Atlatlahucan to Malinalco Road Trip: Stops, Tolls & Drive Time

By admin, 3 October, 2026

The Wayro route from Atlatlahucan to Malinalco is 73 miles (117 km), about 1 h 52 min of driving without stops.

U.S. State Department travel advisory: Morelos — Level 3, Reconsider Travel; State of Mexico — Level 2, Exercise Increased CautionAdvisory issued May 29, 2026; checked September 29, 2026. State of Mexico is the Mexican state that contains Malinalco. Check the full advisory for this state before you go.
Museo Histórico del Oriente de Morelos "Casa de Morelos"Former convent of Saint Dominic de GuzmánTemplo y Exconvento de San Juan Bautista de TlayacapanTepoztlán Ex Convento MuseumCuernavaca CathedralXochicalcoLagunas de Zempoala National ParkCumbres del Ajusco National ParkAtlatlahucanMalinalco
Route from Atlatlahucan to Malinalco with the 8 stops listed below (blue dots).
Distance73 mi (117 km)
Driving time, no stops1 h 52 min
Main roads, in orderMEX-115 → MEX-160D → MEX-95D → MEX-106 → MEX-200
Mexican states on the routeMorelos (Level 3), State of Mexico (Level 2)
Toll roadsMEX-160D, MEX-95D
Fuel estimate (car at 25 mpg)about 2.9 gal; actual use varies by vehicle and traffic
Stops listed below8

Driving this route in a car with U.S. plates

Temporary vehicle import permit (TIP)Required: this route is outside the zones where U.S.-registered cars can skip the temporary import permit (Baja California, Baja California Sur and part of Sonora)
Mexican auto insuranceRequired for all vehicles: buy a Mexican policy before you drive

Sources: U.S. State Department, Mexico travel information (updated August 11, 2026); permits are issued by Banjercito.

What the drive from Atlatlahucan to Malinalco is like

MEX-160D (20 mi) and MEX-106 (18 mi) carry about 52% of the 73 miles. MEX-160D, MEX-95D are toll highways (cuota); MEX-115, MEX-106, MEX-200 are free federal roads (libre). It runs through 2 states: Morelos, State of Mexico. Of the 8 stops listed below, 3 are within a mile of the road.

The route from Atlatlahucan to Malinalco, road by road

RoadRoute miles (from–to)Length, miState
local roads0–11Morelos
MEX-1151–76Morelos
MEX-160D7–2720Morelos
connecting roads27–281Morelos
MEX-95D28–3911Morelos
MEX-10639–5718Morelos, State of Mexico
MEX-20057–636State of Mexico
local roads63–7310State of Mexico
  • Mile 52 of this route: Morelos → State of Mexico (state line)

Stops between Atlatlahucan and Malinalco

  • Right off the route (under 1 mile): Former convent of Saint Dominic de Guzmán (mile 11), Tepoztlán Ex Convento Museum (mile 23), Lagunas de Zempoala National Park (mile 48)
  • Nature and outdoors: Lagunas de Zempoala National Park (mile 48), Cumbres del Ajusco National Park (mile 50)
  • Museums and history: Museo Histórico del Oriente de Morelos "Casa de Morelos" (mile 7), Tepoztlán Ex Convento Museum (mile 23), Cuernavaca Cathedral (mile 28), Xochicalco (mile 44)

Museo Histórico del Oriente de Morelos "Casa de Morelos"

Mile 7 · Museum · 3 mi from the route · side trip; actual detour depends on access roads

In this 18th-century house in Cuautla, José María Morelos lived during the 1812 Siege of Cuautla. Its INAH galleries trace regional history through Morelos and Emiliano Zapata and display "El Niño," his first cannon, a gift from the Galeana family.

Former convent of Saint Dominic de Guzmán

Mile 11 · Convent · 0.9 mi from the route

In Oaxtepec, the Exconvento de Santo Domingo de Guzmán is among the first convents the Dominicans built in Mexico, and its walls preserve extensive fresco painting from the colonial era.

Templo y Exconvento de San Juan Bautista de Tlayacapan

Mile 13 · Convent · 3 mi from the route · side trip; actual detour depends on access roads

Augustinian friars began this fortress-like church and monastery in the 16th century. Part of the UNESCO-listed group of monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl, its former cloister now holds a museum with 17th-century murals and religious art.

