One of the main reasons we love Cuernavaca is the wild nature that surrounds the city.
To the south of the city there are dozens of freshwater springs called “manantiales” such as the famous borbollón spring at “Las Estacas” Natural Park. To the east you will find the luscious valleys and rocky crags of Tepoztlán and Amatlán. And to the north, you will find the high mountain ridges, extinct volcanoes and pine forests that form the dividing line between Cuernavaca and Mexico City.
But if you go north-west, along the old woodland road to Chalma, you will find something particularly special.
We have been down this road many times with Spanish immersion students when we visit Chalma and the pueblo mágico of Malinalco. But you don’t need to go so far out of Cuernavaca to find some incredibly beautiful places.
This is our guide for a beautiful, non-touristic day-excursion into nature, not far from Cuernavaca.
The route takes you through the pine woods to a trout restaurant called “Las Truchas los Alcatraces” in a tiny, picturesque village called Mexicapa. From Mexicapa, if you are feeling adventurous, you can leave your car and hike up a steep hill to a secret mountain shrine with outstanding views overlooking the valley.
And of course, at the end of the day, you can treat yourself to a delicious trout meal at Los Alcatraces.
Leaving Cuernavaca: The Road to Mexicapa
To get to the “Truchas Los Alcatraces” restaurant from Cuernavaca you need to go to the village of Mexicapa. To get onto the Mexicapa road from Cuernavaca, take the steep hill out of Cuernavaca known as “Subida a Chalma”. This road takes you high up into the woods above the city and there are some wonderful views back down the valley as you are going up. As you climb the mountain, the temperature of the air becomes noticeably cooler. As you finally enter the woods, the air starts to smell of pine and the hum of the city’s traffic fades away.
When you reach the top of the hill, the road takes a sharp left and is signposted towards “Chalma” or “Buenavista del Monte”.
This is the start of the ancient road to Mexicapa.
A Quick Stop at the Tlatempa Viewpoint
After 20 minutes of driving through the beautiful pine forest on the Mexicapa road we recommend taking a short detour in the village of Tlatempa. The village itself is small and doesn’t have many attractions, but the views from the entrance to the village are spectacular. On a good day you can see right across the valley to Tequesquitengo Lake and beyond. Looking up the hill you can see the towering extinct volcano of Ajusco, which forms the high-point on the mountain range between Mexico City and Cuernavaca.
A Hidden Pilgrimage Shrine in the Mountains
For anyone who loves hiking, there is a secret shrine you can visit, just before you get into the village of Mexicapa. The hike is a steep climb up a rocky path that takes you high above the village and deep into the pine forest. It is not for the faint-hearted (or physically unfit) because the path is steep and strenuous and there are several sections that require some more difficult scrambling over rocks.
The shrine was made by Catholic pilgrims who, every year, make the pilgrimage to Chalma in the week leading up to Ash Wednesday.
This pilgrimage to Chalma is one of the most vibrant and longest-running traditions of this part of Mexico. Pilgrims will walk for dozens of miles across mountainous terrain to reach the village of Chalma, where they will often ask for a miracle or a blessing from the Señor de Chalma or the sacred Ahuahuete tree.
Some pilgrims will walk from over 100km away and their journey can take over one week to complete.
We personally are not religious, but we still enjoy hiking up to the shrine because it is always decorated with colorful flags, ribbons, flowers and personal items that the pilgrims leave behind.
And the views from the top are stunning.
Wildflowers
The nature in this part of Mexico is so diverse. Every time we have been up into the woods we see different colors of plants and flowers. Every season there are new surprises. Keep an eye out for these beautiful orange flowers that often cover the verges and banks. The woods are also home to many different species of beautiful birds, as well as animals like possums and cacomixtles.
How to Find the Shrine
It’s not easy to explain how to find the start of the path that leads up to the shrine. This is the best we can do:
On the final sharp bend in the road before you arrive in Mexicapa there are two big boulders on the right hand edge of the road. This is the start. It’s not easy to find the start of the path as the entrance is often overgrown, but once you are on the path, the route to the shrine is easy – it’s just straight up the hill, all the way there.
If you are interested in visiting the shrine and you would like some more detailed instructions, then please feel free to reach out via email (info@iguanaabroad.com) or WhatsApp at (+52) 7775078938.
Continuing to Las Truchas Los Alcatraces
After visiting the shrine it’s time to visit the “Truchas Los Alcatraces” restaurant in Mexicpa. The restaurant is entirely built of wood and feels similar to a Swiss alpine cabin. The tables are laid out across a large wooden terrace overlooking the woods and the gardens below. For the best experience, try to get a table near the terrace edge because the views will be better from here. The service in the restaurant is rustic and amiable. From the kitchen you can occasionally smell the fragrant aromas of the pine smoke from the traditional leña fires that they use to heat the comales to cook the food.
While you are waiting for your food to arrive, or before you order, we recommend taking a stroll around the beautiful gardens below the restaurant. All the trout served in the restaurant is reared in the lakes and streams located in the restaurant garden. Walking around the garden, amongst the lawns and the flowerbeds, you can see the fish swimming in the clear water. If you want to walk further afield there is a rickety wooden bridge crossing the river that takes you deeper into the garden where there are some beautiful mature trees, large agaves (on which generations of visitors have carved their names) and plenty of flowers and plants to enjoy.
What to Eat at Los Alcatraces
The restaurant specializes in trout which are locally sourced from the lake located on the property. There are lots of other options on the menu too, but the trout is the most typical option. We would recomend this if you haven’t been before.
You can order the fish either fried or steamed in foil. We recommend the steamed option. The fish cooks in its own juices and becomes incredibly tender and flavourful. There are lots of flavours to choose from. Last time we visited we tried the “A la Diabla” which was steamed in a spicy red chile sauce and a second one (I forget the name now) which contained flor de calabaza, epazote and lots of other locally sourced herbs and quelites plants, which was superb. This second one was the unanimous favorite.
The restaurant also serves a wide variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as traditional Mexican snacks such as tlacoyos, huaraches and quesadillas.
How to Get There from Cuernavaca
For this trip it is much easier if you have your own car because there is no public transport.
We have once or twice walked there from Cuernavaca, through the forest, and hitchhiked back, but this is not recomended as it is not certain that you will find a ride home.
Shared taxis do occasionally pass between Ocuilan and Cuernavaca but the timetable is irregular and they cannot be relied on.
With a car you also have the flexibility to stop at Tlatempa on the way, and also stop to take any photos from the various viewpoints that you will find along the road, as well as visiting the shrine.
The route to Las Truchas los Alcatraces is easy to find on Google Maps.
