My Trip to the Guanajuato Mummy Museum
Alright, so I was in Guanajuato, and you can’t really go there without hearing about the mummies. Everyone kept saying, “You gotta see the mummies!” So, I figured, why not? Sounds kinda creepy, but interesting too, right? I decided to dedicate an afternoon to check it out.
Getting there was the first step. Guanajuato’s streets are wild, all winding and steep. I thought about walking, but looking at the map, it seemed like a bit of a hike uphill. Ended up grabbing a taxi, which honestly was way easier. The driver knew exactly where Museo Las Momias was, dropped me off right near the entrance.
There was a bit of a line to get tickets, nothing too crazy though. Paid the entrance fee, which wasn’t too bad. You walk in, and the vibe changes immediately. It’s darker inside, cooler, and definitely quieter, even with other people around. It kinda sets the mood, you know?
Then you start seeing them. The mummies. They’re behind glass, mostly standing up or leaning against the wall. It’s pretty surreal. These aren’t like Egyptian mummies wrapped in cloth. These are just… people. Naturally mummified because of the soil or minerals or something. You can see their faces, their hair, even the clothes they were buried in sometimes. Very intense.
I just slowly walked through the halls. Each display case has a mummy, sometimes more than one. Some looked like they were in pain or screaming, which was pretty haunting. Others looked more peaceful. They tell you a bit about how they were discovered – apparently dug up from the local cemetery back in the day because families couldn’t afford the burial tax anymore. Wild stuff.
What Stuck With Me
A few things really stood out:
- The sheer number of them: There were quite a lot, more than I expected. Men, women…
- The tiny mummies: They have a section with infants and small children. That part was genuinely tough to see. Really pulls at your heartstrings. It makes you think.
- “The smallest mummy in the world”: They have one that’s incredibly tiny, supposedly the smallest. It was hard to look at, honestly.
- The details: Seeing their skin, teeth, sometimes even eyelashes. It makes them feel very real, not just museum exhibits.
I spent probably an hour or so just walking around, looking, reading the little plaques when they had them. It wasn’t scary in a jump-scare kind of way, more like deeply unsettling and fascinating at the same time. You’re face-to-face with mortality in a very direct way.
Leaving the museum felt like coming back into the sunshine, literally and figuratively. It was a heavy experience, for sure. Glad I went? Yeah, I think so. It’s one of those things you see that really sticks with you. It’s not your typical museum trip, that’s for sure. Gave me a lot to think about on the taxi ride back down the hill.
