It’s the time of year when people think about Halloween travel destinations, and there’s an appropriately interesting attraction in Guanajuato, Mexico: the Museo de las Momias de Guanajuato (Guanajuato Mummy Museum). But is it too scary and shocking, even for Halloween?
In my latest Guanajuato travel video, I showcase the Guanajuato mummies — a perfect complement to my previous video about how to celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico. You’ll find the Guanajuato mummy video at the end of this post or click here to watch it on my YouTube travel channel.
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Billed as the world’s largest collection of natural mummies, this Guanajuato museum has more than 100 mummified bodies dating from 1870 to 1984. It’s a fascinating exhibit, but I must admit that before my first visit I was expecting it to be sensationalistic and needlessly gruesome — an attraction built only for people looking for scary travel destinations and Halloween travel ideas. It turns out, I was wrong.
The museum’s website says that “here, honoring death gives meaning to one’s own life.” And upon arriving, I kind of agreed. I felt a much deeper reaction than expected.
Even the story of how this museum came to exist is fascinating; the Guanajuato mummies were not created intentionally. They were found by accident, many decades ago, when a local tax was charged to ensure perpetual burial. The deceased who were buried at the Panteón Municipal de Santa Paula, a cemetery that opened in 1861 adjacent to where the museum currently sits, were dug up if no one had paid the taxes for the space they occupied. Cemetery workers noticed that — due to Guanajuato’s favorable climate, perhaps — the bodies had been well preserved, in a mummified state. In the 20th century, cemetery workers began charging the public to view where the mummies were stored and in 1969, the museum opened to formalize the exhibit.
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Interestingly, the attraction got its biggest early tourism boost from a celebrity wrestler. El Santo, one of the nation’s most legendary lucha libre wrestlers, filmed a movie there called El Santo vs. Las Momias de Guanajuato, which was released in 1970 and cemented the mummy museum’s prominence on a national level. Mummy museum pictures flooded the media, and the word was out. Tourists began pouring in, and it became a big draw and one of the top things to do in Guanajuato.
Additional legendary names who’ve visited the Guanajuato Mummy Museum include the author Ray Bradbury, who wrote a short story called “The Next in Line” based on his scary travel experiences at the museum. German movie director Werner Herzog, meanwhile, used footage of the museum in his 1979 film Nosferatu the Vampyre.
But is the Mummy Museum Too Scary?
Personally, I didn’t find the museum frightening. I found it fascinating, educational and at times sad. If you’ve happened to visit “Bodies: The Exhibition,” the traveling attraction that showcases real human bodies and organs, you may have an idea about what to expect at this museum. (Strangely enough, however, the “Bodies” exhibit made me hungry — I guess I’m a true carnivore. The Guanajuato Mummy Museum simply made me think.)
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The fact that many of the bodies in the Guanajuato exhibit are still clothed makes it easier to imagine their lives, and the presence of mummified infants drives home the harsh realities that families must sometimes face.
Is the Guanajuato Mummy Museum too scary for children? That’s a decision that must be made by parents on an individual basis. I’ve seen families with kids visiting and never witnessed a tear or a shriek, just fascinated stares and questions (when I was a kid I probably wouldn’t have been able to handle it, though). Visiting this type of museum can be an opportunity for education and discussion when approached from the right angle.
The first time I visited, my best friend and I wandered through on our own, reading the thought-provoking quotes on the walls as we gazed at the faces of the many bodies in the display cases. The second time, I visited with my husband and we joined a guided tour, which I highly recommend, as it provides a lot more details about the mummies and also the mummification process. You’re likely to come away with more than just a bunch of scary travel stories and Halloween travel ideas; the Guanajuato Mummy Museum is a place to contemplate life and death.
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This isn’t the only place to view this type of exhibit. There are several places to see mummies in Mexico, including the cathedral in Guadalajara. One of the all-time most popular posts on this travel blog, in fact, is about the mystery of the mummy girl in the Guadalajara cathedral (click to see photos and learn more about her).
IF YOU VISIT GUANAJUATO: The Guanajuato Mummy Museum is located within the city limits, but it’s a bit removed from downtown Guanajuato. It’s a rather long walk, so if you aren’t into embarking on an extensive stroll, you can take a public bus, an Uber or taxi. Note, however, that this is a small city and you may have trouble finding a car to take you back, so you may want to arrange for a ride back with the same driver.
Keep in mind that the mummy museum is one of the city’s biggest attractions, so lines may be long, especially on weekends. If you can visit on a weekday, you may have a shorter wait to get inside. And if you’re looking for souvenirs, the museum has a small gift shop and there are even more vendors with kiosks just outside. Flash-free photos and videos are allowed inside the museum as well, so you’ll likely have lots to show your friends and family.
I’m a travel writer, travel blogger and Mexico travel specialist, and I love sharing travel tips to make your next vacation or business trip better. Please feel free to share your comments, experiences and questions about Mexico travel and Latin America travel and vacations!
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