Michoacán de Ocampo

Michoacan, officially Michoacan de Ocampo, is a state in western Mexico celebrated for its monarch butterfly sanctuaries, colonial cities and rich Indigenous Purepecha heritage. Its capital is Morelia, a UNESCO World Heritage city. From mountain forests to Pacific beaches, it is one of Mexico's most scenic and traditional states.

Michoacan spans a Pacific coastline, the volcanic highlands of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, and the forests where monarch butterflies overwinter. Lake Patzcuaro lies at its heart. The climate ranges from tropical coast to temperate highland.

Michoacan is famed for its Purepecha culture, exquisite crafts, and some of Mexico's most beautiful Day of the Dead traditions around Lake Patzcuaro. Morelia's pink-stone colonial architecture and regional cuisine are renowned.

Heartland of the Purepecha empire that resisted the Aztecs, Michoacan was an important colonial region centered on Morelia. It became a state in 1824 and is named in honour of independence and reform-era figures.