We hopped on our first ADO bus from the TAPO bus terminal in Mexico City and arrived 2.5 hours later in Puebla. Puebla is a pretty large city of about 3 million people. It has a host of things for tourists to do, ranging from museums and a big wheel (Estrella de Puebla) to an African Safari!

The Puebla sign – these signs are everywhere in Mexico!

We had two days in Puebla in which to explore and on day 1 we decided to just walk around and take in the highlights of the city. We visited the Zocalo, which is the name of the centre of alot of towns and cities in Mexico. It contained the impressive Puebla Cathedral which, every Friday and Saturday, hosts a light show.

Some paintings for sale on the streets of Puebla

The Puebla Cathedral light show – well worth a watch!

Puebla is known for its architecture and in particular its churches. On our walk we managed to see many including the Church of Santo Domingo and Templo de San Francisco. Unfortunately due to the earthquake in September 2017, many of the churches were closed for renovation.

One of Puebla’s many churches – The Church of Guadalupe 

Puebla is also renowned within Mexico as a hotspot for cuisine and so we had to try some of the specialties. We managed to sample Mole Poblano, which is the most famous mole in Mexico. Mole is a type of sauce which contains about 20 different ingredients ranging from chocolate to chilli peppers. A real mixture of sweet and spicy! Next we tried another local specialty, Chiles en Nogada. This was a poblano chile filled with a mixture of meat, aromatics, fruit and spices. To me it tasted like a giant mince pie, but worth the experience all the same!

Chiles en Nogada – notice the colours of the Mexican flag in the dish

Mole Poblano – a mix of sweet and spicy

San Andres Cholula

A good day trip from Puebla is to the town of San Andres Cholula which is home to the Giant Pyramid of Cholula. The Giant Pyramid of Cholula is the second largest archaeological site of a temple in the world. The majority of the pyramid has been reclaimed by vegetation and has a church built on top of it from the Spanish Invasion, and as such it does not seem like a pyramid at all.

The Giant Pyramid of Cholula – behind a customary sign

Entrance to the Pyramid costs $70 pesos per person and to start you go under some narrow passageways. If you are claustrophobic, this may not be for you! Afterwards you get to see some of the temple and grounds which are not covered by vegetation.

An example of the narrow passage ways!

The church on top of the pyramid is also famous, especially for the view you can get of the church and the volcano in the background. Unfortunately entrance up to the church was closed due to the dome of the church having collapsed during the earthquake!

Proof that it actually is a Pyramid!

We got to San Pedro Cholula via public bus in Puebla, which cost $7.50 and took about 30 minutes.