Town Chiautempan, Tlaxcala Municipality of Chiautempan La Malinche
Santa Ana Chiautempan, 6 km from Tlaxcala: the cradle of the sarape, with a July fair, a 16th-century Franciscan convent and mole prieto.
From San Martín Texmelucan: 25 min by car (32 km by road) How to get there ↓
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Where to stay near Chiautempan
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Tours to Chiautempan
Day trips around Ixtenco sometimes stop in Chiautempan; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.
Tours from Puebla City
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How to get to Chiautempan
- From San Martín Texmelucan: about 25 min by road (~32 km)
- Nearest airport: Puebla (PBC), 1 h 16 min by car to Ixtenco
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Tours from Puebla City, near Chiautempan
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About Chiautempan
Chiautempan, usually called Santa Ana Chiautempan or just Santa Ana, is the seat of the municipality of the same name in south-central Tlaxcala, on the lower slopes of La Malinche. It lies about 6 km east of the state capital, 34 km from Puebla and 126 km from Mexico City, at 2,280 metres, and is part of the Tlaxcala-Apizaco metropolitan area. The municipality had 73,215 people at the 2020 census. The name comes from Nahuatl and is translated as "on the edge of the wetland".
Before the Conquest it was one of the lordships of the Tlaxcalan republic and a ceremonial centre devoted to Toci, "our grandmother", goddess of childbirth, sweat baths and textiles. The Franciscans arrived in 1524 with Fray Martín de Valencia, placed an image of Saint Anne in a first hermitage and in the second half of the 16th century built the convent of Our Lady of the Angels, on the spot where, according to Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, Toci had been worshipped. Benito Juárez came in 1869 to open the railway to Puebla, and in 1915, during the Revolution, the state capital moved here for three years. It was made a city in 1949.
Santa Ana lives from weaving. It calls itself the cradle of the sarape, woven on pedal looms in wool and modern fibres, and the region's first textile mills opened here early in the 20th century. The big event is the National Sarape Fair in honour of Saint Anne, whose day is 26 July: local and visiting artisans sell sarapes, and after the procession on the 25th, the feast on the 26th carries on with string bands, mariachi, brass bands and fireworks. Holy Week is just as big: the Three Falls procession covers more than 7.5 km over more than eight hours, accompanying Nuestro Padre Jesús del Convento.
At the table, Chiautempan shares mole prieto, or tlilmolli, with neighbouring Contla. This dark mole was once ritual food for Toci; it is served in clay bowls with pork and anise tamales, and in 2016 the Tlaxcala state congress declared it intangible cultural heritage. It is cooked mostly for mayordomías and for the neighbourhood Easter feasts of Nuestro Padre Jesús del Convento, a wooden figure venerated here since the 16th century.
The Franciscan convent has a plain buttressed façade, a two-storey cloister with arches on Tuscan columns and a baptismal font carved with indigenous motifs. The parish church of Santa Ana, finished in the 17th century, has an 18th-century tower decorated with beast figures drawn from pre-Hispanic belief, and the neo-Gothic Carmen church, begun in 1911, has coloured stained glass. The old Santa Ana station of the Mexican Railway has been protected by INAH as railway heritage since 2010.
How to get to Chiautempan
Drive from San Martín Texmelucan: 25 min, 32 km
Chiautempan is about 6 km east of Tlaxcala city on the Santa Ana-Tlaxcala road, a few minutes by taxi or local transport from the capital. From Mexico City (126 km) take the Mexico-Puebla toll highway (150D) and at San Martín Texmelucan the 117D towards Tlaxcala; the Libramiento de Tlaxcala bypasses the capital to the south and links to Santa Ana. From Puebla (34 km) use the short Puebla-Santa Ana road, about 35-40 minutes. By bus, ATAH (Autobuses Tlaxcala-Apizaco-Huamantla) runs direct buses from Mexico City's TAPO terminal, about five a day, taking about 2 hours; or ride to Tlaxcala's bus terminal and take a taxi. Ixtenco, the nearest Pueblo Mágico, is about 28 km away (roughly 30 minutes).
