Itinerary for 7 days and 6 nights

DAY 1:

You can travel by bus (Primera Plus, 8:10am) or in your own car. During the first part of the trip you will see a wide variety of cacti, followed by nothing but lush, green vegetation upon entering the reserve.  The meeting place is La Cañada (Pinal de Amoles), where you will climb aboard the minibus or suburban train  at 11, having lunch half an hour later in the "El Mirador de Cuatro Palos" café  from where we will enjoy the magnificent view (below) followed by a walk along a path to the highest point.

 At 1:30 we leave for Chuveje, where we will walk for a short while alongside the river in a shady and cool valley until we reach the magnificent waterfall. This walk gives you the chance to see birds and sometimes you can even see the green macaw. We leave at 5 for Jalpan.

DAY 2:

Breakfast is at 9am so that we can leave for Concá, where we will visit the Misión (one of five historic churches in the region erected by Fray Junípero Serra) and the Árbol Milenario (One Thousand Year-Old Tree). At 12:30 we will go to Adjuntas, where there will be some free time to swim, walk along the picturesque river or do some bird watching. We will then return to Jalpan to spend the night there.

DAY 3:

DAfter breakfast, our trip takes us to Landa de Matarnoros, where we will visit the Misión and the Museo Comunitario (Community Museum). We will then leave the highway and climb an isolated and picturesque mountain range in order to reach Soledad de Guadalupe, where we will visit the ceramic workshop to see how these crafts are made. This is the perfect opportunity to make our own clay pieces and buy local handicrafts. After that, we will enjoy a campirana meal in the beautiful, quiet forest.

Shortly afterwards we leave for San Juan de los Durán. Whilst climbing, it is interesting to see how the vegetation changes - we begin in the valley with plants which appear dry and almost unhealthy (subdeciduous and deciduous tropical forest), reaching the oak forests, then the juniper forest, and finally the pine forest. On arrival at San Juan we will each go to our cabañas (wooden lodges). There will be time for a walk before dinner at the hotel inn.

DAY 4:

After breakfast we will take a walk to La Joya (left) with our community guide and enjoy a lunch of tacos, fruit, etc. Later we can take part in a baker’s workshop, make tortillas or even enjoy some free time. After dinner there will be another bonfire beneath the stars or a guapango dance lesson.

DAY 5:

After breakfast we leave for Xilitla to visit las Pozas de Edward James. We’ll have lunch and then go to Tilaco to visit the Misión. We will then return to Jalpan to spend the night.
 

DAY 6:

After breakfast we will leave for the Rio Escanela (Escanela River) to visit the Puente de Dios. Lunch will be served in the tourist project and shortly thereafter we leave to visit the former convent of Bucareli. At the end of the day we return to Jalpan.

DAY 7:

After breakfast we will visit the Presa where we can go rowing or perhaps watch birds and then visit the Centro Tierra (Earth Centre) to attend the “Biodiversity Conservation in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve” program. We will have lunch in the Centro Tierra and look back over our trip. Here, our experience will come to an end along the Conservation Route.

Contact Us:

e-mail: ecotours@sierragorda.net

Tels. (441) 296 02 42/29 ó (441) 296 07 00

Jalpan de Serra, Querétaro, Méx.