Tlaxco to Tlaltizapán Road Trip: Where to Stop on the Way

By admin, 3 October, 2026

The Wayro route from Tlaxco to Tlaltizapán is 125 miles (201 km), about 2 h 28 min of driving without stops.

U.S. State Department travel advisory: Tlaxcala — Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution; Puebla — Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution; Morelos — Level 3, Reconsider TravelAdvisory issued May 29, 2026; checked September 29, 2026. Morelos is the Mexican state that contains Tlaltizapán. Check the full advisory for this state before you go.
Museo Casa de PiedraMuseo de Sitio de OcotelulcoTeatro XicohténcatlCholulaMuseo Regional de CholulaHistoric centre of PueblaMonasteries on the slopes of PopocatépetlChalcatzingoLas Pilas archaeological siteTlaxcoTlaltizapán
Route from Tlaxco to Tlaltizapán with the 9 stops listed below (blue dots).
Distance125 mi (201 km)
Driving time, no stops2 h 28 min
Main roads, in orderMEX-119 → MEX-117D → MEX-119D → PUE 438D → MEX-94D → MOR 9
Mexican states on the routeTlaxcala (Level 2), Puebla (Level 2), Morelos (Level 3)
Toll roadsMEX-117D, MEX-119D, MEX-94D
Fuel estimate (car at 25 mpg)about 5.0 gal; actual use varies by vehicle and traffic
Stops listed below9

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 Tlaxco to Tlaltizapán is like

PUE 438D (33 mi) and MEX-94D (18 mi) carry about 41% of the 125 miles. MEX-117D, MEX-119D, MEX-94D are toll highways (cuota); MEX-119 is a free federal road (libre). It runs through 3 states: Tlaxcala, Puebla, Morelos. Of the 9 stops listed below, 3 are within a mile of the road.

The route from Tlaxco to Tlaltizapán, road by road

RoadRoute miles (from–to)Length, miState
local roads0–11Tlaxcala
MEX-1191–1615Tlaxcala
connecting roads16–182Tlaxcala
MEX-117D18–2911Tlaxcala
connecting roads29–301Tlaxcala
MEX-119D30–4010Tlaxcala, Puebla
local roads40–6222Puebla
PUE 438D62–9533Puebla, Morelos
MEX-94D95–11318Morelos
connecting roads113–1141Morelos
MOR 9114–1239Morelos
local roads123–1252Morelos
  • Mile 39 of this route: Tlaxcala → Puebla (state line)
  • Mile 88 of this route: Puebla → Morelos (state line)

Stops between Tlaxco and Tlaltizapán

  • Right off the route (under 1 mile): Museo Casa de Piedra (mile 16), Museo de Sitio de Ocotelulco (mile 25), Teatro Xicohténcatl (mile 26)
  • Museums and history: Museo Casa de Piedra (mile 16), Museo de Sitio de Ocotelulco (mile 25), Cholula (mile 45), Museo Regional de Cholula (mile 47), Chalcatzingo (mile 96), Las Pilas archaeological site (mile 98)

Museo Casa de Piedra

Mile 16 · Railway museum · 0.9 mi from the route

Apizaco's old railroad station, dating from 1916, now houses the Museo Casa de Piedra. Inside, photographs and documents trace the town's history, especially its long ties to the railroads.

Museo de Sitio de Ocotelulco

Mile 25 · Museum · 0.3 mi from the route

Ocotelulco was the principal Tlaxcalan lordship in 1519; its site museum displays about 750 excavated objects beside temple remains painted with Tezcatlipoca and the fire serpent, and an ethnobotanical garden surrounds the building.

Teatro Xicohténcatl

Mile 26 · Theatre building · 0.9 mi from the route

Tlaxcala's Teatro Xicohténcatl opened in 1873 and was reopened in 1888 after remodeling. Look up to see John Fulton's ceiling mural of the nine muses, painted in Art Nouveau style against a Tlaxcalan landscape.

Cholula

Mile 45 · Archaeological site · 2 mi from the route

Cholula's Great Pyramid grew in successive construction phases around an adobe core. INAH repair work on its Pocito staircase after the 2017 earthquakes turned up broken pre-Hispanic braziers and a small limestone figure of the rain god Tláloc.

Museo Regional de Cholula

Mile 47 · Anthropology museum · 1 mi from the route

Right beside the Great Pyramid and archaeological zone of Cholula, this public museum displays collections ranging from pre-Hispanic and colonial art to contemporary and folk art.

Historic centre of Puebla

Mile 49 · Urban area · 4 mi from the route · side trip; actual detour depends on access roads

Laid out from scratch in 1531, Puebla's UNESCO-listed core is a grid of tile-covered houses, colonial churches and the 16th–17th-century cathedral, with the old archbishop's palace that houses the Palafox Library, established in 1646.

Monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl

Mile 89 · 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 96 · 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 98 · 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.

When you get to Tlaltizapán

Xochicalco

Archaeological site · about 14 mi from Tlaltizapán

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.

More drives to Tlaltizapán

From Tlaxco to other places in Mexico

Frequently asked questions

How long is the drive from Tlaxco to Tlaltizapán?

About 2 h 28 min of driving without stops, over 125 miles.

How far is Tlaltizapán from Tlaxco by car?

About 125 miles (201 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 Tlaxco to Tlaltizapán?

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 Tlaxco to Tlaltizapán?

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

What roads does the drive from Tlaxco to Tlaltizapán use?

In order: MEX-119, MEX-117D, MEX-119D, PUE 438D, MEX-94D and MOR 9. The road-by-road table above shows the route miles and states for each one.

What are good stops between Tlaxco and Tlaltizapán?

Closest to the road: Museo Casa de Piedra (railway museum, mile 16, 0.9 mi from the route); Museo de Sitio de Ocotelulco (museum, mile 25, 0.3 mi from the route); Teatro Xicohténcatl (theatre building, mile 26, 0.9 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.