Town Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal, Tlaxcala Municipality of Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal
San Pablo Apetatitlán, an old staging town on the Veracruz road 7 km from Tlaxcala, with a protected historic core and the Baroque San Pablo church.
From San Martín Texmelucan: 25 min by car (30 km by road) How to get there ↓
Near here
Plan your visit to Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal
Where to stay near Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal
Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal.
Tours to Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal
Day trips around Ixtenco sometimes stop in Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.
Tours from Puebla City
Africam Safari Zoo Admission with Transportation
★ 4.8 (87) · From US$35
How to get to Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal
- From San Martín Texmelucan: about 25 min by road (~30 km)
- Nearest airport: Puebla (PBC), 1 h 16 min by car to Ixtenco
Links open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Tours from Puebla City, near Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal
Tours, prices and ratings from Viator, checked weekly. We may earn a commission if you book.
About Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal
Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal, still called San Pablo Apetatitlán locally, is the seat of one of Tlaxcala's smallest municipalities, 11.63 km² in the centre of the state. It lies about 7 km from the state capital on the Tlaxcala-Chiautempan-Apetatitlán road, on the Zahuapan river, and had 4,161 people at the 2020 census. The Nahuatl name is interpreted as "on the sphere of water"; the surname honours the liberal general Antonio Carvajal, born here, and was added by decree in 1971.
In colonial times Apetatitlán answered to the lordship of Tizatlán and grew as neighbouring San Bartolomé Tlacaxolloc emptied out after smallpox epidemics. Its fortune was its position on the Mexico City-Veracruz road and the royal road from Tlaxcala to Huamantla: it had an inn for travellers, a wheat mill, wool workshops and a market whose prices set those for the rest of Tlaxcala, supplied by mule trains bringing sugar, coffee and cane liquor from the lowlands. By 1779 three out of four workers were weavers, and in 1879 the town was named Villa del Progreso for its trade and industry.
Its grid plan, adopted in the 18th century, and its old houses with large courtyards led to the town being declared a historic monuments zone in 1986, with 51 listed buildings in just over a quarter of a square kilometre. At the centre is the parish church of San Pablo, founded in 1767, in a folk Baroque style with a white and red façade, an octagonal dome with painted plasterwork of the Holy Trinity and a Baroque main altarpiece with Solomonic columns around a wooden Saint Paul. Joined to it, the Templo de Jesús was built between the 17th and 19th centuries and has a Mudéjar-style clock tower and a 19th-century organ in the choir. In San Matías Tepetomatitlán stands a small 16th-century Franciscan chapel that once depended on the convent at Chiautempan.
The main fiesta is for Saints Peter and Paul on 29 June, with a novena, the teponaxtle drum played in the atrium, a brass band, a fair dance and fireworks in front of the church. The huehue carnival is held on the Sunday after Tlatempa's, about eight days after Ash Wednesday, with a parade and a dance-troupe contest in the square. Workshops in Tlatempa carve wooden carnival masks with glass eyes and long lashes, and in the town itself carvers make jointed religious figures from ayacahuite pine.
How to get to Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal
Drive from San Martín Texmelucan: 25 min, 30 km
Apetatitlán is about 7 km northeast of Tlaxcala city on the Tlaxcala-Chiautempan-Apetatitlán road, a short taxi ride from the capital. From Mexico City take the Mexico-Puebla toll highway (150D) and at San Martín Texmelucan the 117D towards Tlaxcala, then carry on towards Chiautempan and Apetatitlán; allow about two hours. From Puebla, about 32 km away, head north towards Tlaxcala (roughly 35 minutes). By bus, ATAH runs from Mexico City's TAPO to Tlaxcala, and Verdes buses leave Puebla's CAPU; from Tlaxcala's bus terminal continue by taxi. Ixtenco, the nearest Pueblo Mágico, is about 29 km away (roughly 35 minutes).
Directions to Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
Links open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
From the nearest cities to Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal
- San Martín Texmelucan · 30 km by road, 25 min
- Huamantla · 38 km by road, 35 min
- Puebla · 37 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 Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal 3
Sights with their own page, closest to the centre first.
