Guanajuato Sits on Top of a Dense Labyrinth of Tunnels

Published May 27, 2024

Guanajuato is the kind of place that manages to feel both like a love affair and like a home where you’d want to grow old. Its iconic rainbow skyline resembles a game of Jenga, with buildings stacked on top of buildings, each colored in a vibrant yet time-faded shade of rose or yellow or teal. In this UNESCO World Heritage town, rogue laurel trees thrive in the tiny cracks between colonial-era buildings.

Tucked around every turn is yet another narrow cobblestone alleyway, another discreet staircase that veers in three or four directions—and another chance to get lost in the best way possible. Guanajuato is truly one of the most photogenic places in the world. It also smells and sounds great: Just as the dense labyrinth of callejones winds up and down impossibly steep hillsides, the wind carries both the warm scent of fresh-baked bolillo rolls and the energetic sounds of traveling buskers.

There is an air of romance and allure that’s a bit more reminiscent of Rome than of Mexico City. Time has been suspended here, and that’s exactly the essence of Guanajuato’s magic—its people are old souls marked by centuries of aspiration and unflinching endurance.

Read more […]