35 UNESCO sites in Mexico!

As of 2018, there are thirty-five World Heritage Sites in Mexico, including twenty-seven cultural sites, six natural sites and two mixed sites. The country ranks 1st in the Americas and 7th worldwide by number of Heritage sites.

When travelers fly to Mexico, they should know which one of these attractions are located close to the airport or the hotels programmed to stay, in order to have the opportunity to go see one of the natural, cultural or historic destinations included in the list.

Mexico’s first six sites, Sian Ka’an, Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque, Historic Centre of Mexico City and Xochimilco, Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan, Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological site of Monte Albán, and Historic Centre of Puebla, were inscribed on the list in 1987.

There are also 9 traditions and celebrations which considered Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mexico: Indigenous festivals dedicated to the dead, The ceremony of the Flying Dancers, The Peña de Bernal, The traditional January party of Chiapa de Corzo, The traditional song of the P’urhépechas, Traditional Mexican cuisine, The Mariachi, The charrería and The pilgrimage of Zapopan.

• Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent Mines (1988)
• Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen-Itza (1988)
• Historic Centre of Morelia (1991)
• El Tajin, Pre-Hispanic City (1992)
• Rock Paintings of the Sierra de San Francisco (1993)
• Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino (1993)
• Historic Centre of Zacatecas (1993)
• Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl (1994)
• Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro (1996)
• Pre-Hispanic Town of Uxmal (1996)
• Hospicio Cabañas, Guadalajara (1997)
• Historic Monuments Zone of Tlacotalpan (1998)
• ArchaeologicalZone of Paquimé, Casas Grandes (1998)
• Historic Fortified Town of Campeche (1999)
• Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalco (1999)
• FranciscanMissions in the Sierra Gordaof Querétaro (2993)
• Luis Barragán House and Studio (2004)
• Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California (2005)
• Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila (2006)
• Central University City Campusof the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (2007)
• MonarchButterflyBiosphere Reserve (2008)
• Protective town of San Miguel de Allende and the Sanctuary of JesúsNazareno de Atotonilco (2008)
• Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (2010)
• Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla in the Central Valley of Oaxaca (2010)
• El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve (2013)
• Ancient Maya City and Protected Tropical Forests of Calakmul, Campeche (2014)
• Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System (2015)
• Revillagigedo Archipelago (2016)
• Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley: originaryhabitat of Mesoamerica (2018)

Timing is important, not only to stay away from the crowd at archaeological sites but, because some of the cultural expressions of the country take place on holidays, once a year or seasonal.

Some of them are the Whale watching in Baja California and the Monarch Butterfly site in Michoacan, both seen on wintertime only!

“35 UNESCO Sites in Mexico!” by Alfredo de la Cruz.