMap.
Where it is
Sayula within Mexico
The town up close · Open in Google Maps
Getting there
- Fly into CLQ: Licenciado Miguel de la Madrid International Airport, about 67 km away in a straight line
Drive times are estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, without traffic.
Nearby Pueblos Mágicos
18 km away
58 km away
58 km away
61 km away
Sources: population from Wikidata (may count the whole municipality) · elevation and climate from Open-Meteo · airports from OurAirports (straight-line distance).