Getting to INAOE

INAOE stands for “Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica”, a national research institute specializing in astrophysics, optics, electronics and computer science. It is located in the state of Puebla, Mexico, about 130 km due East-East-Southeast of Mexico City. It is near the city of Puebla, the state capital and the 4th most populated city in the country. Puebla is distinguished as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The INAOE was formally founded on November 12, 1971, as a consequence of renaming the National Astrophysics Observatory of Tonantzintla, Puebla, which was established in February 1942.

As part of its research activities, INAOE offers graduate programs in these four areas, both master´s and Ph.D. programs, as well as a M.Sc. Degree in Space Science and Technology. The average annual student population is 420, roughly equally divided among masters and doctoral programs. Of these, close to 20% of our students come from abroad, especially from South America and Europe.

Puebla is served by the Hermanos Serdan Airport, in Huejotzingo, Puebla (PBC), a half an hour drive from the capital city. Currently, there are daily flights from Houston and Dallas, in the USA. The alternative is Mexico City's International Airport (AICM)(MEX), which has flights from every large city in the World. There is a convenient bus service at both terminals, which serves the city of Puebla. Luxury buses depart every hour and every half an hour in busy times for a two-hour direct ride to the city, to either of two terminals. The cost is about $20.00 USD each way. The service is operated by Autobuses Estrella Roja. If arriving at Terminal 1, you have to walk right as you exit customs, take the escalator to the first floor, and then cross the access road using the bridge, at the end of which you will see the ticket counters. If it is at Terminal 2, once you exit the customs area, walk to your right all the way to the end of the terminal, and once you exit, you will see a building on your right, which houses the ticket counters.

Once in Puebla, there are official taxi stands at the bus depots, which are safe and comfortable, and can take you to any place in the city or the outskirts, including the INAOE in Tonantzintla.

There are an ample variety of hotels in Puebla and Cholula, an important historical city close to the Institute. One can select from very modest accommodations to five star and boutique hotels.

The INAOE has a long tradition and vast experience organizing scientific events, and we can guarantee that all of our guests will be welcome and shall be treated as they deserve.

Even though Mexico has been in the news for its insecurity, rest assured that Puebla is one of the safest cities in the country, and it is very seldom that we hear of criminal acts in our vicinity.

The Institute pages can be accessed following

http://www/inaoep.mx/en/

And a map indicating how to get to INAOE from the bus terminals is found following the “location” link, which takes you to

http://www.inaoep.mx/en/access_map.php

A listing of some of Puebla's hotels can be found here:

http://www.zonaturistica.com/en/hotels-in/401/puebla.html

And the ones in Cholula:

http://www.zonaturistica.com/en/hotels-in/394/cholula-puebla.html

For general information on Puebla and Cholula, please consult Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puebla,_Puebla

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholula,_Puebla

If you have any doubts or questions, please do not hesitate to contact Roberto S. Murphy, Ph.D., INAOE's Director of Research, using rmurphy@inaoep.mx