Talpa de Allende

Talpa de Allende is most famous for it's pilgrimages to pay homage to the Virgin de Talpa. The icon is housed in Talpa’s basilica, built in her honor in 1782.

There is an old story that shortly after the virgin was found in the mid-1600's, she disappeared to Masota because the mayor of Mascota wanted the devoted coming to his town. Mysteriously the virgin kept returning to Talpa until the mayor finally gave up.

The festivities begin every year on March 24th to commemorate the day the Virgin was unearthed. The fiesta continues for 3 months, till May. The route of the Pilgimage is from Ameca along highway 70 to Talpa.

Talpa, a town of about 10,000 people will triple in size at times over the festival. It's lcocated south of highway 70 between Ameca and Mascota in the state of Jalisco, Mexico.

View of Talpa from near highway 70


Town of Talpa


Talpa’s basilica

Mascota and Highway 70

Highway 70 construction and Mascota
from Vallarta, Jalisco - Mexico

Highway 70 leaves Vallarta just south of the Nayarit border, north of the airport and next to the new Vallarta Home Depot. It's about 40 kilometers of small towns and farmland before you start into the mountains. The road is actually very good except they have cut thru some impossible hillsides making yearly roadwork a necessity. Right now (November 2007) they are working on about five major sections both east and west of Mascota. Most of the work is on the west side.

After crossing the bridge below it mostly flat land until you drop back down into Mascota. Mascota is very Colonial in a non-fancy way with one church in ruins looking as if it was a religious center for the area many years ago. Lots of classic construction and cobble stone streets.

The last few fotos are from one of the very few scenic lookouts along the road after leaving Mascota and heading toward Talpa and Ameca.

Looking down on Mascota from the east


Mascota church


Mascota house


Mascota church and ex-convent

Mascota trip fotos