Countryside Day Trip in Milpa Alta: Try Nopal Cactus, Corn & Mole!

About

Milpa Alta is Mexico City’s rural southernmost borough, and it’s known primarily for two things: acres of cactus fields, and fresh, homemade mole. In the Milpa Alta town of San Pedro Atocpan—where most families earn their living making mole pastes and powders from scratch—the streets literally smell like mole. This one-of-a-kind tour, offered in conjunction with our partners La Ruta de La Milpa, gives you an inside look at this unique, beautiful region. You’ll taste stunning, locally sourced Mexican cooking in the countryside and meet some of the skilled cooks that make Milpa Alta what it is.

If you’re looking for a truly local, food-based day trip, this is the tour for you!

Please note that this activity requires a minimum of 3 people to take place.

Menu

• We will start with a light breakfast that includes pan dulce and a hot drink (coffee, tea or chocolate). Then, in Milpa Alta we will have some nopales (cactus) tacos with fresh locally produced cheese. After learning all about the process of making tortillas we will eat our own hand made tortillas with salsa. We will visit an apiary and get a tasting of the locally produced honey. We will end the tour with a spectacularly delicious meal including the region's specialty: Mole

Schedule

Be prepared for an early 7am pick-up time. We’ll eat a light breakfast in the car as we fill you in on Milpa Alta’s history and role in modern Mexico City, over the course of the 90-minute drive there.

We’ll kick off our arrival with a visit to a cactus farm. You’ll learn about how a typical cactus farm works, then we'll cut our own cactus leaves and eat them fresh off a wood-fired comal, accompanied by fiery homemade salsa, fresh cheese and tortillas. After that, we’ll meet a skilled local tortillera and make tortillas under her guidance, from her own locally grown corn. We’ll visit a local apiary and meet local honey producers, and a mill that has been grinding mole pastes and powders from scratch for more than 50 years. We’ll finish with lunch at a Milpa Alta restaurant, where we’ll dine on—of course!—luxurious homemade mole. 

If you’re looking for a truly local, food-based day trip, this is the tour for you!