Paricutin Volcano, Michoacan, Mexico

Volcan Paricutin was born in 1943 with a series of explosions in the middle of a farmer's cornfield. The volcano continued to erupt for almost a decade, building a cone over 400 meters high and inundating two nearby towns with lava. Today, the lone steeple of the half-buried Church of San Juan Parangaricutiro rises above barren lava fields as an eerie monument to the village entombed below.

Travelers hike to this surreal landscape from the Tarascan community of Angahuan, which was spared by the volcano. The inhabitants of Angahuan still speak Purepecha, the ancient language of their ancestors, and many of the men work as guides. Angahuan is a rustic town with a 16th-century church known for the unusual Moorish designs surrounding its entrance.

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Paricutin Volcano, Mexico - Images by John Mitchell

Mexico's UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Mexico boasts 29 UNESCO World Heritage Sites (25 Cultural and four Natural), more than any other country in the Americas. I first started exploring and photographing these inspiring locales back in the 1980's. Since then I've managed to visit 25 of them, and I hope to be around long enough to see the rest. However, this may not be easy because Mexico has a lineup of places waiting to be inscribed on the World Heritage List, and so it promises to get even longer.

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Mexico's World Heritage Sites - Images by John Mitchell

Chiapas, Mexico

Ancient Maya ruins sequestered in the jungle, atmospheric Spanish colonial towns, dranatic landscapes, and Maya villages that seem impervious to time make the southern state of Chiapas one of the most rewarding places to photograph in Mexico. Culturally similar to neighboring Guatemala, Chiapas is home to a colorful and thriving Maya culture that has managed to hold onto its age-old traditions.

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Chiapas, Mexico - Images by John Mitchell