Archaeological sites
-
Zona Arqueológica de Tizatlán · Archaeological site · 3 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. -
Ocotelulco · Archaeological site · 4 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.
Landmarks and museums
-
Basílica de Ocotlán · Landmark · 4 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.
Map of Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal
Neighbourhoods and villages of Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal
Part of Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal or just outside it, closest first.
-
Santa María Ixtulco · Town · 1 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. -
Tecolotla · Village · 1 km from the centre
Locality in Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal at 2,277 m with 926 residents in 2020, a few kilometres from Tlaxcala city. -
Tlatempan · Town · 1 km from the centre
Apetatitlán locality with the Padre Jesús church and workshops making wooden masks for dancers. -
Belén Atzitzimititlán · Town · 2 km from the centre
A locality of 3,962 people 1.8 km from Apetatitlán, at 2,309 m, with a blue-and-white-towered church and murals at its community office. -
Chiautempan · Town · 2 km from the centre
Santa Ana Chiautempan, 6 km from Tlaxcala: the cradle of the sarape, with a July fair, a 16th-century Franciscan convent and mole prieto. -
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 Matías Tepetomatitlán · Village · 2 km from the centre
Village of 3,273 people about 6 km from Tlaxcala city, with a church to Saint Matthias and views of the hills to the west. -
Amaxac de Guerrero · Town · 3 km from the centre
Municipal seat of 10,417 people, a former textile-mill area, with the San Bernabé fair on 11 June and catrín carnival groups. -
Contla · Town · 3 km from the centre
San Bernardino Contla, a weaving town on La Malinche's slopes, home of the saltillo sarape and of Tlaxcala's Revolution, with a catrín carnival. -
San Buenaventura Atempan · Village · 3 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. -
Santiago Tepeticpac · Village · 3 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. -
Ocotlán · Town · 4 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.
Day trips and tours from Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal
The closest Pueblos Mágicos and places to visit, with the drive from Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal 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 Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal
- The nearest airport is Puebla (PBC).
- The best months to go are February, March, November, and December.
- 3 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 Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal.
Before you go to Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal: hours, prices and tips
- Best season
- Feast of Saints Peter and Paul on 29 June (moved to the Sunday if it falls midweek), after a novena; huehue carnival about eight days after Ash Wednesday; Day of the Dead from 28 October to 2 November. Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México (INAFED) · checked Oct 2026
Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.
Visiting Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal: what to see and do
See the parish church of San Pablo, with its white and red façade, the plaster Holy Trinity in the dome and the Solomonic-columned altarpiece.
Step into the Templo de Jesús next door for its Mudéjar clock tower and 19th-century organ.
Walk the old Calle Real and the courtyard houses of the historic monuments zone.
Visit the 16th-century Franciscan chapel of San Matías Tepetomatitlán and its old atrium cross.
Look for the carved carnival masks made in Tlatempa.
Plan your trip
Places to stay in Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal.
Tours & activities
Day trips around Ixtenco sometimes stop in Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.
Rental cars
Pick up a car at PBC (Puebla): about 1 h 16 min by road to Ixtenco, then 29 km more to Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal, on your own schedule.
Flights
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Puebla (PBC), about 1 h 16 min by road from Ixtenco, the base for Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal.
Mobile data
Signal can drop away from Ixtenco: download a map of the way to Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.
Links open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
When to go to Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal cool
Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal shares the climate of Ixtenco, 29 km away. The best months to visit are February, March, November, and December.
See the month-by-month climate of Ixtenco
Weather in Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal now and the next 7 days
Live forecast from Open-Meteo. Chance of rain is the day's highest.
The closest Pueblo Mágico: Ixtenco
Ixtenco is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal, with places to stay, food, and more to see.
Also close to
- Huamantla · Tlaxcala · 29 km away
- Huejotzingo · Puebla · 30 km away
- Tlaxco · Tlaxcala · 32 km away
- Cholula · Puebla · 33 km away
- Atlixco · Puebla · 53 km away
Near Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.