page_title: Michoacán
section_title: Tourism
hierarchical_section_title: Michoacán / Tourism
caption_attribution_description: English: CHARRO HACIENDO SUERTES CON SU REATA
context_page_description: Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia. The city was named after José María Morelos, a native of the city and one of the main heroes of the Mexican War of Independence.
  Michoacán is located in Western Mexico, and has a stretch of coastline on the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. It is bordered by the states of Colima and Jalisco to the west and northwest, Guanajuato to the north, Querétaro to the northeast, the State of México to the east, and Guerrero to the southeast.
  The name Michoacán is from Nahuatl: Michhuahcān from michhuah and -cān and means "place of the fishermen" referring to those who fish on Lake Pátzcuaro. In pre-Hispanic times, the area was the home of the Purépecha Empire, which rivaled the Aztec Empire at the time of Spanish encounter. After the Spanish conquest, the empire became a separate province which became smaller over the colonial period. The state and its residents played a major role in the Mexican War of Independence.
context_section_description: Carnitas are originally from Michoacán. Other traditional foods include cotija cheese, morisqueta, tamales, pozole, enchiladas, mole sauce, and various sweets such as ice cream and ate, a kind of Mexican jelly made of many typical fruits.
  The state ministry of tourism has divided the state into regions, mostly based on the major cities of Morelia, Uruapan, Lázaro Cárdenas, Patzcuaro, Zamora and Zitácuaro. The state contains a large number of potential attractions, most of which are classified as suitable for ecotourism. However, only 6.2% of these sites are visited by international tourists. Most visitors to sites are from within the state.
  The Morelia region stresses its cultural and artistic heritage, especially its colonial architecture . The most important colonial structures are in Morelia and built in the 18th century. These include the cathedral, finished in 1744 and the main aqueduct finished at the end of the century. This architecture has made the city a World Heritage Site. In addition to the state capital, the region includes towns such as Charo, Capula, Tiripetio, Cuitzeo and Huandacareo, which contain archeological sites, water parks and traditional cuisine. The rural areas of this zone contain more than 400 thermal springs, many of which have been turned into recreational areas and parks.  These include Reino de Atzimba, Cointzio, Huandacareo and El Ejido. Morelia holds the annual Festival Internacional de Música de Morelia. The festival consists of more than forty concerts with over 500 artists from Michoacán and from around the world. Other festivals include the popular SalsaMich that features a 3-day Salsa dance competition. The Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia is celebrated annually that is dedicated to Mexican cinema. The Plaza Monumental de Morelia was established in 1951, which was destined exclusively for bullfights. Nowadays, the ring also hosts concerts, lucha libre, and weddings.
  The Uruapan region stresses its cultural and natural heritage. The city is one of the oldest settlements in the state, which was initially settled by the Meseta Purépecha. This city contains a number of attractions such as La Huatápera, colonial era hospital founded by Vasco de Quiroga, the Temple of San Francisco and the Eduardo Ruiz Municipal Museum. One other attraction is the narrowest house in the world as documented by the Guinness Book of World Records. Other important cities in the region are Apatzingán and Caracha.
  Uruapan is surrounded by hundreds of hectares of forests and by fertile fields growing fruits and flowers, many of which only grow here. Some of the natural attractions of the zone include the Santa Catarina Dam and the La Tzaráacua and La Tzararacuita waterfalls. Smaller towns and villages in this region are known for their religious and popular festivals, many of which occur in the summer. Examples of these are the feasts of Señor del Calvario in Quinceo, of San Mateo Ahuiran in Paracho and the National Guitar Festival in Paracho. The best-known town in the region is San Juan Nuevo Parangaricutiro, which was founded due to the destruction of its original namesake by the eruption of the Paricutín volcano.
  The pre-Hispanic sites of Tingambato and Taretan are in this zone as well, which were important Purépecha cities.
  The Lázaro Cárdenas region is named after Michoacán's largest port and oceanside city. Here the state stresses the kilometres of beaches and other natural areas in which to practice ecotourism and extreme sports. Beaches include Maruata, Faro de Bucerías, the Pichi Estuary, La Laguna de Mezcala, La Ticla and Nexpa, with the last two considered suitable for surfing, with their regular two-three-meter waves. A number of these beaches are protected areas, due to being a breeding ground for sea turtles.
  The Patzcuaro region is extremely important to the state due to its history of having been the center of the Purépecha Empire as well as the first capital of the colonial province of Michoacán. Its pre-Hispanic heritage is evident by the Tzintzuntzan and Ihuatizo sites as well as th
caption: Traditional charro outfit
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