The Huichol Indigenous People’s Route, a pre-Columbian pilgrimage that traverses Mexico’s sacred sites in the center and west of the country, has been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. This ancestral pilgrimage, covering nearly 550 kilometers, connects 20 sacred sites that are fundamental to the worldview of the Wixárika people (also known as the Huichol).
Considered one of the most representative pre-Columbian routes still in use in the Americas, the path extends from the Gran Nayar region through Jalisco, Zacatecas, and into the San Luis Potosí desert.
Following the announcement by UNESCO’s Heritage Committee on July 12, a representative of the Wixárika people expressed gratitude, calling the designation a “recognition and protection” of an area where “the essences of life are founded.”
Historically, this route was used by the Wixárika people to return to their native lands, from which they had been expelled by Spanish colonizers. Traversing diverse ecological regions, it supports rituals tied to ancestral deities, agriculture and community well-being. Known as “Tatehuarí Huajuyé,” or the Path of Our Grandfather Fire, the route holds deep spiritual and environmental significance.
UNESCO describes the route not as a linear path, but rather a “braid of trails” that form part of a unique biocultural corridor.
Diego Prieto Hernández, director of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), emphasized that the route represents an ancestral pilgrimage where the Wixárika perform rituals to honor the land, ensure bountiful harvests, and sustain the agricultural cycle of maize.
With this new designation, Mexico now boasts 36 UNESCO World Heritage listings, ranking first in the Americas and seventh globally.