HUASCA TRAVEL GUIDE

Places to Stay - Click here for price key

We spent a pleasant night at Cabañas El Edén ($$, Barrio Ixtula s/n, tel. 771/792-0082, www.cabanaseleden.com) with unseasonal rain beating against the tin roof. There’s a small living area where you can enjoy a fire (for a small surcharge) and play a game of cards at the tiny table. Cabins are sprinkled about the grounds, and camping is permitted for a fee. There’s a small pool, and a dozen hotel rooms at the back of the property at Hotel Jacarandas.

On the outskirts of town, Hotel Bella Vista ($$$, Carretera Huasca—Tulancingo Km 1.5, tel. 771/792-0022, www.hotelbellavista.com.mx) has ordinary looking rooms (each with fireplace) but also a restaurant, an outdoor swimming pool, meeting rooms, parking, and tour services.

Looking unobtrusive in the middle of town, Casa Azul ($$$, Calle Doria s/n, Centro, tel. 771/792-0134, www.lacasaazulhuasca.com.mx) blends chic and cozy, historic and informal, classy and charming. There’s a game room with foosball and Ping Pong; the library---complete with bar and comfortable sofas in front of the fireplace---also has a billiards table. Eleven guest rooms in this repurposed 100-year-old home are traditional yet comfy. The price includes breakfast but not room tax. Non-guests can come for lunch off the prix fixe menu, or a smaller set menu in the evening.

Hotel San Miguel Regla ($$$$, Carr. Huasca—Santa María Regla Km. 4.5, Huasca, tels. 771/792-0102 or 771/719-8213, www.sanmiguelregla.com) is set in an old hacienda; the grounds are amazing. Rooms themselves are a bit thread-worn, certainly the furnishings do not compare to those that graced the silver baron’s hacienda when Pedro Romero de Terreros had the place built in the mid-18th century. Still, it’s a grand estate, with a chapel (used for weddings), extensive grounds and gardens, meeting rooms, and a swimming pool. Rent horses or four-wheelers, or visit adjacent Parque Ecoturístico. Look on their website for promotional prices; otherwise hotel only offers a rather pricey American plan, including three meals.

Places to Eat - Click here for price key

Manolo and his wife Ana, transplants from Mexico City, run Restaurant-Bar 1910 ($$, Av. Hidalgo s/n, next to Farmacia Similares, Centro, no phone) an informal little place serving excellent arrachera. Closed Monday through Wednesday. For more information see the Huasca Meal Deal.

Restaurante del Lago ($$$, San Miguel Regla s/n, Huasca, tel. 771/792-0188, www.centroecoturisticodellago.com) is a popular place for a meal. They serve regional Mexican dishes that vary by season, including trout, barbecue, ostrich, chiles en nogada, and more exotic dishes such as ant eggs and maguey worms. Yum! They pluck organic veggies from their own gardens; the house specialty is trout the way grandmamá always made it. Open daily from 9AM to 6PM.

Things to Do & See

Los Prismas Basálticos: five kilometers north of Huasca, tel. 771/527-7570, www.losprismasbasalticos.com

Club Aerostático Nacional: tels. 774/761-3006 and 771/711-0990, cell phone 771/216-5490, 01800//633-6243, toll-free in Mexico; www.clubaerostaticonacional.com

How to Get There & Away

Huasca is 38 km (23 miles) northeast of Pachuca. Take Highway 105 and turn on a signed road on the right at Km. 23. It is also just 16 km (10 miles) from Real del Monte in the Sierra de Pachuca. From Mexico City via Hwy 85D, the 125-km (78-mi) drive should take about two hours, depending of course on traffic.

More Info

You can pick up information and maps of Hidalgo state in Pachuca at the Secretary of Tourism (Av. Madero 702, Col. Real de Minas, tel. 771/718-4454 or 771/718-3937), or look online at www.hidalgo.travel. In Huasca, ask for information at the City Hall or the kiosk by the town church (tel. 771/792-0747, www.huascapueblomagico.gob.mx).