Mexico Guide
The Bajío
Bernal
The pretty village of BERNAL, 45km east of Querétaro, hunkers under the skirts of the monolithic Peña de Bernal, a 450-metre-high chunk of volcanic rock that towers over the plains and is the third largest boulder of its kind in the world – after the Rock of Gibraltar and Rio's Sugarloaf. By wandering towards the rock you'll soon pick up a rough but clearly marked path about two-thirds of the way to the top (the ascent takes up to an hour, half that to get down), where there's a small shrine and long views stretching out below. Only appropriately equipped rock climbers should continue up the metal rungs to the summit, passing a memorial plaque to an earlier adventurer along the way.
At weekends, half of Querétaro seems to come out here, making for a festive atmosphere, but midweek it is an altogether more peaceful place: the mountain is likely to be deserted and you'll be about the only thing disturbing the lovely village plaza with its attractive church and terracotta-washed buildings, sumptuous in the afternoon light. Be forewarned, however, that many businesses are only open at the weekends and many more shut for the month of May.
The centre is ringed by narrow streets full of shops selling handicrafts, and there's even a small and sporadically open tourist office on Hidalgo, which runs west from the plaza, though there isn't much they can tell you that you can't discover for yourself in ten minutes. Also on Hidalgo is one of the nicest places to eat, in the shaded courtyard of Mesón de la Roca, at no. 5, serving moderately priced and well-presented Mexican dishes along with a M$70 comida corrida and, for the daring, grasshopper tacos (M$67). There are also several cheap comedores, and at weekends perhaps a dozen restaurants to choose from. Flecha Amarilla and Flecha Azul combine to offer hourly buses from Querétaro's bus station (Sala C) which drop you on the highway five minutes' walk from Bernal centre; it's worth remembering that the last bus back passes at around 6pm. It is also possible to continue to Tequisquiapan by taking a bus to the small town of Ezequiel Montes and changing there.
If you get stuck, or just fancy a night here (not a bad thing), there are clean, comfortable and excellent-value rooms at Posada Peña, Iturbide 3, behind the church ( 
441/296-4149; Price: M$200-250).