Ali and I recently visited Taxco (pronounced Tasco), Guerrero’s only “pueblo magico” until 2023. There are 177 magical towns in México. The Mexican government has a tourism board that chooses the towns to help promote as magical towns. They generally choose rural towns that have a historical or cultural significance. Taxco is mostly known for it’s silver. From what we learned, much of the silver that you see throughout the country is from Taxco. And it’s cheapest to buy your silver in Taxco. There are possibly more silver shops than people! FYI there are about 75,000 people that live in Taxco.

On our first full day we took a long hike up to the Cristo Rey with it’s tremendous views of the city. We also rode the teléferico cable car to the area around Hotel Montetaxco. The roundtrip ride was 105 pesos each. There are a few shops and restaurants at the top, plus a golf course that is open to the public, but you need to enter the hotel in order to be able to see the city. Otherwise the best views are on the cable car ride up and down. We also spent our first day walking much of the city, including the zocalo and touristy streets around the zocalo.

We started our second day by driving to the Parque Nacional Grutas de Cacahuamilpa, a 2km long cave that is 40 minutes from Taxco. We only did the cave tour, but there are other activities you can do, a short zipline, a boat trip, rock climbing, and cross a suspended bridge. After the cave tour we went to Mil Cascadas, a 45 minute drive away on a bumpy and curvy road. It was the non-rainy season, and that may have effected the number of people visiting, but I think it worked out in our favor. First of all, the cave portion of the waterfall tour is not possible during the rainy season, as the water level is too high. We were fortunate enough to do two jumps into the water inside the cave, one of about 6 feet, and one jump from about 15 feet high. Secondly, we got the tour guide all to ourselves with only a few other tourists even in the park. And thirdly, we could still do all of the waterfall jumps. The cost to enter Mil Cascadas was 200 pesos. The guides work for tips. So awesome! The drive back to Taxco from Mil Cascadas took an hour.

On our third day we hit more spots in Taxco, Ali went into 150 silver stores and bought some silver. We visited the mina prehispanica, a silver mine that dates to the 1400’s, but was only rediscovered in 2013. For 140 pesos each you can get a 30 minute tour of the mine. We also made a quick stop in the William Spratling Museum, but didn’t find it super interesting.

Some tips. The streets are narrow – not a lot of room for pedestrians and vehicles so keep your head up if you are doing either. Parking can be a bit difficult and driving will be, too. It’s a hilly city, so many of the Airbnb’s are 30 or 40 or more stairs off the street. Pack light! If you are buying silver, then look for stores that say “Tianguis” in front. These are the wholesalers that usually sell to retailers. You can save 20% or more buying from them. The weather can be very warm in the afternoon, but cold in the evening. Pack accordingly (and still pack light). There are a lot of cool rooftop bars and restaurants, so make sure you get out each evening for the sunsets and views and drinks.

If you do the waterfall tour, bring water shoes if you have them. You can buy them in the park, but options are limited; we paid 180 pesos for a pair. Also, you will need your bathing suit. Although there are plenty of companies in Taxco that will take you to the caves and waterfalls as part of a tour, you can do these on your own, especially if you have your own transport. It’s more difficult without a vehicle. You can’t enter the caves without a guided tour, but you can visit the waterfalls without a guide. However, they tell you not to do any waterfall jumps without a guide present, and it’s important to follow this advice. The waterfall jumps can be dangerous if you don’t know where to jump. The cool thing is the waterfalls are open from 8am to 6pm 365 days a year.

If you want to visit Taxco from Zihuatanejo it’s right at 500km, and with a few stops for gas, snacks, and lunch it took us 8 hours. The route was pretty easy, and we spent 340 pesos in toll fees. Unfortunately there isn’t an easy way to get there. From Mexico City it’s about a 3 hour drive, and there really isn’t a closer airport than that (Cuernavaca, but you may need to fly your own plane). But if you make the trek, it’s worth it. The weather is great, it’s pretty, the people are friendly, and it’s worthy of it’s magical town status. We’ll definitely be back.