Pachuca is the natural base for the rest of Hidalgo. The mining towns of Real del Monte and Mineral del Chico are each half an hour up into the mountains, Huasca and its basalt prisms a little beyond, and the hot springs of the Valle del Mezquital a couple of hours northwest. With a car none of this needs arranging; without one, a local operator saves a lot of bus changes.
In town, the old Acosta mine and the mining museum are run with guides who come from mining families, and are worth booking ahead at weekends.