The Camino Real de Tierra Adentro includes five sites already inscribed on the World Heritage List and 55 other sites distributed along 1,400 of the 2,600 km of this long route that starts in northern Mexico and reaches Texas and New Mexico in the United States. Used between the 16th and 19th centuries, this road was used to transport silver extracted from the mines of Zacatecas, Guanajuato and San Luis Potosí, as well as mercury imported from Europe. Although its origin and use are linked to mining, the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro also fostered the establishment of social, cultural and religious links between Hispanic and Amerindian cultures.

The Hospicio Cabañas was built at the beginning of the 19th century to provide care and shelter for the disadvantaged – orphans, old people, the handicapped and chronic invalids.

The 34,658 ha site, between the foothills of the Tequila Volcano and the deep valley of the Rio Grande River, is part of an expansive landscape of blue agave, shaped by the culture of the plant used since the 16th century to produce tequila spirit and for at least 2,000 years to make fermented drinks and cloth.

Situated on the outskirts of Guadalajara, this was an important trading center. Apparently its society was very hierarchical, since artisans and the common people lived in small surrounding neighborhoods, separate from the residences of the elite. The principal temple is worth a visit.

A ninety-minute drive from Guadalajara, in the region surrounding the Tequila Volcano, this was one of the most important sites in the west of Mesoamerica. Notable for its urban layout, original architecture with conical structures, broad staircases and circular elevated platforms.

Located in the craft market on the island of Cuale. The museum displays a varied collection of loan items from the regional museums of Guadalajara, Colima and Michoacán, showing the traditions of the ethnic groups inhabiting the west of Mexico: the Chupicuaro, Tarascans and other cultures prior to the Spanish conquest.

Founded in the 1950s by the city’s artists, one of whom was Juan José Arreola, the museum exhibits pieces from western cultures such as the Cora, Huichol, coastal Nahua and Purepecha, with pieces from the viceregal period and a collection of sketches by the painter José Clemente Orozco.

Prior to the Conquista, this region was known as Atonayalco, which means “the other side of the river”. Its current name refers to San Miguel Arcángel, patron saint of the town. The municipality is located in the region known as Los Altos de Jalisco, on the banks of the Laja or San Miguel river, some 90 miles from the state capital.

Of great historical importance for the development of the provinces in northern Mexico, forms a part of the Royal Inland Road and is recognized as World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The two parts of its name come respectively from the river Lagos, which it abuts, and the hero of Mexican Independence Pedro Moreno. It is also the birthplace of the prominent writer Mariano Azuela (1873-1952).

The plains of the Teocaltiche Valley, an area of Chichimeca towns, were an important crossing point for communication routes between Zacatecas and Mexico City and Guadalajara. This facilitated the emergence of a successful agricultural and livestock economy. The Altos de Jalisco soon became, along with Aguascalientes, suppliers to the mining settlements in the north, leading to the founding in 1760 of the town of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación de los Macías, at the former post of El Sauz.