Mineral del Chico sits inside one of Mexico's oldest national parks, and the reason to come — beyond the steep little mining streets — is the rock. Towers and pinnacles of volcanic stone stick up out of the pine and oyamel forest all around the village, and they are what the guides here sell: rappels, canyons, a via ferrata and some of the oldest sport climbing in the country.
None of it needs much experience, but it does need a guide and the right gear. The gentler alternative is the trails: Las Monjas, the Peña del Cuervo viewpoint and the walk along the Río del Milagro are all easy half days.
It is cold up here at nearly 2,400 metres, often misty in the afternoon and wet from June to September. Come at a weekend and the village fills with day-trippers from Pachuca and Mexico City; on a weekday you have it to yourself.