Get to know Cuernavaca

Discover the city of eternal spring The famous German naturalist, humanist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt baptized Cuernavaca, in state of Morelos, as “La Ciudad de la Eterna Primavera” (the city of eternal spring). The nickname was so right that today it is mentioned every time the capital of the state of Morelos is alluded to.   However, the place was originally called Cuauhnáhuac, which in Nahuatl means “next to the tree”, but the Spanish speakers couldn’t pronounce it accurately so they eventually transformed the name into Cuernavaca.   How do I get to Cuernavaca? About 85 kilometers (50 miles) away from Mexico City, it’s the favorite weekend destination for Mexican capital inhabitants due to its all-year temperate climate as well as for its vegetation and many water parks. The city has grown such that urbanization has spread to the neighboring municipalities.   Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conqueror, considered Cuernavaca a heavenly place, full of flowers, and commissioned to build in this city a palace which survives to the present day. The city has thus become an important historical destination full of colonial and preHispanic treasures.   What can I visit in Cuernavaca? The charming Historical Center of “Cuerna”, as the city is affectionately named, has the charm of a province, with its colonial buildings, fountains, parks and ravines. In downtown, you can find the Cathedral, the Palacio de Cortés (Cortés Palace) which houses the Museo de Cuauhnahuac (Museum of Cuauhnahuac), the Jardín Borda, the Government Palace, the Jardín Juarez, the Parque Ecológico Chapultepec (Chapultepec ecological park), the Amanalco ravine, the Chapitel del Calvario and the Robert Brady Museum, among other attractions.   Those who wish to go much further back in time can visit the Zona Arqueológica de Teopanzolco (archaeological site of Teopanzolco), whose main pyramid is dedicated to Tláloc and Huitzilopochtli.   A weekend is never enough to visit Cuerna! That’s why we all try to always return to its eternal spring.