Tepoztlán Ex Convento Museum

Mile 23 · Museum · 0.5 mi from the route

Tepoztlán's Dominican monastery, built between 1555 and 1580, keeps original 16th-century murals in its cloister. Upstairs, the museum covers local daily life, faith, festivals and dances, and the complex is part of a UNESCO World Heritage listing.

Cuernavaca Cathedral

Mile 28 · Cathedral · 8 mi from the route · side trip; actual detour depends on access roads

Franciscans built this 16th-century convent church, now Cuernavaca's cathedral and part of the UNESCO-listed monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl; visitors can see its murals, side chapels and a sacred art museum.

Xochicalco

Mile 44 · Archaeological site · 15 mi from the route · side trip; actual detour depends on access roads

A fortified hilltop city that thrived between about 650 and 900, Xochicalco is a UNESCO World Heritage site where you can see the Pyramid of the Plumed Serpent with its carved reliefs, ball courts, an underground observatory and a site museum.

Lagunas de Zempoala National Park

Mile 48 · National Park of Mexico · 0.3 mi from the route

Seven lagoons, three of them permanent, sit among pine, oak and fir forest above 3,000 meters in this park, decreed in 1936 on the Morelos–State of Mexico line. Hiking, horseback riding, camping and rowboats are popular here.

Cumbres del Ajusco National Park

Mile 50 · National Park of Mexico · 11 mi from the route · side trip; actual detour depends on access roads

Pine and oak forests climb toward alpine meadows in Cumbres del Ajusco National Park, on Mexico City's southern edge. It draws hikers, climbers and cyclists, and it gets occasional snow, a rarity for the region.

When you get to Malinalco

Malinalco

Archaeological site · in Malinalco

Carved straight into the hillside above Malinalco, the Cuauhcalli is a rock-cut temple at the heart of this archaeological zone. The Mexica took the Matlatzinca town around 1476 and used it to train and consecrate elite warriors.

Desierto del Carmen National Park

National Park of Mexico · in Malinalco

Declared a national park on October 10, 1942, Desierto del Carmen is a protected area in the municipality of Tenancingo, in the State of Mexico.

More drives to Malinalco

From Atlatlahucan to other places in Mexico

Frequently asked questions

How long is the drive from Atlatlahucan to Malinalco?

About 1 h 52 min of driving without stops, over 73 miles.

How far is Malinalco from Atlatlahucan by car?

About 73 miles (117 km) on the Wayro route. Other map services may show a few miles more or less, depending on where they start and end in each city.

Do I need a permit to drive my U.S. car from Atlatlahucan to Malinalco?

Yes. A temporary vehicle import permit (TIP) is required for a U.S.-registered car on this route, which is outside the zones where it can be skipped. Mexican auto insurance is required for every vehicle.

Is it safe to drive from Atlatlahucan to Malinalco?

The U.S. State Department rates Morelos Level 3: Reconsider Travel; State of Mexico Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution (advisory issued May 29, 2026). Read the full advisory before you go.

What roads does the drive from Atlatlahucan to Malinalco use?

In order: MEX-115, MEX-160D, MEX-95D, MEX-106 and MEX-200. The road-by-road table above shows the route miles and states for each one.

What are good stops between Atlatlahucan and Malinalco?

Closest to the road: Former convent of Saint Dominic de Guzmán (convent, mile 11, 0.9 mi from the route); Tepoztlán Ex Convento Museum (museum, mile 23, 0.5 mi from the route); Lagunas de Zempoala National Park (National Park of Mexico, mile 48, 0.3 mi from the route). All stops are described above.

How we put this guide together

Wayro calculates the route from OpenStreetMap road data; mile numbers are positions along this route, not highway mile markers, and "from the route" distances are straight-line, so the real detour depends on access roads. Stops are chosen from parks, natural sites, museums, historic sites and attractions close to the route (roughly 2 to 7 miles depending on the type, farther for World Heritage sites): at least one strong stop for each stretch of the drive, then the best-known places nearest the road, with no more than five of one type, up to nine in all. Places that are closed, private or not open to visitors are removed. Place and city descriptions are written by the Wayro team from official park, museum, tourism and government websites and other published sources. Safety levels and entry rules were checked against the U.S. Department of State on September 29, 2026. Conditions change, so check the linked sources before you travel.

Route data © OpenStreetMap contributors.