Taxco

Thirty-six hours from Santa Prisca to the Cacahuamilpa caves

Begin Taxco at Santa Prisca as soon as it opens, before the tour groups arrive. Take a few minutes over the facade from the plaza, then go in for the churrigueresque altarpieces and sacristy paintings; behind the church, the Museo Guillermo Spratling shows the American's pre-Hispanic collection beside his own silver designs.

Then cross to Casa Borda, the miner's 18th-century mansion, now a cultural centre with changing exhibitions.

Afternoon. After a bowl of pozole, drop down to the Plazuela de San Juan and work through the silver stalls and showrooms. Compare a few before buying; the same chain can vary widely from shop to shop. The Museo de la Platería on Plaza Borda explains the techniques, which makes the shopping more interesting.

Evening. Take a taxi to Los Arcos and ride the cable car up to Monte Taxco for sunset, then come back down for dinner on a terrace facing the lit-up church.

Second day. Climb, or take a taxi, to the Cristo statue early for the clearest view across the roofs. Mid-morning, head north to the Grutas de Cacahuamilpa, roughly 30 km away, where a guided walk leads through a chain of enormous chambers hung with stalactites. Back in town by late afternoon, you can still catch an evening coach to Mexico City or Cuernavaca.

Pozole Thursdays and jumil tacos in Guerrero's silver town

Thursday is pozole day across Guerrero, and Taxco keeps it seriously. Fondas put out big pots of hominy stew in three colours, blanco in clear broth, verde thickened with pumpkin seeds and green chile, and chile-reddened rojo, with onion, oregano, lime, avocado, pork crackling and tostadas; the cheap, honest places sit on the lanes above the silver market.

The local oddity is the jumil, a small stink bug gathered on the hills around town from about November to February. Market vendors sell them by the bag; people eat them in tacos with salsa, or ground into a sharp, slightly medicinal sauce. Some older Taxqueños credit them with healing powers. A jumil festival on the Huixteco hill above town marks the start of the season in early November.

For something to drink, order a Berta, a mix of tequila, lime, honey and mineral water that the old bar of the same name on Plaza Borda has served for generations. Breakfast is easy: tamales and atole from street vendors early in the day, or enchiladas and eggs on any terrace overlooking Santa Prisca.

Holy Week penitents, the silver fair and the Alarcón festival

Semana Santa, the week before Easter, is Taxco's biggest event. Processions start on Palm Sunday and intensify toward Good Friday, when hooded penitents walk barefoot through the dark lanes, some carrying bundles of thorny branches, others whipping their backs. Watching is free, but flash photography is unwelcome, crowds are dense, and hotels fill weeks ahead.

Around the last week of November the town holds its national silver fair, the Feria Nacional de la Plata, with design competitions and exhibitions in which local workshops show their newest pieces. It is a good time to see the trade at its most ambitious. The Jornadas Alarconianas, a cultural festival named after the 17th-century playwright Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, who was born in Taxco, brings theatre and concerts to the plazas.

Weather plays a quieter role. From October through April the days are dry and bright, and at this altitude the sun is strong while evenings turn cool enough for a jacket, especially in December and January. The rains run from June into September, usually as heavy afternoon storms; plan museum time then and keep the long climbs for the morning. The patron saint, Santa Prisca, is honoured in mid-January with music and fireworks outside the church.