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.

Founded in 1546 after the discovery of a rich silver lode. Built on the steep slopes of a narrow valley, the town has breathtaking views and there are many old buildings. The cathedral, built between 1730 and 1760, dominates the centre of the town. It is notable for its harmonious design and the Baroque profusion of its façades, where European and indigenous decorative elements are found.

One of the most outstanding colonial buildings in Zacatecas, it contains an excellent collection of the greatest painters of the period. Complemented by a fine collection of academic and popular sculptures of the religious art of New Spain.

The silver mines of San Demetrio were discovered in 1566, located 5 kilometers from the Real de Fresnillo. This discovery led to the surrounding area being populated with agricultural and livestock ranches, which later evolved into prosperous haciendas. By 1621, the site was officially named Real de San Demetrio de los Plateros.

After the initial explorations, the Spaniards found in the territory of present-day Zacatecas large expanses of open grasslands with high forage value, crucial for maintaining livestock herds.

Its location on the high part of the Sierra de Tlacotes, in the Cuisilique Valley, municipality of Ojocaliente, in the state of Zacatecas, makes Cueva de Ávalos a natural lookout point from which there is a panoramic view of the towns of Ojocaliente, El Refugio, and Palmillas, a region through which the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro extended.

The need to transport silver extracted from the mines of Zacatecas to the central part of the country, particularly to Mexico City, for smelting and minting influenced the emergence of the stretch of the Royal Inland Road between the city of Zacatecas and the town of Ojocaliente.

The mining settlement of San Pedro de los Chalchihuites was founded on October 15, 1556, by Juan de Tolosa and Martín Pérez de Uranzu. Its prosperity was partly due to nearby hills with springs that provided water for supply and the irrigation of orchards through an acequia system.

The establishment of the mining district Noria de San Pantaleón in 1556 was the result of the work being carried out in the San Martín mines, located in the present-day state of Zacatecas. These mines were important producers of lead, which was required in the region's mines as it was necessary for smelting metals.