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Visiting the Pueblo Magico town of Bernal

Visiting the Pueblo Magico town of Bernal

Español aqui

Bernal is one of our favorite of Mexico’s ‘Pueblo Magicos’. It’s one of the smaller Pueblo Magicos in the country – a day is enough to see and experience the sights – but it has so much charm and is surrounded by so much beautiful nature that we wished we had stayed a little bit more. 

Note: I have a video showing of Bernal’s highlights at the bottom of this post

 

 

Three things in Bernal stood out for us

 

1. A very pretty old town

It’s not big – but Bernal’s center is really pretty. The main square is full of trees and greenery and is dominated by a yellow and red church. The surrounding streets are colourful and you’ll find a lot of small restaurants and bars. And looming in the background you’ll see what Bernal is known for – the Peña de Bernal (soon to be covered).

Visiting the Pueblo Magico town of Bernal
The church on the main square

 

 

Visiting the Pueblo Magico town of Bernal
Tiled building that reminded me of the architecture in Puebla

 

Visiting the Pueblo Magico town of Bernal

Tuk Tuk in Bernal
An unusual sight in Mexico – a Tuk Tuk

 


 

 

When I think of Bernal I think of 3 things:

Pan de Queso “Cheese bread”. It’s a really good pastry filled with light, sweet cheese
Gorditas. Corn tortillas stuffed with different fillings. Try to get one stuffed with Nopales.
Tuk-tuks – the three-wheeled vehicles you usually see in Asia. I’ve never seen them in Mexico but in Bernal they operate as taxis

You’ll see lots of all the above in Bernal.

 

 

2. Peña de Bernal

The Peña de Bernal is a huge volcanic rock referred to as a monolith. The monolith in Bernal is one of the highest in the world (see this post on the largest monoliths in the world) at 433 meters. The Peña is considered one of the 13 Natural Wonders of Mexico.

The number 1 reason people come to Bernal is to hike up the monolith. That’s what I did. It’s easy and the path is well indicated and well maintained (it’s administered by local authorities and you have to pay a 30 peso fee to hike up. Hours are 8 am to 5 pm)

Peña de Bernal

Hiking the Peña de Bernal

Hiking the Peña de Bernal

 

Don’t get intimidated by some of the posts you’ll see on the internet saying that this is a difficult hike. It’s really not. It took me 35 minutes to get to the top and I took my time.

You can’t go to the very top of the Peña. That’s only for climbers with proper equipment and a permit. But even at that, you get great views of Bernal and the countryside. See my video of the hike here.

 

 

Related: A Visit to the Pueblo Magico town of Tequisquiapan

 


 

 

 

3. Staying at Cantar del Viento

We stayed a night at Cantar del Viento. It was spectacular. It’s a boutique hotel with 6 different villas, all with views looking out at the Peña. My mom and I stayed in Villa de Sol which has 2 bedrooms on 2 floors.

Beautiful property, a great little restaurant (we had the Arrachera steaks with a bottle of Mexican wine. Fantastic), all hosted by a wonderful lady (“Tony”). Staying there was one of the highlights of our 3 week trip in Mexico and if you can manage to stay here I recommend you do (book early, they get quite busy).

Cantar del Viento in Bernal

Cantar del Viento in Bernal

 

 


 

 

The Pueblos Magicos you find in Mexico come in all different shapes and sizes. But if you like little mountain towns you’ll love Bernal (I also loved Tepoztlan, another Pueblo Magico in the same category).

 

 


 

 

How to get to Bernal: Everything goes through Queretaro, the largest city in the area. We pre-arranged a taxi with the hotel and it cost us 600 pesos (about $30 US) and took 45 minutes. Otherwise you can take a bus from the bus terminal in Queretaro: Flecha Amarilla or Flecha Azul have frequent departures and take about an hour (cost is about 50 pesos, or $2.50 US).

 

 

Related: Is Taxco the most beautiful Pueblo Magico in Mexico?

Related: Visiting the (overrated?) Pueblo Magico town of Valle de Bravo

Related: The ‘Pueblo Magico’ town of Patzcuaro, Michoacán

 

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Filed Under: MEXICO, Pueblos Magicos of Mexico

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chris Clark

    December 20, 2021 at 12:47 pm

    Lots of Tuk-Tuks in Tlacalula also. So practical. Such fun!

    Reply
    • Frank (bbqboy)

      December 20, 2021 at 5:13 pm

      That’s interesting Chris. Tlacalula is near Oaxaca I see (never heard of it before). Good to know, thank you!

      Reply

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Hi! We are Frank & Lissette from Canada. We sold our home in 2014 and have been travelling the world ever since.

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