It is one of the main tourist destinations of the State of Michoacan, founded in 1534 by the Spaniards, though it has pre-Hispanic origins in 1100. It has a population of less than 100,000 inhabitants. It is located at 2,150 meters above sea level; its climate is cold-template, with a mean temperature of 16 degrees Cº. Patzcuaro in the purepecha or tarasco language means 'place of 'cues', or temples'. It once was the capital of the Purepecha Empire, and then it was turned into an Episcopal See by Mr. Vasco de Quiroga, who was a great evangelizer and pacifier of these lands. Here he founded the School 'San Nicolas de Obispo, which was later moved to Valladolid, now Morelia.

Going to the levee of Patzcuaro Lake and sail through its waters is a compulsory ritual for the visitor. From here is the famous white fish, a treat for international sybarites. It has a shoreline of 55 km. And it includes the islands of 'Janitzio', 'Jaracuaro', 'La Pacanda', 'Tecuén', and 'Yunuen.'

Janitzio Island impresses by the shape and beauty of its constructions, with white walls and red tile roofs. In its intricate streets, we meet balconies and supports made of old wood, with nets hanging from them. Roughly at the middle of the way up, is its church, picturesque, as the whole town, and in its back part, which was a cemetery before, it is carried out the impressive Night of the Dead, a pagan-religious feast celebrated on the night from the 1st to the 2nd of November. On top of the island, in the middle of a great esplanade, is the 40 meters tall monument, dedicated to Morelos, and chiseled in pink stone; inside it, as retables, the painter Alba de la Canal imprinted the life of the hero. Janitzio produces a great variety of crafts, and it offers many others from the lake region; it is also remarkable by its delicious typical dishes.