Monarch butterflies have one of the most important migrations in the world, from southern Canada to the oyamel forests in the States of Mexico and Michoacan, you will be surprised by their fragility but at the same time their strength.
You can hear its flapping!
You will learn about their biology, migration routes, their journey from Canada, the dangers, their predators and their life cycle.
We will have a walk of approximately 40 minutes to reach the butterfly colony, if you prefer you can go on horseback (extra cost).
After admiring this beautiful natural phenomenon, we will enjoy a delicious meal with ingredients from the region.
We will return to Mexico City at approximately 6:30 pm.
Posted By : Jordan_d
After we got picked up we took the drive to the mountain. The guide was very informative during the drive and helped us understand the culture surrounding the butterflies and sanctuary. On the hike up it felt like we were approaching a magical location as the butterflies slowly increased in numbers. The local guide at the location was excellent, although didn't speak English but made the effort to point out interesting things we saw. We went with our 3 year old so I carried him most of the way and was getting severely winded about 80% of the way up. The guides pushed us to continue and even carried our son a portion of the way to help us up because they wanted to make sure we saw this awesome experience and it was well worth it. The butterflies covered the trees and local guides shared their binoculars to allow us closer looks. The hike down was much easier and we were treated to lunch which was delicious. This was a great trip
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Posted On : 2024-03-06 10:37:14 
Posted By : Cristina_S
The Butterfly Sanctuary is a magical place in March. The sun and warm temperatures allowed for the full display of joyful and playful butterfly flight. It is a uniq experience that fulfills many senses. Marta and Alonzo (guide and driver) were wonderful, friendly, caring, knowledgeable and attentive individuals. Brava to all.
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Posted On : 2024-03-05 13:40:33
Posted By : joannatT4
We highly recommend this tour with Alfonso and Martha as we spent an amazing day with them.
The pickup at the hotel is very smooth and the drive, though quite long, comprises a stop in a petrol station for coffee/toilet.
Arriving at the reserve, the breakfast is local and tasty, and if you wish you can ask for a horse ride up/down for an extra fee.
We were lucky enough to do this tour end of February as it was the best time to see tons of lively butterflies.
Be aware that this is a tour in nature, meaning you cannot control everything such as the weather or the location, quantities, and behaviors of butterflies.
But the fact that this tour comprises a "tortilla workshop" part (baking your own tortilla and making your salsa), which can happen under any weather, makes this tour less "all or nothing" than others in case of bad weather.
We really got good contact with Alfonso and Martha who even stopped on the way down so that we could go look up for some axolotl before heading back to Mexico City after this magical nature day.
In short, if you are a nature lover respectful of the fact that nature is unpredictable, and willing to have a sneak peek into Mexican gastronomy with really nice people, this tour is for you :)
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Posted On : 2022-03-28 13:28:21 
Posted By : JILL_R
The weather and wildfires affected the number of butterflies we saw, but what we did see was magical (small number of butterflies fluttering in the sky and eventually down around us). We got picked up at our accommodations (very nice, rather than having to get ourselves to a meeting point) a little early (6:25am). At our prompting we stopped for a bathroom break at 9am and arrived to the sanctuary at 10:45am. Due to clouds, she suggested we forego the breakfast and go immediately to see the butterflies, so we did. We got back down around 1:30pm, basically starving. So, do NOT rely on this tour to provide breakfast and lunch as promised, but take your own food for breakfast. The lunch was amazing (highly recommend the chicken soup). Afterwards we made tortillas AND salsa, so that was wonderful. We also learned when we arrived that our guide was not the bilingual guide, that guide was sick that day. The guide's English was fine, but I could tell she was nervous and didn't speak very much as a result. Don't feel like I learned as much as I could have. Overall, it was a long day with a lot of driving, but a good experience that I'm glad we did.
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Posted On : 2022-02-14 08:51:13
Posted By : Martin_S
On the evening prior to the tour we called our tour guide Marta to arrange pickup at our hotel. Marta was very nice and and agreed immediately to pick us up at at 6:30AM at our hotel, which was about 1 mile away from the official pickup location. We are were also surprised that we were the only tour guests. The ride to the actual butterfly preserve took about 3 hours each way. Marta, who speaks very good English and the driver, Alfonso, were excellent throughout the entire day. The butterfly preserve was an amazing experience. We had picked the right time of the year to go, since the butterflies migrate back north in March.
At the preserve we also enjoyed the workshop on the various regional foods. It was 'hands-on', informative and a lot of fun. There are also various shops where guests have the opportunity to pick up souvenirs from local artisans.
Marta was an excellent, super-nice and knowledgeable tour guide. We highly recommend this tour.
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Posted On : 2020-03-21 13:08:56
Posted By : Catherine_F
It’s a very long way to go from the city but totally worth it if you love nature
The guide was fantastic
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Posted On : 2020-03-04 05:55:55