Directions to Chiautempan on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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From the nearest cities to Chiautempan
- San Martín Texmelucan · 32 km by road, 25 min
- Puebla · 34 km by road, 35 min
- Huamantla · 40 km by road, 35 min
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
What to see in Chiautempan 2
Sights with their own page, closest to the centre first.
Landmarks and museums
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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.
Archaeological sites
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Zona Arqueológica de Tizatlán · Archaeological site · 4 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.
Map of Chiautempan
Neighbourhoods and villages of Chiautempan
Part of Chiautempan or just outside it, closest first.
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Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal · Town · 2 km from the centre
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. -
Santa María Ixtulco · Town · 2 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. -
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. -
Santa Cruz Tetela · Village · 3 km from the centre
A Chiautempan village at 2,295 m, with prickly-pear groves and farm plots; its Nahuatl name means stony place. -
Tecolotla · Village · 3 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 · 3 km from the centre
Apetatitlán locality with the Padre Jesús church and workshops making wooden masks for dancers. -
Amaxac de Guerrero · Town · 4 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. -
Belén Atzitzimititlán · Town · 4 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. -
La Magdalena Tlaltelulco · Town · 4 km from the centre
A town on the lower slopes of La Malinche, 8 km from Tlaxcala on the Chiautempan-Puebla road, its own municipality since 1995, with a barrio carnival. -
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. -
San Buenaventura Atempan · Village · 4 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 · 4 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 Pedro Tlalcuapan · Town · 4 km from the centre
Chiautempan locality on the slopes of La Malinche, once called Melendeztla, with two churches and a Nahuatl wedding dance.
Day trips and tours from Chiautempan
The closest Pueblos Mágicos and places to visit, with the drive from Chiautempan and tours that leave from it.
Popular day trips from Chiautempan
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All 50 Pueblos Mágicos within a weekend of Chiautempan →
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Before you go: getting to and around Chiautempan
- The nearest airport is Puebla (PBC).
- The best months to go are February, March, November, and December.
- 9 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 Chiautempan.
Before you go to Chiautempan: hours, prices and tips
- Best season
- Huehue carnival in February-March before Lent; Holy Week with the Three Falls procession, over 7.5 km long; National Sarape Fair in late July, with the Saint Anne procession on 25 July and the feast on the 26th. Wikipedia (es) · checked Oct 2026
Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.
Visiting Chiautempan: what to see and do
Visit the Franciscan convent of Our Lady of the Angels, with its two-storey cloister and the chapel of Nuestro Padre Jesús.
Look closely at the tower of the Santa Ana parish church and its pre-Hispanic-inspired beast figures.
Step into the neo-Gothic Carmen church for its stained glass.
Buy a sarape woven on a pedal loom, especially during the July fair.
Try mole prieto with anise tamales.
Walk past the old Santa Ana railway station of 1869.
Plan your trip
Places to stay in Chiautempan
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Chiautempan.
Tours & activities
Day trips around Ixtenco sometimes stop in Chiautempan; 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 28 km more to Chiautempan, 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 Chiautempan.
Mobile data
Signal can drop away from Ixtenco: download a map of the way to Chiautempan before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.
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When to go to Chiautempan cool
Chiautempan shares the climate of Ixtenco, 28 km away. The best months to visit are February, March, November, and December.
See the month-by-month climate of Ixtenco
Weather in Chiautempan 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 Chiautempan, with places to stay, food, and more to see.
Also close to
- Huamantla · Tlaxcala · 28 km away
- Huejotzingo · Puebla · 29 km away
- Cholula · Puebla · 31 km away
- Tlaxco · Tlaxcala · 34 km away
- Atlixco · Puebla · 51 km away
Near Chiautempan
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.