Zamora (sometimes called Zamora de Hidalgo) is a small city of 155,000 people (2020) in Michoacan. Its big main plaza surrounded by local commerce, a cathedral, and the Federal Palace. Visiting is particularly recommended on Sundays when people come to mingle in the plaza. You can buy the famous homemade bread of the region, and real fruit candy.

Understand

Santuario Guadalupano

Zamora is surrounded by the fertile Tziróndaro Valley which is an important agricultural area that exports large amounts of produce to the United States. Zamora is well known for its production of quality strawberries and blackberries. Another important activity is the manufacture of dairy foods: cream, butter, cheese and traditional sweets.

Get in

By plane

While there is a very small airport located in Zamora, it is not used for scheduled commercial flights. If travelling by air, you will need to transit through one of the bigger cities in the area like Guadalajara or Morelia. Both are about two and a half hours away from Zamora. From the airport, one has to either take a taxi (hired inside the airport) or travel, by taxi, to the bus station, which unfortunately is located in the other side of Guadalajara. This is a long trip but cheaper than taking a taxi all the way to Zamora.

By car

It is a 2-hour drive from Guadalajara to Zamora on good, modern highways. From Guadalajara, drive southeast of the city on federal highway MEX-15D. Expect tolls on this route.

From Morelia, it is a 2-hour drive west to Zamora if you use federal highway MEX-15D (tolls), or about 3 hours if you use the freeway, highway MEX-15. The toll roads are generally safer choices for foreign travelers.

By bus

From Guadalajara, Autovias operates 5 buses per day to Zamora. The 2-hour 15-minute trip will cost M$330 (Nov 2023).

See

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

Historic buildings dot the city center, built during Spanish colonial times and the 19th century. Some of these monuments are the Temple of San Francisco, and the church of El Calvario.

• 1 Santuario Diocesano de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Guadalupano Sanctuary), 5 de Mayo Avenue. It is a neo-gothic style architectural cathedral built in 1898. It is 107.5 m in height (353 ft), 95 m long (312 ft), 57 m wide (187 ft), and a total surface area of 5,415 m², making it one of the largest cathedrals of its kind in the American continent, and the tallest cathedral in Mexico.  
• 2 Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Erected in the first half of the 19th century. Neoclassical in style. It has a Latin cross plan, and a single nave and transept, where the dome rises. The cover is neoclassical in style, with two sections and a finish.  
• Federal Palace. A historic palace dating from the early 20th century. It was built to be the Episcopal Palace of the Diocese of Zamora Michoacán and residence of the bishop. It houses regional offices of the Mexican federal government. The site presents eclectic architecture and is part of the architectural heritage of the Historic Center.  
• Morelos Market (Mercado Morelos de Zamora) (in the Historic Center). It is now a candy market where the traditional regional sweets of Zamora are offered, among which is the milk dessert called chongos zamoranos.  

Do

Lago de Camecuaro

Every year in December the Festival of the Chongos zamoranos is held, where the visitor is able to taste gastronomical samples, musical dances and interpretations, as well as the “Poets Meeting” and every 12 of December in Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe and in diverse places of the city.

The nearby Lago de Camécuaro National Park is one of 5 national parks in Michoacan. The park is fairly small (a little less than 10 hectares) featuring a scenic natural lake that slowly drains into the Dueno River. It is a very scenic park with deep green waters in the lake's calm surface reflecting the dense vegetation of the surrounding forest. It is a good place for picnics and nature walks. The park is located 14 km east of Zamora de Hidalgo on federal highway MEX 15.

Eat

Zamora stands out in its gastronomy for the traditional regional sweets based on milk. Different milk sweets are made combined with pistachios, nuts, pine nuts and almonds. The famous regional candy known as zamoranos chongos is a dessert of milk traditional in the cuisine of Mexico.

The perfect place to taste Zamorana food including the famous chongos is in Pasaje Morelos, in front of the Zamorana Cathedral where you can enjoy a great variety of dishes and a very pleasant view of the main square of Zamora and its portals.

Go next

• Paracho
• Guadalajara
• Paricutin

Routes through Zamora de Hidalgo

Guadalajara ← San Luis Soyatlán ←

W  E

→ Zacapu → Morelia