Amatitán is a small town in the Tequila Valley in Jalisco, Mexico. The town is a key destination on Jalisco's Traditional Tequila Trail because it is one of the core historical towns that have been producing tequila for centuries. Amatitán is home to the well-known Herradura brand.
Understand
[edit]Amatitán, calls itself the "cradle of tequila". It is inscribed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage site that includes most of the valley and Highlands around it. Many visitors prefer focusing their attention on Amatitan rather than the town of Tequila because they find Amatitan to be less crowded and more historically authentic with a different type of atmosphere. Amatitan focuses more on historic distilleries and traditional, underground aging cava tours, as well as visits to the agave fields. A horseback rides is a fun way to explore the vast fields of neatly planted rows of blue agave.
Get in
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The closest major airport is in Guadalajara (GDL IATA), which receives direct flights from several major cities in the United States and Canada as well as frequent domestic flights from many Mexican cities (particularly Mexico City). From Guadalajara you can book a tequila tour from many travel providers or you can take a train, a bus or rent a car.
By train
[edit]One of the best (most fun) ways to get to the Tequila Valley is by taking one of the "tequila express" trains from Guadalajara. Book a tour on the Tequila Herradura Express and the train will take you directly to Herradura's Hacienda in Amatitan. Along the way, you can sample tequilas and cocktails as you ride in comfort in a first-class or club car. Roving mariachis will serenade you along the 90-minute ride.
- 1 Railway station (Estacion Ferroviaria), Estacion. Saturdays. The historic railway station is at Herradura's distillery, just off federal highway MEX-15 (Carr. Guadalajara-Tepic).
By bus
[edit]Many buses go from Guadalajara to Amatitan. Autotransportes Etzatlan (ATE) operates buses that leave Guadalara's Central Vieja (old bus station) about every 15 minutes. The trip takes about an hour and costs as little as M20. Buses also leave from the Central de Autobuses Zapopan which cuts the travel time in half (and the neighborhood around the station is less sketchy than around Central Vieja). Most of the buses are going onwards to Tequila and/or Arenal and Amatitan is a brief stop along the side of the highway, near the railway station.
Get around
[edit]See
[edit]- 1 Museo Interpretativo del Paisaje Agavero (Interpretive Museum of Agave Country), C. Juárez #28, Centro. M-F 09ː00 - 15ː00, Sa-Su 09ː00 - 18ː00. Local heritage museum describing the history and culture of growing agave and producing tequila. Includes exhibits about barrel making, bottle making, and specialized occupations like jimador that are important around Tequila, but unheard of elsewhere. Local art focusing on tequila culture is on display.
- 2 Amatiteña garden, Antiguo Camino Real, ☏ +52 374 114 1100. F 16ː00 - 23ː00, Sa-Su 09ː00 - 23ː00, closed M-Th. Large outdoor tequila garden with tables set on patios surrounded by agave fields. Various tequilas and cocktails are available along with tacos. Relaxing place to hang out with friends and watch the fabulous sunset over the Sierra Madre.
Do
[edit]Buy
[edit]Eat
[edit]- 1 Ruinas Chimulco, Aurelio López 35,La Orillita, ☏ +52 331 120 6207. F-Su 13ː00 - 22ː30, closed M-Th. Set in the ruins of a 17th century hacienda that included agave fields and a distillery, the well-maintained (but unrestored) structures are both scenic and historically relevant. The restaurant itself serves traditional and regional Mexican cuisine and of course, cocktails and samples of several types and brands of tequila. Visitors can walk through the gardens and visit an historic aging cave. M$300.
- 2 Las Grutas Amatitan, Aurelio Lopez 3, ☏ +52 332 083 7244. F-Su 10ː00 - 22ː30, M-Th 10ː00 - 15ː00. Family-run rustic restaurant serving traditional Mexican cuisine with an emphasis on the grilled meats and (very) fresh vegetables and home baked breads. Dining is an experience because the restaurant sits above subterranean tequila aging caves from a long-defunct distillery. Visitors who want to see the historic caves without having dinner can get a 20-minute tour for M$50 per person. M$300.
Drink
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- 1 Tequila Tres Mujeres, Carr. Guadalajara-Tepic KM 39, ☏ +52 331 968 8951. Daily 09ː00 - 17ː30. Tres Mujeres (NOM 1466) is a family-owned distillery using traditional artesanal processes and organically grown agaves to produce their tequilas. Other distilleries also use brick ovens and stone tahona roller mills, but probably none of the others play music for their fermentation vats to help enhance the drink's smoothness. They've found that Luis Miguel songs produce a much smoother drink than Bad Bunny's noisy cacaphony. Several styles are produced, including Blanco, Reposado, Añejo, and Extra Añejo.
- 2 Tequila Herradura (Casa Herradura, Tequila Jimador, Brown Forman), Ex Hacienda San José del Refugio, Camino al Tecuane. M-F 08ː00 - 15ː00, closed Sa-Su. This is the oldest continuously operating distillery in the Tequila Valley, established in 1870. It produces the popular Herradura and Jimador brands, which are now owned by the Brown Forman international liquor conglomerate. The distillery, NOM 1119, is also credited for developing the reposado style of tequila, now produced by almost all tequila distilleries. Tours take visitors through the fields and production facilities where they can see the traditional processes, like roasting agave pinas in stone ovens and cruising them with a stone tahona. The tour is long on historical and technical substance and mercifully short on marketing jingles and slogans.
Sleep
[edit]There are not many good places to sleep in Amatitan, which is more of a destination for day-trips. There are some rooms in private homes listed on Airbnb, or if you want a better selection of hotels, look in the nearby town of El Arenal.
- 1 Casa Amatl Hotel Galeria, Abasolo 12, Centro, ☏ +52 331 607 0303. Check-in: 15ː00, check-out: 12ː00. Bed and breakfast style inn housed in a colonial-era home with rooms opening onto a central courtyard garden. Rooms are clean and comfortably furnished but lack modern amenities like air conditioning.