Town Totolac, Tlaxcala Municipality of Totolac
Totolac community beside the Zahuapan river, with an 1876 Nativity church and a Virgin procession eight days before 8 September.
From Chiautempan: 10 min by car (8 km by road) How to get there ↓
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Plan your visit to Acxotla del Río
Where to stay near Acxotla del Río
Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in Acxotla del Río.
Tours to Acxotla del Río
Day trips around Huejotzingo sometimes stop in Acxotla del Río; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.
Tours from Puebla City
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How to get to Acxotla del Río
- From Chiautempan: about 10 min by road (~8 km)
- Nearest airport: Puebla (PBC), 7 min by car to Huejotzingo
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Tours from Puebla City, near Acxotla del Río
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About Acxotla del Río
Acxotla del Río, also called Santa María Acxotla, is one of the original communities of the municipality of Totolac and lies along the Zahuapan river that gives it its second name. The name comes from Nahuatl and is read as "place where firs abound"; it stands at about 2,220 metres, just north of Tlaxcala city. It is the second community of Totolac in area and population after the municipal seat, and the 2020 census counted 2,747 people; there were 362 in 1900, and the big jump came between 1980 and 2000, from 923 to 2,429.
The building that organises the village is the church of Santa María de la Natividad, raised around 1876 in the Porfiriato. It has a tower and its atrium works as a cemetery. It was rebuilt after the 1999 earthquake and was lightly damaged again in 2017, after which INAH looked after it. The village also has a small spring called Agua Santa, which residents used for decades.
The village fiesta is the Nativity of the Virgin, on 8 September. Its most distinctive feature is a procession that goes through houses and streets and starts eight days before the date. In 2017, with the church hit by the quake, the community still held its patron fiesta with municipal support. In the municipality of Totolac people work wood and stone carving, festival bread and tlaxistle-stick baskets, and the carnival of the area is well known.
How to get to Acxotla del Río
Drive from Chiautempan: 10 min, 8 km
Acxotla del Río sits just north of Tlaxcala city, a little over 1 km from the centre in a straight line, beside the Zahuapan river. From downtown Tlaxcala it is a few minutes by car or taxi; the municipal seat, Totolac, is about 2 km west of the capital on the free highway toward Mexico City. By bus, start at the Tlaxcala bus terminal (ATAH and Suprabus arrive from Mexico City TAPO, and the Verdes from Puebla CAPU), then take a taxi or local colectivo; there is no published route with stops and schedules. From Puebla it is about 31 km (approx. 35 minutes by car). Huejotzingo, the nearest Pueblo Mágico in this guide, is about 26 km away (approx. 30 minutes).
Directions to Acxotla del Río on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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From the nearest cities to Acxotla del Río
- Chiautempan · 8 km by road, 10 min
- San Martín Texmelucan · 24 km by road, 20 min
- Puebla · 36 km by road, 40 min
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
What to see in Acxotla del Río 10
Sights with their own page, closest to the centre first.
Landmarks and museums
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Basílica de Ocotlán · Landmark · 1 km from the centre
Tlaxcala's hilltop pilgrimage church: a churrigueresque façade between 33 m towers and an octagonal camarín carved by an indigenous artist. -
Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción · Landmark · 1 km from the centre
The 16th-century Franciscan church of the Asunción, with a Mudéjar cedar ceiling; Tlaxcala's cathedral and a World Heritage Site since 2021. -
Museo Regional de Tlaxcala · Landmark · 1 km from the centre
INAH museum in the cloister of Tlaxcala's Franciscan convent of the Assumption: 13 rooms running from the Paleolithic to the 20th century. -
Palacio de Gobierno de Tlaxcala · Landmark · 1 km from the centre
Seat of Tlaxcala's government since colonial times, on the Plaza de la Constitución; its arcades hold Desiderio Hernández Xochitiotzin's history murals. -
iglesia de San José · Landmark · 1 km from the centre
17th-century baroque church in central Tlaxcala, twice a cathedral and restored after the 2017 quake; home of the Niño Milagroso image.
Archaeological sites
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Ocotelulco · Archaeological site · 1 km from the centre
Temple and painted altar of Maxixcatzin's lordship, with a site museum, in San Francisco Ocotelulco, 3 km from Tlaxcala city. Free entry. -
Zona Arqueológica de Tizatlán · Archaeological site · 2 km from the centre
Seat of a Tlaxcalan lordship where the alliance with Cortés was sealed, with painted altars beside a 16th-century open chapel. -
Tepeticpac · Archaeological site · 3 km from the centre
Pre-Hispanic hilltop fortress above Santiago Tepeticpac, 5 km north of Tlaxcala city: walls, terraces, watchtowers and views over the valley.
Nature reserves
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Parque nacional Xicoténcatl · Nature reserve · 1 km from the centre
A 1937 national park covering Tlaxcala's historic centre, the Zahuapan River and the hills of three of the old Tlaxcalan lordships.
Viewpoints
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Escalinatas de los Héroes · Viewpoint · 1 km from the centre
A 1960s flight of 250 steps with a central fountain and statues of national heroes, climbing to a lookout over Tlaxcala city.
Map of Acxotla del Río
Neighbourhoods and villages of Acxotla del Río
Part of Acxotla del Río or just outside it, closest first.
