Cuernavaca is located in central Mexico and is an ideal base for discovering the country. Mexico City, countless natural wonders or traces of past civilizations can be easily explored from this location.
NEVER ENDING SPRING
For the well to do of Mexico City and for foreign visitors, Cuernavaca is a favoured destination, as the town lies only 76 kilometres south of the capital. Since time immemorial the Aztec nobility would come here to relax, and in 1529, Cortes built a huge palace, which is now a well-visited attraction. This colonial building is one of the oldest in Mexico. The emperor Maximilian would also spend time here regularly, and prominent guests of times past helped to make the place become world famous. Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth millionairess, had a stylistically authentic old style Japanese residence built. In Malcolm Lowry’s novel “Under the Volcano”, which later became an internationally famous film, the main events take place in and around Cuernavaca. The French ‘silver king,’ José de la Borda. had a palace built in this town as well, complete with an enormous park, artificial lakes and an open-air theatre. Cuernavaca, the town of eternal spring, has a particular radiance and the Mexican joie de vivre is evident everywhere. History enthusiasts will take special delight in the archaeological sites of Teopanzolco. The Tlahuicas built a pyramid here according to the prototype of the “Templo Grande” in Tenochtitlan, one of the largest pyramids in Mexico. The Tlahuicas culture is strongly tied to the culture of the Aztecs and many practices and characteristics are similar to those of the Aztecs. At archaeological digs in this area, evidence of ritual sacrifices in the form of skull bones and sacrificial offerings were also found.
