Bernal is one of the cutest little pueblo magicos that I have yet to see in Mexico, and located just 45 minutes from Queretaro or about 3 hours from Mexico City, it makes for a super easy and affordable day trip even on public transit!
From the Queretaro terminal, you wanna take the Flecha Amarilla or Flecha Azul for Bernal/Toliman, costing about 60 pesos.
All thanks to this huge, free-standing rock called the peña (in English, a monolith), this pueblo came to be a touristic little hot spot. I remember seeing it from the plane when I first descended down to Queretaro, and it definitely is one of the first places you wanna hit in this region in Mexico. (Lucky for me, it is very close to where I live now, and I can easily make a day trip when I want to get my Pueblo Magico on!)
The main thing you wanna do when you get here is hike the peña, although let me sadly inform you the hike only goes up about 75% of the way to the summit. I believe the tippy top which is marked with a white cross that can only be reached by rock climbing ...We were warned that the hike would be tricky, and you’re about at 6000 ft altitude, but it actually only took less than 45 minutes to get to the end of the trail and that was with a lot of rest breaks. It is moderately challenging with a little bit of easy scrambling, but the short distance makes its manageable even for kids or the less physically inclined. My biggest recommendation for the trail is protection from the strong sun so bring your sunblock, hat, and glasses no matter the time of year.
The views are sweet and it’s a good thing to do as early as you arrive, as the trail gets packed with people and you don’t wanna join the long train of families marching one by one. Getting off in the main road in Bernal, you have to walk a solid 20-30 minutes to get to the base of the monolith where the hike begins: just follow signs for la peña. Once you’ve gotten your hike in, you can enjoy what the rest of what the pueblo has to offer.
Other popular tourist activities here are quad rentals, wine and cheese tasting, and shopping. Buying a touristic Mexican sombrero is inevitable and I caved here to buy my teal hat (which has been very useful in recent travels and sunny workdays, might I add!) The main cobblestone street has plenty to offer in terms of food and shopping, but stepping out by the main road you will also find the touristic “Bernal” letters and more souvenir stands as well. If you roam around on a weekend, you’ll hopefully get to witness some mariachi playing on the main square and there are always profesional photographers who can take the iconic shot of you and your crew for a good price.
As for the food, I definitely recommend eating gorditas wherever you end up. A good price for a gordita is just 20 pesos, and look for some of my favorite fillings like nopal or huitlacoche (mushrooms from corn kernels-- I swear, they are tastier than mushrooms haha). Even better if you can score a blue corn gordita! Otherwise, enjoy whatever wine you might find as the heart of Mexico's wine country is just 10 miles away!
In general visiting here is pretty easy with great access to transport and services, and I've already been three times in three months just because it's such a fun little excursion. I don't have any recommendation as far as hotels go because I haven't stayed the night! On that note I actually think its better for a daytrip than an overnight since the town is pretty tiny and you can combine it with one or two more pueblos magicos nearby... post coming soon!
Note the blue skies and warm weather clothing. Even in December it will hit 80 here by day... justtttt my kinda climate :)