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San Miguel Tlamahuco · Village · in the centre
Village of 1,108 people next to Tlaxcala city, with a red-domed church on a small hill and La Malinche behind it. -
La Trinidad Chimalpa · Village · 1 km from the centre
Old community in Totolac right beside Tlaxcala city, with a church to the Holy Trinity and a patron-saint fiesta in June. -
Los Reyes Quiahuixtlán · Town · 1 km from the centre
Totolac hill town just north of Tlaxcala city, heir to the Quiahuixtlán lordship, with cave paintings at Los Molinos and a Three Kings fiesta. -
Ocotlán · Town · 1 km from the centre
The hill town above central Tlaxcala, the municipality's most populous locality, with the Pocito holy-water chapel and the basilica on top. -
San Francisco Ocotelulco · Village · 1 km from the centre
Totolac village next to Tlaxcala, heir to the lordship of Ocotelulco, with the church of San Francisco de Asís and the ruins close by. -
San Gabriel Cuauhtla · Town · 1 km from the centre
Locality south of Tlaxcala city next to Ocotlán: once brick and tile makers, now housing estates, with a chapel of San Gabriel. -
San Hipólito Chimalpa · Town · 1 km from the centre
Village in Tlaxcala municipality about 2 km from the capital's centre, with a yellow-domed church to Saint Hippolytus and views of La Malinche. -
San Buenaventura Atempan · Village · 2 km from the centre
Village in Tlaxcala municipality tied to Cortés's brigantines; it has an old aqueduct and a fiesta of St Bonaventure on 15 July. -
San Esteban Tizatlán · Town · 2 km from the centre
Old seat of Xicohténcatl's lordship, northeast of Tlaxcala city: pre-Hispanic painted altars, a 16th-century open chapel and carved walking sticks. -
San Juan Totolac · Town · 2 km from the centre
Seat of Totolac, 3 km from Tlaxcala city: an 1714 parish church and the festival bread baked every week. -
Santiago Tepeticpac · Village · 2 km from the centre
A Totolac village at 2,244 m below Tepeticpac hill; every 3 May it climbs in procession to the old church on the summit. -
La Trinidad Tepehitec · Town · 3 km from the centre
Tlaxcala's "Heroic Town" by the city bus terminal: a hub of the 1910 anti-reelection movement, with one of the state's liveliest Day of the Dead nights. -
Panotla · Town · 4 km from the centre
Municipal seat 4 km west of Tlaxcala, with the Baroque church of San Nicolás de Bari and a name in carnival and clarinet music. -
San Lucas Cuauhtelulpan · Town · 4 km from the centre
Locality in Tlaxcala municipality with 5,185 people in 2020, patron Saint Luke the Evangelist and a Nahuatl name meaning "on the wooded mound". -
San Sebastián Atlahapa · Town · 4 km from the centre
Locality of 6,503 people in Tlaxcala municipality beside the bypass, with a church with a painted dome dedicated to Saint Sebastian. -
Santa María Ixtulco · Town · 4 km from the centre
Birthplace of governor Próspero Cahuantzi, with a Candelaria festival on 2 February, a tamal and mole prieto fair and five carnival camadas. -
Tlatempan · Town · 4 km from the centre
Apetatitlán locality with the Padre Jesús church and workshops making wooden masks for dancers.
Day trips and tours from Acxotla del Río
The closest Pueblos Mágicos and places to visit, with the drive from Acxotla del Río 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 Acxotla del Río
- The nearest airport is Puebla (PBC).
- The best months to go are January, February, March, and November.
- 5 of the places on this page are more than 3 km from the centre: take a taxi, a ride-hailing app or a local bus.
- For day trips a rental car gives the most freedom; the tours above leave from Acxotla del Río.
Before you go to Acxotla del Río: hours, prices and tips
- Best season
- Fiesta of the Nativity of the Virgin on 8 September; the procession through houses and streets starts eight days earlier. SN Digital · checked Oct 2026
Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.
Visiting Acxotla del Río: what to see and do
Church of Santa María de la Natividad, from around 1876, with its tower and an atrium that serves as a cemetery.
Agua Santa, the small spring residents used for decades.
The banks of the Zahuapan river, which runs beside the community.
The Nativity procession, which goes through houses and streets from eight days before 8 September.
Parque Deportivo Acxotla, one of the community's public spaces.
Plan your trip
Places to stay in Acxotla del Río
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Acxotla del Río.
Tours & activities
Day trips around Huejotzingo sometimes stop in Acxotla del Río; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.
Rental cars
Pick up a car at PBC (Puebla): about 7 min by road to Huejotzingo, then 26 km more to Acxotla del Río, on your own schedule.
Flights
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Puebla (PBC), about 7 min by road from Huejotzingo, the base for Acxotla del Río.
Mobile data
Signal can drop away from Huejotzingo: download a map of the way to Acxotla del Río before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.
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When to go to Acxotla del Río mild
Acxotla del Río shares the climate of Huejotzingo, 26 km away. The best months to visit are January, February, March, and November.
See the month-by-month climate of Huejotzingo
Weather in Acxotla del Río now and the next 7 days
Live forecast from Open-Meteo. Chance of rain is the day's highest.
The closest Pueblo Mágico: Huejotzingo
Huejotzingo is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Acxotla del Río, with places to stay, food, and more to see.
Also close to
Near Acxotla del Río
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.