Ixtapan de la Sal is a city of 11,000 (2010) in Mexico. It is recognized as a "Pueblo Mágico".

Get in

By car

From Mexico City, take the Mexico-Toluca toll highway, and when nearing Lerma, take the Mexico State Highway to Tenango. Passing Tenango will be a "Tenango - Ixtapan" toll highway that you should take, Mex055 for 50 km.

See

Tourism is the main economic activity in Ixtapan de la Sal. The natural hot water springs attract thousands of visitors every year.

• The Parque Acuático Ixtapan is a water park with thermal spring spa, a children's area, a family area and an area dedicated to "extreme" water rides. The park also has an expanse of green area with a small train that tours it.
• La Asunción de María church, built in the 16th century by Spanish conquerors, is found downtown along with the townhall and the "Plaza de los Mártires" or Jardin central where the Martires monument and other typical buildings from the 1900s can be appreciated.
• Arturo San Roman boulevard, within a few miles stretch on this road there are some large sculptures. The first one at the entrance of the town is the "Iztapancihuatl" (goddess from thermal water), then, there is the water fountain depicting "Diana Cazadora" and finally the sculpture honoring the Independence Insurgents.
• Las Grutas de la Estrella are caverns 15 km from town that have been formed by the dissolving of limestone by groundwater seeping from the Chontalcuatlan and San Jeronimo rivers. These caverns are filled with stalactites and stalagmites of various colors.

Do

• Parque Acuatico Ixtapan: a water park with thermal spring spa, a children's area, and an "extreme" water ride area.
• A dancing parade called Apaches, represented by local townspeople on September 15 and 16 in celebration of the Mexican War of Independence.

Buy

The principal handcrafts are pottery, carved wood and confectionery and also the production of pipían pumpkin candy in October and November. The most prominent are the wooden copalillo and pottery.

Sleep

Some internationally-known hotel chains have locations here, most often placed on or right next to a thermal spring. The best known of these hotel-spas are the Ixtapan Spa Hotel and Golf Resort, Marriott Ixtapan de la Sal, Hotel Rancho San Diego Grand Spa Resort. These resorts offer guests baths in volcanically-heated waters, massages, beauty treatments and other services.