Not widely known beyond Southern Arizona where it is situated, Tubac is a charming village nestled between the Tumacacori and Santa Rita mountain ranges in Santa Cruz County.
A few years ago we swapped homes for about a month with friends in Arizona. We stayed in their beautiful townhouse in the Barrio de Tubac, just south of Tubac Village.
Established in 1752, Tubac is a former Spanish presidio turned artists’ colony. The heart of the community is the Tubac Village, frequently labelled the place where art and history meet. With over 100 shops, galleries and restaurants and numerous heritage buildings, the village is heaven for those, like me, who love arts and crafts and interesting architecture.
The village is also home to the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park and just to the south is the Tumacacori National Historical Park, one of areas where the stunning Saguaro cactus grows.
Tubac is located about 45 minutes south of Tucson via the I-19 and 20 minutes north of the Mexican border town of Nogales. There is a Border Patrol checkpoint on the highway just north of Tubac, much to the annoyance of many local residents. However, we found the agents unfailingly courteous whenever we travelled north, as we did frequently, and they soon got to know the two local Aussies and waved us through promptly.
