Zacatecas is a landlocked state on Mexico's north-central high plains, built on more than four centuries of silver-mining wealth. Its capital, also named Zacatecas, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for pink cantera-stone Baroque and Churrigueresque architecture spilling down steep hillsides, the Cerro de la Bufa cable car, and the former Mina El Eden silver mine. Beyond the capital, the state offers the Pueblos Magicos of Jerez, Sombrerete, and Pinos, the pre-Hispanic ruins of La Quemada, and the mining hub of Fresnillo, the state's most populous municipality.
Historical timeline
Key moments that shaped Zacatecas.
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1
Juan de Tolosa Discovers Silver
Spanish captain Juan de Tolosa, advancing north from Guadalajara, finds rich silver deposits in the hills above what becomes the city of Zacatecas, drawn there according to legend by indigenous Zacateco guides
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2
Formal Founding of Zacatecas
Tolosa is joined by Cristóbal de Oñate, Diego de Ibarra and Baltasar Temiño de Bañuelos to formally establish the mining settlement, later chartered as the Villa de Nuestra Señora de los Zacatecas
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3
Founding of Sombrerete
Juan de Tolosa founds Sombrerete as a second major mining settlement northwest of Zacatecas, which grows into one of the wealthiest towns in New Spain on gold, silver, tin, mercury and lead
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4
Silver Discovered at San Demetrio
Mines are opened near present-day Fresnillo, eventually giving rise to the settlement of Plateros and its later sanctuary dedicated to the Santo Niño de Atocha
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5
Royal Title Granted
King Philip II of Spain grants Zacatecas the title 'Very Noble and Loyal City' and its own coat of arms in recognition of its silver output and importance to the Spanish crown
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6
Founding of Pinos
Mestizo captain Miguel Caldera founds Real de Nuestra Señora de Sierra de Pinos as a mining outpost on the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro in southern Zacatecas
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7
Religious and Educational Institutions Established
Jesuit, Franciscan, Augustinian and Dominican orders build major colegios, convents and churches across Zacatecas, including the Real Colegio y Seminario de San Luis Gonzaga (1616) and the Ex-Convento de Guadalupe, completed across the 18th century
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8
Construction of the Cathedral
The present Catedral Basílica de Zacatecas is built in dense Churrigueresque baroque style, replacing earlier parish churches on the same site
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9
Mexican War of Independence
Zacatecas' mining wealth and strategic position make it a contested territory during the war, with the region's economy disrupted by years of conflict following Miguel Hidalgo's 1810 uprising
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10
Battle of Guadalupe and Federal Reorganization
Centralist forces under Antonio López de Santa Anna defeat Zacatecas' state militia near Guadalupe, curbing the state's federalist autonomy movement and reshaping its relationship with the national government
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11
Ex-Templo de San Agustín Facade Demolished
American Presbyterian missionaries who purchase the former Augustinian church demolish its ornate baroque facade, replacing it with a plain wall, part of the broader 19th-century secularization of church properties
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12
Mercado González Ortega Opens
The city's ironwork-and-cantera covered market opens, later rebuilt after an 1897 fire and renamed in 1921 for General Jesús González Ortega
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13
Toma de Zacatecas (Battle of Zacatecas)
Pancho Villa's División del Norte storms federal positions on Cerro de la Bufa and Cerro del Grillo, capturing the city in one of the bloodiest and most decisive battles of the Mexican Revolution and severely weakening the Huerta government
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14
Mina El Edén Closes to Mining
Falling ore grades and flooding end active mining at Mina El Edén, one of the city's richest historic silver deposits, after roughly four centuries of extraction
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15
Historic Center Inscribed by UNESCO
UNESCO designates the historic center of Zacatecas City a World Heritage Site, citing its exceptional concentration of colonial mining-era architecture built in pink cantera stone
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16
Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Inscribed
UNESCO inscribes the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the roughly 2,600-kilometer royal silver road, including the historic center of Sombrerete, La Noria de San Pantaleón and the Sierra de Órganos landscape among its protected sections
Historical sites
Places where Zacatecas's past comes alive.
Catedral Basílica de Zacatecas
Built between 1729 and 1752 on the site of earlier parish churches, the cathedral's densely carved Churrigueresque facade in pink cantera stone stands as one of the defining monuments of Mexican colonial mining wealth translated into architecture.
