the 3 best things of the Sierra Gorda

What to do in the Sierra Gorda

We struggled to find information about what to do around the city just north of Mexico City, Santiago Querétaro.  We wanted to go ‘into the wild’ as we really enjoyed our camping trips in the UK and the Netherlands this summer (click on the country for the articles). La Sierra Gorda is perfect for a camping trip/ roadtrip from Querétaro but is even within reach for people who live in or visit Mexico City.

We knew about the Sierra Gorda but struggled to find much information (only some things on Mexican websites). Even the Lonely Planet said hardly anything about it. We found out that it is definitely worth going to this area of Mexico and spending at least a few days here. We did some research and decided to rent a car, borrow a tent, buy a comal (a traditional Mexican cooking pan) and head into the Sierra Gorda for 4 days. Here are the three things that you shouldn’t miss when you go, and you should combine them for a really nice holiday ‘in the wild’.

top 3 of the Sierra Gorda

1. The waterfall of Tamul
2. Edward James’ Las Pozas
3. Roadtrip & camping

The waterfall of Tamul

This is a must see waterfall! It is so stunning that we went back the next day to see it from a different angle. You can go here by boat or lancha and paddle upstream(!) towards the waterfall, and that’s what we did. We went on the first day the river was open for the boats, as until that day the current was too strong to paddle against it. Still the captain and his assistant were at times struggling to paddle us and a big family of 8 towards the waterfall.

The next day we drove to a point where we crossed the river, again by boat. From there we walked through a jungly path until we reached several viewpoints to see the waterfall from where it falls down, and then from below at the other side.

Edward James’s Las Pozas

This is really crazy. Buildings without any use, hidden in the jungle near the cute town Xilitla. It is an absurd, surrealist dream made real by a rich Englishman, obsessed with concrete and Salvador Dalí.

soon I will add a small video about Las Pozas. So come back to our blog next week for the update.

Roadtrip & camping

roadtrip

We got a car in Querétaro, the smallest car available so it seemed. But we are used to that since we drove around in a Micra in England. We even took it on some really off road patches near the waterfall. Although it was a bit scary and slow, it did get us everywhere. The landscapes you will see on this trip are truly amazing! You will pass from cactus desert to lush tropical to ancient pine tree forest. This was a real highlight in itself for us. Also there are several cute towns and missions; villages with churches that were set up by colonial priests. We really liked the little town Xilitla, near the waterfall, where we were also lucky to see a day of the dead/ Dia de Muertos parade (link to photos).

camping

There are quite a few places that offer camping, you’ll see the signs whilst driving. They usually have basic showers and toilets, a bbq area, and if you’re lucky a river view. They charged us around 150 pesos for two people with a tent. We tried to get hold of a little gas tank to cook on, but didn’t manage. So we just cooked everything on firewood – we managed to cook pasta, hot dogs and coffee. It’s a long process to collect the firewood, make a fire, cook on the charcoal but the benefit is you can make several ‘hobs’ so you can cook two things at the same time. But… Get a little gas cooker it will be so much easier!!

Here’s our itinerary:

link to google maps, make sure the to tick the box ‘avoid tollways’ (expensive and for this journey won’t save more than 10 minutes) 

If you want to see some cool places to visit in the city Santiago de Querétaro, check these places:

• cerveceria / brunch place
• mezcaleria/ bar

After the Sierra Gorda, we went to Baja California, for another camping trip. Later this week I will add the link here. Please let us know what you think, if you have any questions, and subscribe to receive updates.