Witness the Monarch Butterfly Spectacle

Sixteen miles from Valle de Bravo, in the western foothills of Nevado de Toluca, there’s Piedra Herrada Sanctuary. Each year, it welcomes the monarch butterfly, which travels from Canada to spend winter in the forests of Mexico. Imagine the landscape: towering, imposing mountains over 9,840 feet high. Here, the monarch butterfly finds sacred firs, the tree that provides the insect with the right conditions for reproducing. The site can be reached by a 25-minute hike or on horseback. To get there, take the road that goes from Toluca to Temascaltepec and then take the detour toward Valle de Bravo, at approximately 12 miles you’ll find the road to Piedra Herrada

Useful Information

Besides Piedra Herrada, you’ve got other options for seeing monarch butterflies in Estado de México. A few of these include the Cerro Pelón Sanctuary, in El Capulín, or Ejido La Masa, in the municipality of San José del Rincón.