It is located on the shore of Lake Avándaro, approximately 156 km (97 miles) southwest of Mexico City and west of Toluca on highways 15, 134 or 1.

[2] It takes about two hours to drive from Mexico City to Valle de Bravo, making it a popular weekend getaway for the capital's affluent upper class.

[4] In 1971, Valle de Bravo was known as typical city (ciudad típica) and magical town (pueblo mágico) in 2005.

The town and the surrounding area are well known in Mexico as a tourist destination, mainly due to its relative proximity to Mexico City and for having hosted the world-famous Circuito Avandaro auto racing event and Festival de rock y Ruedas, a massive rock music festival.

[5] The original name of Valle the Bravo was Valle de Temascaltepec, from the náhuatl temazcalli “steam bath”, and tepetl “hill”, the full meaning of which is “Hill of steam baths”[6] The first to arrive in the area were the Matlatzinca, who settled mostly in the present-day communities of Santa Maria Ahuacatlán, La Peña and Otumba.

Around 1530, the Franciscan friar Gregorio Jiménez de la Cuenca founded the town as a congregation called "El Pino".

Between 1607 and 1615, a Franciscan convent was established here, giving the town that grew up around it its original name of San Franciscano del Valle de Temascaltepec.

Another short-lived rebellion occurred in 1834 when Carlos Guadalupe Tepixtoco Abad proclaimed his plan to re-establish the empire of Moctezuma.

[2] During the 1960s the place became world-famous for its auto racing event Circuito Avandaro which was suspended in 1969 after pilot Moisés Solana's fatal accident.

Holidays such as New Year's Eve and Semana Santa bring large numbers of visitors to the town leading to strong recommendations to arrange lodging well in advance.

This event featured "Alan" State Dance Troupe from Ossetia Alania, Russia as well as artists from thirteen other countries.

[12] The Casa de la Cultura (House of Culture) is located in front of the municipal dock on Lake Avandaro.

There is live music at the bandstand on Sunday afternoons and street food such as corn, campechanas, tacos, pambazos and traditional ice cream for sale.

Complementing this paragliding legacy, hang gliding enjoys a vibrant international presence in the area, with events that bring together a passionate community of local and visiting pilots, while Wills Wing’s primary manufacturing facility underscores Valle’s significance as a hub of innovation and excellence in the sport.

In addition, ultralight flying is popular among enthusiasts of all ages, with tandem flights welcoming first-time flyers, making Valle de Bravo a truly inclusive and exhilarating destination for all aerial sports[13].

[4] It borders with the municipalities of Donato Guerra, Temascaltepec, Amanalco, Ixtapan del Oro, Santo Tomás de los Plátanos and Otzoloapan, with a territorial area of 421.95 km2.

The counties Donato Guerra, Ixtapan del Oro, Santo Tomás de los Plátanos, Otzoloapan, and Zacazonapan also belong to this Region.

[14] Just south of the town of Valle de Bravo is a small village called Avandaro, which hosted the "Rock y Ruedas" festival in September 1971.

Just outside it is the Velo de la Novia (Bride's Veil) waterfall, where the San Juan creek drops 35 meters in the middle of relatively untouched forest.

It was built in the 1860s and 1870s by Father Miguel Angel Perez Alonso fusing elements of Byzantine, Mediterranean, Mexican Baroque and Asian architecture.

Piedra Herrada, located 25 km east of the town on the north side of the Los Saucos highway, is a federal reserve for the protection of the butterflies.

[9] Outside of the town of Valle de Bravo, agriculture is still intensively practiced, growing crops like corn, beans, potatoes, peas, fava biena, tomatoes onions and other vegetable and some other grains.