The word Malinalco comes from the Nahuatl tongue and means "the place where the malinalli flower is worshiped". Set in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains and luscious vegetation, it is located 87 kms (54 miles) SouthWest of Mexico City. The average temperature is 21° C (76° F) with mostly sunny days, and during the summer rainy nights.

Brightly painted old houses and cobble-stoned streets; donkeys carrying burdens through town; and horses are still a common form of transport. There is a small market downtown which on Wednesdays becomes quite large, as people from surrounding areas come sell their products and sometimes trade for other goods.

Places of interest:

Museum of Malinalco
This is the newest addition to the points of interest. It was inaugurated in 2001 and it is an effort of the local government and the locals to proudly show the love and importance of their history and heritage. It not only covers the historical but also shows the importance the community gives to their plants and animals. Either before or after visiting the Aztec site you can visit the museum which is located just half a block from the entrance to the site and is also open Tuesday-Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Aztec site
400 easy steps to climb and well worth it. We recommend going early in the morning or at around 3 p.m. due to the heat. Open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. On the top, you will find Malinalcan young community who give explanations of the importance of the site and history of Malinalco. Some of them are bilingual.

Chapels of each barrio
Santa Monica, San Pedro, Santa Maria, San Juan, San Nicolas, San Sebastián, San Martín and San Guillermo.
Each of the chapels has its own beauty and charm and some have beautiful legends. For example, at the chapel of San Martín, the Patron is Señor de la Escalera (Saint of the Stairs). According to the legend, at the parroquia del Divino Salvador this Holy Image was abandoned by a stairway. Every day one of the friars who was quite deaf passed by it, and each time he offered the Image to take it to a place where it would be highly venerated, if it would grant him the miracle of hearing again. The miracle happened and the seminarist, with the permission of the parish priest, took it to San Martín where it has been ever since.

Another legend is the one about the image of San Antonio de Padua that exists at the Chapel of San Nicolás. Apparently it was the size of a human being, which was not liked by the locals because of the difficulty of moving it. They all got together and decided the image should be taken to a carpenter to make it smaller. The saint appeared before the friar to complain about the barbarous act to be committed against it. Scared, he went to try and convince the parishioners not to do it but was not successful. The next day, as they went to pick up the image to take it to the carpenter, they were surprised to find that San Antonio de Padua was considerably smaller.

The Augustinian Church and Monastery
At the very heart of town an imposing XVI Century monastery with frescoes on the walls. This Augustinian monastery and church were built with stones taken from the Aztec site to build it.

For more about Malinalco and what it has to offer visit www.magic-malinalco.com