Travel Guide Cuernavaca

Cuernavaca is known in Mexico as "the city of eternal spring," a nickname given to it by Baron Alexander von Humboldt because of its relatively cool, sunny climate. It is very hot during the months of March, April and May; the rainy season begins in June and lasts three or four months, but it usually rains only in the evening or at night. It has long been a favorite vacation spot for Mexicans and foreigners looking for cleaner air than Mexico City. Its population increased drastically in the late 1980s, following the 1985 earthquake that hit the capital hard. Although the city of Cuernavaca has some beautiful colonial buildings - the cathedral, the Palace of Cortés, the Borda garden, the city museum - its historic centre is in no way comparable to those of other cities. Over the past thirty years, it is a city that has grown mostly in an anarchic fashion; overall, the city is not worth a visit of more than a day. It is better to spend the night in the village of Tepoztlán, which has a much more exotic atmosphere.