page_title: Ameca, Jalisco
section_title: Tourism
hierarchical_section_title: Ameca, Jalisco / Tourism
caption_attribution_description: English: The church Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe in Ameca, Jalisco, Mexico Deutsch: Die Kirche Unsere Senora de Guadalupe in Ameca, Jalisco, Mexiko
context_page_description: Ameca is a city and municipality, in Jalisco in central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 685.73 km². The city is bisected by the Ameca River which drains to the Pacific Ocean near Puerto Vallarta. It is also approximately 83 km from the state capital and one of Mexico's largest commercial centers, Guadalajara.
  The city is also the seat and largest city of the federal sub-division Región Valles, which compromises the municipalities situated on the central valleys of Jalisco.
  As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 57,340, and the city had a population of 36,156, making it the 15th largest city of Jalisco in terms of population.
context_section_description: Ameca is abundant in cultural attractions, one main attraction being the town hall built in 1529, and neoclassical buildings of the former hospital Hilarion Gil Romero currently serving as Regional Cultural Center. Other attractions include the House of Culture and the Temple of Santo Domingo. Other places of interest include the Ex hacienda of Cabezon and San Antonio Matute, built in 1911.
  Natural attractions include the Ameca River and many streams like the Palmarejo and pillars. Seen as natural spas, the hills of Ameca and hills are suitable for exploration. The stone rocks in the Sierra de Ameca, appear as old fields with gigantic bowling balls. These peculiar rocks can measure a few centimeters in diameter to 3 meters.
  The City Hall dates from 1529 but was burned in 1914 and rebuilt between 1917 and 1924. With its neoclassic facade, it is composed of two stories and to the right side is made up of the famous quadrangular tower clock that has on each side, framed in quarry, battlements.
  The House of Culture includes exhibitions of art and historical objects, as well as music and dance events, among others. Also held in August of every year, is the Cultural, a sample of the fine arts, which has been reaching popularity over the years. It has within it the Ameca Regional Museum, which despite being very small, it is important for the quality of its archaeological and paleontological collections consist of more than 10,000 pieces. The rescue of this material was made by Professor Philemon Gutiérrez Ramírez who, for 50 years of his life, collected pieces from the region (Ameca valley, Quitupan, Tala) and other entities of the country (Nayarit, Veracruz and Zacatecas). In 1982, he donated his collection to found a museum with the support of the City.
  St. James parish (Parroquia de Santiago) built in the sixteenth century, has had modifications since the 1930s.  Its pink stone facade has a tower composed of three bodies; there are cross atrial figures of the Passion of the Christ and of the inscription made in 1687. In the inside of the temple, the main altarpiece is styled in the neoclassic manner. The recently remodeled atrium looks better than ever with its new and spacious gardens that are home to different types of roses and flowers. Parroquia de Santiago is located in the main square and is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city.
  The Temple of our Lady of Guadalupe, or Santuario de la Virgen de Guadalupe, dates back to 1875.
  Señor Grande de Ameca, a beautiful sculpture of the crucified Christ made with cornstalk paste by indigenous hands centuries ago, is nearly two meters tall from his feet to his head. With the body and face full of bloody wounds and the open side, is in the niche of the main altar of the church of St. James of Ameca, Jalisco. The largest festival of Lord Ameca is movable, it takes place between the months of April and May, with nine days.
  Capilla de la Conchinta, a nineteenth-century parish is also a frequented tourist attraction.
  Haciendas are among the most important estates in the area including El Cabezon, San Antonio Matute, La Esperanza, El Portezuelo, The Cuis, Santa Maria de la Huerta, Jayamitla, La Higuera, San Miguel, San Nicolas, La Villita, La Labor de Solis, the work of San Ignacio, La Vega, La Gavilana and San Juan de los Arcos. Some of them in ruins, others partially destroyed and some restored.
  Piedras Bola In the Sierra de Ameca, in the area corresponding to Ahualulco Market Township, where in 1867 an American archaeologist discovered more than 20 stone spheres. Piedras Bolas vary in size: on average, between one and two meters in diameter, although some are close to three meters. The age is estimated at around 40 million years ago, during the Tertiary period, by capricious crystallization of volcanic ash, which some attribute to the Tequila Volcano, distant only 30 km.
  Other tourist attractions include orchards and natural baths that have formed in the various streams within and around outskirts of the municipality.
caption: Temple of our Lady of Guadalupe Virgin de Guadalupe.
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