Travel Guide Uruapán

Founded in 1540 by Brother Juan de San Miguel, Uruapán (the place where spring finds refuge) owes its particular physiognomy to the Cupatitzio River, on whose banks the vegetation remains lush throughout the year. In 1813 (Mexican independence), the original church was burned down by the insurgents and the convent was transformed into a hospital. Currently, it is the Museum of Popular Art. Uruapan is the second most populated city in the state of Michoacan. Its main tourist attraction is to have a park with tropical vegetation adjacent to the city center, the Barranca del Cupatitzio National Park. In April 2016, violent fires ravaged the area around the city, leaving a desolate landscape, as well as the local population, which knows very well that these fires were started by farmers with the complicity of the authorities: here, intensive cultivation and export of avocados are king and they are constantly looking for land to expand... But Uruapán is also an important craft center specialized in lacquer. Trays, calabashes, masks, boxes and other wooden objects are produced; the decoration of the pieces is a technique from the pre-Columbian era that consists of covering them with a mixture of vegetable and animal oils and pulverized minerals. Apart from that, the city is not very interesting, but Uruapán is the starting point to reach Angahuan and the Paricutin volcano. To the north, the village of Paracho is known for its Spanish guitar factories.