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    Estado de México › Valle de Bravo

    Real de Arriba

    Town 21 km southeast of Valle de Bravo

    A near-forgotten gold-mining village in a green canyon above Temascaltepec, with an 18th-century Baroque church and year-round springs.

    Real de Arriba lies at the bottom of a lush canyon in the sierra of Temascaltepec, a village that once sat on top of a fortune. Before the Spanish arrived, the Matlatzinca called it Cacalostoc, “cave of crows”. Gold and silver showed at the surface in cracks in the rock, and the river worked as a natural gold-panning channel. Spanish mining began here in 1555, and by around 1570 to 1590 more than thirty mines were working, with hundreds of laborers, many of them enslaved.

    The boom faded during the War of Independence, came back briefly in the 19th century with English and American money, and ended around 1940. What remains is a small, quiet village between high mountains and deep ravines, where vegetation from cold and warm climates meets and slopes of reddish clay stand out against the green. Four springs give the village fresh water all year.

    The jewel of Real de Arriba is its 18th-century Baroque church, with a two-tier façade, a round-arched doorway and churrigueresque pilasters. Inside, a carved and gilded wooden altarpiece frames a crucifix and an image of the Virgin of Sorrows. There are no hotels or restaurants, which is exactly why it feels like stepping back in time.

    What to see and do

    See the 18th-century Baroque church and its gilded wooden altarpiece.
    Walk the village lanes down to the river that once washed out gold.
    Look for the reddish clay slopes and the springs that feed the village.
    Stop at the Orquideario Río Verde on the road from Temascaltepec.

    Getting there

    Real de Arriba is roughly 10 km from Temascaltepec, partly on unpaved road, so allow about an hour and a half from Valle de Bravo in total. A high-clearance vehicle helps after rain. There are no hotels or restaurants in the village, so bring food and water or eat in Temascaltepec.

    21 km southeast of Valle de Bravo

    Directions from Valle de Bravo on Google Maps

    Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.

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    Weather mild

    Real de Arriba shares the climate of Valle de Bravo, 21 km away. The best months to visit are Jan, Mar, Apr, Dec.

    See the month-by-month climate of Valle de Bravo

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    Estado de México Valle de Bravo

    Real de Arriba is an easy trip from Valle de Bravo, a Pueblo Mágico with places to stay, food, and more to see.

    More around Valle de Bravo

    Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.