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The old road to Acapulco ran out from the capital via Cuernavaca and Taxco, and although the modern route (Hwy-95D) skirts the former and gives Taxco a wide berth, both remain firmly established on the tourist treadmill. The journey starts well: a steep, winding climb out of the Valley of Mexico into refreshing pine forests, and then gently down, leaving the city far behind. It's a fast road, too, and, smog permitting, offers lovely views back over Mexico City.
CUERNAVACA
has always been a place of escape from the city - the Aztecs called it Cuauhnahuac (Place by the Woods), and it became a favourite resort and hunting ground for their rulers. Cortes seized and destroyed the city during the siege of TenochtitlEn, but he too ended up building himself a palace here, the Spanish corrupting the name to Cuernavaca (Cow Horn) for no better reason than their inability to cope with the original. The fashion then established has been followed ever since: the Emperor Maximilian and the deposed Shah of Iran both had houses here and the inner suburbs are now packed with the high-walled mansions of wealthy Mexicans and the expats who flock down here from the US and Canada each winter.
For the casual visitor the modern city is in many ways a disappointment. Its spring-like climate remains, but as capital of the state of Morelos, Cuernavaca is rapidly becoming industrialized and the streets in the centre permanently clogged with traffic and fumes. The gardens and villas that shelter the rich are almost all hidden behind high walls, or in districts so far out that you won't see them. It seems an ill-planned and widely spread city, certainly not easy to get about on foot, though much of what you'll want to see is close to the centre and accessible on foot. Food and lodging, too, come relatively expensive, in part thanks to the large foreign contingent, swelled by tourists and by students from the many language schools. On the other hand, the town is attractive enough and makes a good base for heading north to the village of
TepoztlEn
, with its raucous fiesta, or south to the ruins of
Xochicalco
. If you are at all interested in Mexican history, it may also be worthwhile taking a trip to
Cuautla
, where Emiliano Zapata is buried in the JardAn RevoluciEn del Sur.
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