According to the criteria to which the UNESCO inscription as a World Heritage Site refers, the missions are testimony to the important exchange of values during the colonization process, both in the center and north of Mexico and in the west of what currently occupies the territory of the United States.

Among its features are the peaks associated with the Sierra Alta de Hidalgo, the pine forests of Zamorano, the Extorax Canyon and the slopes of the Huazmazonta, the inter-mountain valleys where the five missions are found and the rolling hills leading into La Huasteca.

It was a missionary task of great dimensions and profound consequences from the human point of view and whose results are today appreciable in the Baroque syncretism that it exhibits in all the missions.

[2][3] At this time, the native peoples of the region were nomadic hunter gathers, such as the Pames, Ximpeces Guachichils and Jonaz, generally referred to together as the Chichimecas.

On 4 February, mass in honor of Francis of Assisi is performed here, in a small chapel with still remains, although there is no roof in any part of the complex.

[3] In 1740, the colonial government decided to exterminate indigenous resistance here to secure trade routes to Guanajuato and Zacatecas.

This was accomplished by José de Escandón, whose expedition culminated in the Battle of Media Luna, defeating the Jonaz and Ximpeces.

[3][10] The military pacification of the area by José de Escandón in the 1740s allowed for the building of permanent missions in the heart of the Sierra Gorda.

[6] However, the five Franciscans missions accredited to Junípero Serra were built in Pame territory, as these people were more accepting of Spanish domination.

The placement of the missions had the purpose of dividing the heart of the Sierra Gorda and to open roads into San Luis Potosí.

[13] The effort to inscribe the missions as a World Heritage Site began in 2000 by a group of Mexican intellectuals including Dr. Miguel León Portilla.

[3] One of them was the use of the colors red, orange and yellow, as well as pastel shades, and of sacred native figures, such as the rabbit and the jaguar.

The Sierra Gorda missions have unique characteristics in New Spanish Baroque, both for their conceptions of floor plans and elevations.

[14] On their facades they present a series of very original compositions based on high-quality decorative elements and ingenious design; its forms are armed with partitions covered with stucco, made of quicklime burned on site and colored with earth.

[14] The architecture of these missions obeys the so-called "moderate trace" program that was implemented in the 16th century and accepted by the Franciscan, Augustinian and Dominican orders; and that they applied in the convent-fortresses.

[14] The missions have what is called a Capilla posa, one of the architectural solutions used in the monastery complexes of New Spain in the 16th century, consisting of four quadrangular vaulted buildings located at the ends of the atrium outside them.

It has been proposed that, following the processional path, the Capillas posas were used to pose or rest the Blessed Sacrament when it was carried in procession through the atrium.

[6][12] This complex is situated in the center of the modern town in front of the main plaza and formed by an atrium, cloister, pilgrim portal and church, with a chapel annex on the left side.

[3] The main features of the ornate portal on the facade are Our Lady of the Pillar and the Virgin of Guadalupe, both with Mesoamerican connections, as well as a double headed eagle, meant to symbolize the blending of the two cultures.

[6] The facade is elaborately done in stucco and stone work, with ochre of the pilasters contrasting with the yellow of many of the decorative details.

[13] San Miguel Concá mission is located forty km from Jalpan on Highway 69 to Río Verde.

[12] Its facades are composed of three horizontal and three vertical partitions, with the Franciscan coat of arms prominent over the main entrance.

[10] In Tilaco, the facade has small angels, ears of corn and a strange large jar over which is an image of Francis of Assisi.

The mission was built between 1760 and 1768 by Miguel de la Campa is dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, which gives rise to part of the community's name.

[6] The facade bears a great resemblance to that of Jalpan, in various aspects, its sizes and aesthetics, the atrium is surrounded by a wall and centered by a cross, and paved.

In addition to them, the Franciscan friars leave an unprecedented rubric and the notorious reflection of their predilections in the last of their missions, there we have seen through his mother, the Immaculate Conception, Saint Francis and the four saints of the column of observance, to Archangel Michael and those studies and protectors of the order, Duns Escoto and María de Agreda.

Inside we have medallions on the ceiling of the main nave beginning with Saint Michael the Archangel, with his traditional iconography, followed by Juan Duns Escoto exposed in a very didactic way presented with his hands holding the Immaculate Conception in one and a same pen with which through writing he tirelessly defended the dogma of Mary.