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 old colonial town of Querétaro is unusual in having retained the geometric street plan of the Spanish conquerors side by side with the twisting alleys of the Indian quarters. The Otomi, the Tarasco, the Chichimeca and the Spanish lived together peacefully in the town, which is notable for the many ornate civil and religious Baroque monuments from its golden age in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The five Franciscan missions of Sierra Gorda were built during the last phase of the conversion to Christianity of the interior of Mexico in the mid-18th century and became an important reference for the continuation of the evangelization of California, Arizona and Texas. The church façades are an example of the joint creative efforts of the missionaries and the Indios.

Situated south of the Sierra Gorda, this city was inhabited from 400 AD until shortly before the Conquest. Miners and mineral workers, influenced by different cultures, left impressive constructions in the area.

In the heart of the Sierra Gorda, it had a long period of occupation (200 BC – 900 AD). It has three large plazas and 56 structures. At the winter solstice the Sun becomes aligned with the Cerro Alto hill. Marvelous views of the surrounding landscape.

Its strategic geographic location allowed it to control trade routes, as well as to exploit the great diversity of ecological and mineral resources found in the region.

Its strategic geographical position on the silver route and in the Sierra Gorda made it a key waypoint on the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. The city has borne witness to the passage of Guillermo Prieto, Maximiliano de Habsburgo, Benito Juárez and to revolutionary troops—as well as to the industrialization of the country.

A viceregal city characterized by the Baroque architecture of its temples, monasteries and large houses, as well as by its fountains and its imposing aqueduct. The layout of its streets reflects its origins as an indigenous town and its transformation into one of the richest and most important cities of the viceroyalty of New Spain.

In 1529, a group of families belonging to an Otomi population called Nopala, who lived in the province of Jilotepec, set out for the area of La Cañada, in what is now the state of Querétaro. This area was inhabited by Chichimeca groups with whom the native leader of the group, named Conín, maintained a friendship and exchanged animal skins that the locals traded for salt and grains.

During the 16th century, the Spanish crown attempted to populate the territory of the former encomienda of Jilotepec, located on the Chichimeca frontier. This effort aimed to protect the road leading from Mexico City to the northern territories of New Spain.