Puebla to Taxco Road Trip: Distance, Time & Stops

By admin, 3 October, 2026

The Wayro route from Puebla to Taxco is 127 miles (205 km), about 2 h 32 min of driving without stops.

U.S. State Department travel advisory: Puebla — Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution; Morelos — Level 3, Reconsider Travel; Guerrero — Level 4, Do Not TravelAdvisory issued May 29, 2026; checked September 29, 2026. Guerrero is the Mexican state that contains Taxco. This route passes through a state at the advisory's highest level. Read the full advisory before you plan this drive.
Tonantzintla ObservatoryFormer convent of Saint Dominic de GuzmánConvento de Santiago ApóstolMonasteries on the slopes of PopocatépetlChalcatzingoLas Pilas archaeological siteGrutas de Cacahuamilpa National ParkPueblaTaxco
Route from Puebla to Taxco with the 7 stops listed below (blue dots).
Distance127 mi (205 km)
Driving time, no stops2 h 32 min
Main roads, in orderMEX-190D → PUE 438D → MEX-94D → MEX-95 → MEX-92D
Mexican states on the routePuebla (Level 2), Morelos (Level 3), Guerrero (Level 4)
Toll roadsMEX-190D, MEX-94D, MEX-95D, MEX-92D
Fuel estimate (car at 25 mpg)about 5.1 gal; actual use varies by vehicle and traffic
Stops listed below7

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 Puebla to Taxco is like

MEX-94D (38 mi) and PUE 438D (34 mi) carry about 57% of the 127 miles. MEX-190D, MEX-94D, MEX-92D are toll highways (cuota); MEX-95 is a free federal road (libre). It runs through 3 states: Puebla, Morelos, Guerrero. None of the 7 stops below is right on the road, so plan each as a short side trip.

The route from Puebla to Taxco, road by road

RoadRoute miles (from–to)Length, miState
local roads0–44Puebla
MEX-190D4–1612Puebla
PUE 438D16–5034Puebla, Morelos
MEX-94D50–8838Morelos
connecting roads88–935Morelos
local roads93–1007Morelos
MEX-95100–11919Morelos, Guerrero
connecting roads119–1212Guerrero
MEX-92D121–1265Guerrero
local roads126–1271Guerrero
  • Mile 42 of this route: Puebla → Morelos (state line)
  • Mile 112 of this route: Morelos → Guerrero (state line)

Stops between Puebla and Taxco

  • Nature and outdoors: Grutas de Cacahuamilpa National Park (mile 115)
  • Museums and history: Chalcatzingo (mile 50), Las Pilas archaeological site (mile 52)

Tonantzintla Observatory

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

The Tonantzintla Observatory in Puebla was home to the National Astrophysical Observatory directed by Guillermo Haro. Its main instrument, a Schmidt camera, was a wide-field telescope built for photographing the sky.

Former convent of Saint Dominic de Guzmán

Mile 40 · Convent · 4 mi from the route · side trip; actual detour depends on access roads

In the town of Hueyapan, the 16th-century church and former convent of Santo Domingo de Guzmán keeps original frescoes and moldings inside, around a modest cloister typical of its era.

Convento de Santiago Apóstol

Mile 41 · Convent · 7 mi from the route · side trip; actual detour depends on access roads

In the town of Ocuituco, the Temple and Ex-convent of Santiago Apóstol (Templo y Exconvento de Santiago Apóstol) belongs to the UNESCO-listed group of 16th-century monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl, inscribed in 1994.

Monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl

Mile 43 · World Heritage Site · 15 mi from the route · side trip; actual detour depends on access roads

Inscribed by UNESCO in 1994, this World Heritage site groups early 16th-century monasteries that Franciscan, Dominican and Augustinian friars built on the slopes of Popocatépetl, with large open spaces used to evangelize the Indigenous population.

Chalcatzingo

Mile 50 · Archaeological site · 2 mi from the route

At the foot of Cerro Chalcatzingo in eastern Morelos, this early site is known for stone reliefs carved mainly between 700 and 500 BC, some among the region's earliest stone sculpture and several in Olmec style, spread across the hillside.

Las Pilas archaeological site

Mile 52 · Archaeological site · 1 mi from the route

Set inside a bathing park in Jonacatepec, Las Pilas was a ceremonial center devoted to water, where inhabitants built channels to collect and store underground water for irrigation; burials were found within the channel system.

Grutas de Cacahuamilpa National Park

Mile 115 · National Park of Mexico · 4 mi from the route · side trip; actual detour depends on access roads

Protected as a national park since 1936, this area near Taxco centers on the Cacahuamilpa caverns, where a guided route of about 4 km passes chambers up to 80 meters high, decorated with flowstone and floor-to-ceiling columns.

When you get to Taxco

Church of Santa Prisca de Taxco

Church building · in Taxco

Silver baron José de la Borda paid for Santa Prisca with the bonanza from his San Ignacio mine in Taxco, and the church was dedicated in 1759, the same year his nearby house on the plaza was finished.

William Spratling Museum

Museum · in Taxco

Taxco's archaeological museum grew from the collection of William Spratling, the American who revived the town's silver craft in the 1930s. It shows pre-Hispanic pieces, including Olmec and Mezcala-style works, plus a gallery on silversmithing.

Museo de Arte Virreinal de Taxco

Museum · in Taxco

Housed in the historic Casa Humboldt in Taxco, the Museo de Arte Virreinal shows colonial sacred art recovered from the Santa Prisca parish church, along with permanent exhibitions on Alexander von Humboldt and the town's history.

More drives to Taxco

From Puebla to other places in Mexico

Frequently asked questions

How long is the drive from Puebla to Taxco?

About 2 h 32 min of driving without stops, over 127 miles.

How far is Taxco from Puebla by car?

About 127 miles (205 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 Puebla to Taxco?

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 Puebla to Taxco?

The U.S. State Department rates Puebla Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution; Morelos Level 3: Reconsider Travel; Guerrero Level 4: Do Not Travel (advisory issued May 29, 2026). Read the full advisory before you go.

What roads does the drive from Puebla to Taxco use?

In order: MEX-190D, PUE 438D, MEX-94D, MEX-95 and MEX-92D. The road-by-road table above shows the route miles and states for each one.

What are good stops between Puebla and Taxco?

Closest to the road: Tonantzintla Observatory (observatory, mile 7, 3 mi from the route); Chalcatzingo (archaeological site, mile 50, 2 mi from the route); Las Pilas archaeological site (archaeological site, mile 52, 1 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.