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- Mar 1, 2008
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I took a trip to see the monarch migration in 2005 and thought I'd post a few pics. My wife and I went to Angangeuo, Mexico. Here is a shot of a typical street.
Here is the entrance to the park. There are several Monarch protected areas around Angangueo. It's best to ask someone local where the most monarchs are at a given time. Here is the entrance to the area we visited.
Once in the park it's about a 2 hour hike upwards to find the monarchs. One can rent a horse but we decided to walk. Farther up from here it gets very dusty. The ground is like ash and it's about 6-8 inches deep. You can't avoid stirring up the dust. Before you get that high they sell disposable dust masks. We didn't buy any and really regretted it. We ate dust for hours.
When we were there, the government had just chased away a large illegal logging operation that, every day, was cutting hundreds of 100 year old cedars the monarchs use . The illegal loggers operated for almost a year before the Mexican government sent in the military. No one was ever caught or arrested. Good ol' Mexico. There was lots of evidence of logging.
Once high enough, there were thousands of pieces of monarch wings on the ground. Even higher, finally the monarchs.
It's definitely a worthwhile trip. I didn't hunt tarantulas on this trip but I'm sure they are found there. The weather is cool and dry in February. We flew into Mexico City and took a bus to Angangueo (about 6 hours). Accommodations are very limited in Angangueo, so it's best to have reservations. More and more hotels are opening to accommodate the tourists.
Here is the entrance to the park. There are several Monarch protected areas around Angangueo. It's best to ask someone local where the most monarchs are at a given time. Here is the entrance to the area we visited.
Once in the park it's about a 2 hour hike upwards to find the monarchs. One can rent a horse but we decided to walk. Farther up from here it gets very dusty. The ground is like ash and it's about 6-8 inches deep. You can't avoid stirring up the dust. Before you get that high they sell disposable dust masks. We didn't buy any and really regretted it. We ate dust for hours.
When we were there, the government had just chased away a large illegal logging operation that, every day, was cutting hundreds of 100 year old cedars the monarchs use . The illegal loggers operated for almost a year before the Mexican government sent in the military. No one was ever caught or arrested. Good ol' Mexico. There was lots of evidence of logging.
Once high enough, there were thousands of pieces of monarch wings on the ground. Even higher, finally the monarchs.
It's definitely a worthwhile trip. I didn't hunt tarantulas on this trip but I'm sure they are found there. The weather is cool and dry in February. We flew into Mexico City and took a bus to Angangueo (about 6 hours). Accommodations are very limited in Angangueo, so it's best to have reservations. More and more hotels are opening to accommodate the tourists.