How To Experience Tecate, Mexico as it Celebrates its 130th Anniversary
The municipality of Tecate, in Baja California, celebrates the 130th anniversary of its foundation in 2022. One of the best ways to get to know this destination is through a weekend visit with an itinerary full of varied experiences.
Day One
Start your visit with breakfast at Malinalli, a restaurant based on a Mexican concept of pre-Hispanic inspiration. The menu features local flavors and ancestral ingredients such as chapulines, chimichangas, mole, tlacoyos, huaraches, huazontles, quesadillas, memelas and enchiladas.
The next activity should begin in the heart of the Pueblo Mágico Tecate, the only town with this distinction on the border, in a tour of the Miguel Hidalgo Park, one of the most famous plazas in the area. There are authentic traditional town letters for your best photos, spaces to play chess, and benches to lounge around and take in the clear blue skies.
Follow the route a few meters from this plaza for a must-stop at Casa París, a beautiful coffee shop decorated with elegant, antique, and dark touches to enjoy the classic tecatense coffee.
You can order a Pumpkin Latte in October, served in an authentic mini pumpkin or on the rocks. This drink is made with a unique blend of pumpkin pulp that pairs perfectly with a crepe, slice of pie, or dessert of your choice.
Your next visit can be to the Tecate brewery, the company that owns one of the most consumed beers in the country, founded in 1943 and named after the municipality. Be sure to drink a beer here as it will undoubtedly taste much better.
Tecate’s gastronomy will stick in your memory since all of Baja California is going through a critical culinary transformation. Some of the can’t-miss places to fall in love with are our Asao restaurant, where diners can’t go wrong with the sautéed mussels with fine herbs, and the T-bone steak in dark beer sauce. El Lugar de Nos has delicious candied hibiscus tacos or tuna tostadas with a sesame crust.
Amores, with its haute cuisine of mixed Mexican, Japanese and French, has a menu based on seasonal products. Tikio Restaurant is located inside Hotel Hacienda Santana, with food combining both American and Mexican styles.
A cultural point that will be necessary, and perhaps a must, is the Kumiai Community Museum, a space to learn about the history of the first settlers of Tecate, their way of life, food and education. A stop at the region’s pride is a must in one of the best bakeries to enjoy soft, fluffy products with the perfect golden brown that comes out of their ovens daily.
Seven favorites are El Mejor Pan de Tecate, in existence since 1969; El Buen Pan de Tecate, Panaderia Reina Victoria, Panaderia La Delicia, Panaderia La Rumorosa, and Panaderia La Montana with origins dating back to 1985.
Day Two
The second day should be dedicated to nature, and some of the fascinating points are the Rumorosa, one of the most beautiful and famous roads in all of Mexico.
Throughout its curvy roads, you can find rocky mountains creating an otherworldly scene. The formations have been made of granite rocks overlapping and forming huge mountains of ocher color through which the wind passes, and you can hear a sound similar to the murmur of a voice.
You can stop at some of its viewpoints, such as Ojo de Aguila, Mirador El Condor, Mirador La Rumorosa, and El Caballo Blanco, for beautiful photos.
Cerro del Cuchuma is an area of refuge, hunting, housing, and surveillance of the ancient Kumiai community that was a ceremonial center of magical-religious rituals of shamanic initiation. Today it is a special place for hiking and enjoying majestic views, a regional ecosystem of sub-mountainous chaparral with oak, alder, and sycamore forests.
The 130th anniversary of the founding of Tecate was celebrated on October 12, 2022, but the sites, attractions and activities that make it so special are available at any time of the year.