Churches and chapels in SMA's countryside 
are worth visiting. 

Atotonilco is a fifteen-minute drive off the road to Dolores Hidalgo and is one of the most important of such monuments. Atotonilco means place of hot water. The founder of the sanctuary was Padre Luis Felipe Neri de Alfaro, whose tomb is there. The building of the nave was begun in 1740. The various side chapels within the building came later. The frescos were by a painter from Querétaro Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre. The Sanctuary is important in Mexican history. Padre Hidalgo leading the revolutionaries took the banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe from there as the standard of the 1810 war against Spain.

The chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel is in the community of San Miguelito. Local residents, who have a collection of religious images maintained since the 1700s, care for the chapel.

The community of Rancho Nuevo de Banda has a lovely chapel dedicated to the Christ child and mother, built in the mid 1700s.

In San Isidro de Bandita, there is a chapel dedicated to Saint Isidore the Worker. It has a lovely old altarpiece of the saint. Side chapels are dedicated to the Virgin of San Juan de los Lagos and the Virgin of Guadalupe.

At Cruz de Palmar, a chapel is not as old as the others, but the town has a hacienda dating back to the 1700s.

The town of San Isidro Capadero has two chapels, one dedicated to Saint Isidore, the other to Saint Mathew. The last features an image of the three wise men.

In the Comunidad de Espeo there is a chapel devoted to Saint Joseph with lovely altarpieces of Joseph and Mary with the Christ child.

The Comunidad de Juan de González's chapel is devoted to the Lord of Mercy. There are paintings and statues, which are preserved by the members of the community.

The Comunidad de la Huerta is one of the oldest communities in the municipality. It is located in a cañon where zapotes, pomegranates, avacados and limes grow easily. To get there, the road goes through a 400-meter tunnel, abandoned by the railroad when the Allende Dam was built. In the parish church is a cross made by the Chichimecas of wood and semiprecious stones that is said to be 450 years old. There is also a large sabino (ahuehuete) tree. Ahuehuete means old man of the water as the trees grow next to springs. This particular tree is about 500 yeas old, is 30 meters tall and is 14.5 meters in diameter.

Corral de Piedras is a community located off the SMA-Querétaro road at Km 11. Each year the folks celebrate feast day of the Holy Child of Atocha, the image of which is in the town church. The town is named for the two cliffs on the outskirts that were shields against the Chichimeca attacks. 

Cuisillos are small ceremonial centers, altars built of stone. The closest ones are located in the community of Cabras. Also at Cabras are 70 or so indigenous ruins. The cuisillos are used by the farmers as centers of energy during the Spring equinox.

In the foothills of the Picacho mountains, there are rock paintings of Juan Xido dating from pre-Columbian times. Some are at the town of Sosnabar, others near Cabras. Still others are off the road to Comonfort.

Jalpa is off the SMA-Querétaro (km 17) road, and after going through Sosnabar. The church in Jalpa is dated from 1906, and is extraordinary in size for the small community of 700. However, it serves over 30 nearby communities.

Montecillo de la Milpa has a chapel just north of Atotonilco at the edge of the Laja River. Inside are frescos also attributed to decorator of the frescos in the Atotonilco sanctuary.

Presa de Banda is on the San Damián River, which leads into the Laja River. This dam was built in the 1700s and is located in the town of Banda.