Where: Zacatecas City
Admission: Free
Museo Toma de Zacatecas (Cerro de la Bufa)
Set on the hilltop where federal forces made their final stand, this small military museum documents the June 23, 1914 Toma de Zacatecas, in which Pancho Villa's División del Norte captured the city in one of the decisive battles of the Mexican Revolution.
Where: Zacatecas City
Admission: Included with hilltop access; modest museum fee typically applies
Mina El Edén
One of the richest silver deposits in colonial Zacatecas, worked from the 16th century until 1960, the mine's tunnels are now open to guided tours illustrating four centuries of extraction technique, from hand tools and mule power to 20th-century mechanization.
Where: Zacatecas City
Admission: $100 MXN (approx $5.88 USD); reduced rates for students, children and seniors
Templo de Santo Domingo y Museo Pedro Coronel (Ex-Colegio de San Luis Gonzaga)
This complex began as the Real Colegio y Seminario de San Luis Gonzaga, founded by the Jesuits in 1616 and transferred to Dominican friars after the 1767 Jesuit expulsion; its church holds gilded churrigueresque altarpieces while the former seminary building now houses the Museo Pedro Coronel.
Where: Zacatecas City
Admission: Church free; museum $30 MXN (approx $1.76 USD)
Ex-Convento de Guadalupe (Museo Virreinal de Guadalupe)
Built by Franciscan friars across the 18th century as a missionary training college for New Spain's northern frontier, this convent now preserves one of Mexico's most important collections of viceregal religious art, including works by Miguel Cabrera and Cristóbal de Villalpando.
Where: Guadalupe, Zacatecas (adjoining Zacatecas City)
Admission: $85 MXN (approx $5.00 USD); free on Sundays and for students, teachers and INAPAM cardholders
Zona Arqueológica de La Quemada (Chicomostoc)
Occupied roughly between 300 and 1200 CE, this fortified hilltop complex south of Zacatecas held a substantial regional population before its site and monumental Salón de las Columnas were abandoned; it is popularly, though not conclusively, linked to the legendary Chicomostoc of Nahua migration accounts.
Where: Villanueva Municipality (approx. 56km south of Zacatecas City)
Admission: $85 MXN (approx $5.00 USD); free Sundays for Mexican nationals and residents
Acueducto El Cubo
Built in pink cantera stone during the 18th century to carry water from the Mina del Cubo into the city center, this aqueduct functioned until the early 20th century and remains one of the clearest surviving pieces of colonial civic infrastructure in Zacatecas.
Where: Zacatecas City
Admission: Free
Ex-Templo de San Agustín
Built by the Augustinian order from 1613 and consecrated in 1772, the church lost its ornate baroque main facade to American Presbyterian missionaries in 1882, who replaced it with a blank wall; restoration between 1948 and 1969 stabilized the surviving structure for public use.
Where: Zacatecas City
Admission: Free
Mercado González Ortega
Opened in 1889 with French-influenced ironwork set into pink cantera stone, rebuilt after an 1897 fire and renamed for General Jesús González Ortega in 1921, this Porfirian-era market building traces the city's shift from a purely colonial mining town to a modernizing 19th-century commercial center.
Where: Zacatecas City
Admission: Free to enter
Sombrerete Historic Center and La Noria de San Pantaleón
Founded in 1555 by Juan de Tolosa, Sombrerete grew into one of the wealthiest mining towns in New Spain on gold, silver, tin, mercury and lead; its historic center and the nearby La Noria de San Pantaleón mining site were inscribed by UNESCO in 2010 as part of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.
Where: Sombrerete Municipality (approx. 190km northwest of Zacatecas City)
Admission: Free to walk the town
Santuario de Plateros
Built in 1704 under the patronage of the Conde de San Mateo de Valparaíso near the Real de Minas de San Demetrio silver mines discovered in 1566, this sanctuary's veneration of the Santo Niño de Atocha grew into what is now the third most-visited pilgrimage site in Mexico.
Where: Plateros, Fresnillo Municipality (approx. 65km northwest of Zacatecas City)
Admission: Free
Pinos Historic Center
Founded in 1594 by mestizo captain Miguel Caldera as Real de Nuestra Señora de Sierra de Pinos, this mining outpost on the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro preserves a hillside colonial street plan and surrounding 17th-century haciendas, receiving Pueblo Mágico status in 2012.
Where: Pinos Municipality (approx. 110km southeast of Zacatecas City)
Admission: Free to walk the town