5
Krithika Mukund -
a year ago
Lovely and safe forest, easily reached from the city, to get some fresh air and exercise. A paradise for cyclists and dog owners. Open from 7 am on weekends, last entry at 1.30, latest exit by 4 pm. Best to reach before 9 am to get parking with ease, tends to fill up fast. Costs 35 mxn to park, 40 mxn for walkers including children, 60 mxn for cyclists, 15 mxn per dog. Other activities available too like zipline, zorbing and horse riding. There are also childrens’ play areas, restaurants, a deer enclosure, a trout farm, camping areas and cabins.
If hiking, allow atleast 4 hours for a round trip to the viewpoint at the top, next to the stone painting of the Virgin. Keep in mind, there is NO MOBILE SIGNAL inside the park. Anyhow, the trails are not marked on any map. There is a representative picture on the park’s website as well as next to the ticket office which shows the built structures quite well but is certainly not to scale, the paths take far longer than one expects. Take a photo of this to refer to while walking. Am attaching a picture of it with markup of a route to follow that is straightforward. There are several paths going in various directions, unmarked in the picture, that could be quite confusing and are mainly for cyclists.
Straight in from the entrance , go past the deer enclosure ,till the restaurant Quecas Doña Mary. The toilets just before the reataurant were super clean. Turn right here into the playground and turn left on the path that goes alongside a huge open area. Keep on going till the trout farm ( we did not see any fish in the water). Turn right here to the big path into the forest, marked as the way to various places. Go straight past a camping area that comes on the right. After a while, one comes to an area with several swings. Clearly marked as “ La virgen” to the left. It takes another 2 km of uphill walk to reach the metal tower viewpoint. Do not skip the chance to go up steep steps to reach the top of the tower for unobstructed spectacular views over mountains and thick coniferous forest. This walk back and forth involved 12 km of walk, 500 metres ascent from an altitude of 2800 m to 3300 m at the top. We did not visit the labyrinth or the cascade.
The virgen stone picture was beautiful indeed. The path continues after this too but despite walking a km more, did not seem to reach anyplace in particular nor any better view , so turned back, some cyclists were continuing along.
If cycling, make sure to wear helmet and adequate protective padding. The loose rocks and uneven surface of the paths, do pose quite a risk while speeding downhill.
For walkers, sturdy comfortable shoes,layered clothing for the cold weather, possibly need to shed a layer during the uphill walk. Carry water in backpack, some snacks perhaps, no vendors on the uphill walk.
Reach early, go enjoy!
