Warning Contains Graphic Pictures
El Museo de las Mummies, is an eerie experience to say the least. One of the must see (?) places in town, the Guanajuato Mummy Museum will leave you feeling slightly disturbed.
About the Mummy Museum
Home to the largest collection of natural mummies in the world El Museo de las Mummies is a major draw to this small mining town. Due to overcrowding in the local cemetery, the government implemented a cemetery tax that locals needed to pay if they wanted to keep their deceased relatives buried. Unfortunately most people did not care about the tax or could not afford to pay it resulting in a sizeable amount of graves being dug back up.
What the gravediggers found were dozens upon dozens of dehydrated and well preserved corpses. This mummification process was not intentional, it’s cause was found to be from the dry quality of the soil. At first these corpses were stored in a warehouse until word of mouth slowly drew interested people to see the mummies. Capitalizing on the idea the gravediggers charged an entry fee to view the corpses. Interest eventually became widespread after a successful premier of a local horror film that showed the mummies alive as zombies. Following the movie and increased interest the Guanajuato Mummy Museum was created to preserve and share these unique corpses.
Today the Mummy Museum has over 100 mummies on display along with a few areas where you can interact or get your photograph taken with a mummy. This is definitely a popular attraction so try to arrive early in the morning and avoid weekends.
Cost and how to get there
For 60 mx pesos you can visit the mummies, using your camera is extra, phone is free, and operating hours are from 9 am to 6 pm during the week and 6:30 pm on the weekend.
The best area to find a bus to the mummies is at the Parada de Autobus, next to the Mercado Hidalgo, the local market. Buses also travel past Plaza de La Paz and anywhere along Ave. Benito Juarez. You need to look for the bus that says Momias in the window, cost is 10 mx pesos per person. The bus drops you off on the main road and from there you go to your left up a side road to the main building. If you want to visit the local cemetery there is one further up the road.
Final Thoughts
The Guanajuato Mummy Museum is definitely unique. I don’t know whether you will be more grossed out by the dried corpses or by the tourists posing with them. With that said this is a popular tourist attraction so make sure to avoid weekends or arrive early in the morning, otherwise you will be waiting in a long queue.
I hope you are not too freaked out by this quick overview of the Guanajuato Mummy Museum, for other non-corpse activities check out my 8 things to do in Guanajuato post or visit my Destination Mexico page.
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