Pachuca

Two unhurried days from the Reloj Monumental to Real del Monte

Pachuca's first day starts at Plaza Independencia under the Reloj Monumental, the clock tower built for the 1910 independence centenary. A few blocks on, the Museo de Minería tells the story of the silver veins underfoot with maps, lamps and machinery, and the former convent of San Francisco holds the national photography archive and its exhibitions.

Afternoon. Stop for pastes at one of the long-standing bakeries in the centre, then take a taxi up to Cristo Rey for the panorama over the valley. Later, head to Mundo Fútbol, the interactive football museum next to the Hall of Fame, a good stop with children.

Evening. If the Tuzos are at home, catch a match at the Estadio Hidalgo; otherwise walk the lanes around Plaza Juárez and finish at a cantina.

Day two. Take an early colectivo up to Real del Monte. Wander its steep streets, visit the English cemetery among the pines and join a guided tour of an old mine shaft. Eat a paste where they claim it was first made in Mexico, then continue to Mineral del Chico and El Chico National Park, one of the oldest protected areas in the country. Walk the forest trails to the rock towers around Las Ventanas, and be back in Pachuca by dark.

Pastes, Hidalgo barbacoa and pulque from the maguey plains

The paste is Pachuca's calling card, descended from the pasties Cornish miners carried down the shafts. The original potato, leek and minced beef filling is still standard, but bakeries such as Kiko's and El Duque now add mole chicken, beans with chorizo, tinga and sweet fillings; eat them warm and ask about the spice.

Weekend mornings belong to barbacoa. In Hidalgo it is lamb, wrapped in maguey leaves and slow-cooked overnight in an underground pit, then sold by the kilo with tortillas, salsa and a cup of the rich consomé from the drippings. Look for it at market stalls and roadside stands early on Saturday and Sunday; the best sell out by midday. Mixiotes, meat steamed in a parchment of maguey skin with chile, are made in the same tradition.

The plains south and east of the city are maguey country, and pulque, the milky fermented sap of the plant, is the traditional drink, served plain or blended with fruit as curados in old-style pulquerías. In spring, adventurous eaters can try escamoles, ant larvae sautéed in butter, and chinicuiles, the red worms that live in the maguey. The covered markets in the centre are the places to find regional food at local prices.

Basalt prisms at Huasca, Tolantongo springs and the Teotihuacan pyramids

Pachuca sits at the centre of a ring of day trips, most within an hour or two. Real del Monte is 25 minutes uphill, Mineral del Chico lies in El Chico National Park beyond it, Huasca has its basalt prisms, Tolantongo its thermal river, and the Teotihuacan pyramids are an easy drive south.

Closest is Real del Monte, 25 minutes uphill, and beyond it Mineral del Chico, a tiny mining village in the pine forests of El Chico National Park, created in 1898. Hiking trails lead to rock climbing walls and viewpoints such as the Peña del Cuervo, and there are trout farms where you can catch or simply eat your lunch.

About an hour northeast, Huasca de Ocampo is a Pueblo Mágico surrounded by old haciendas. Its big sight is the Prismas Basálticos, columns of dark basalt rising from a canyon with a waterfall pouring over them. Combine the two with a visit to the Hacienda Santa María Regla nearby, an 18th-century silver refinery.

Further away, roughly two and a half to three hours northwest through the Mezquital Valley, Las Grutas de Tolantongo is a canyon where a hot river runs turquoise between cliffs, with thermal pools cut into the hillside and caves full of warm water. It is best as an overnight stay, since the road is long and winding, and weekends are very crowded.

Heading back toward Mexico City, Teotihuacan is about an hour south. The Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon make a natural stop if you are driving between the capital and Pachuca. Arrive early, before the heat and the crowds.