After I had been in Mexico City for about 6 months I found myself trying to get away on a weekend into some sort of natural setting. I am not a city boy at heart and although I do love living here, there are always times when you just want to get away. I figured that I may have to take a vacation or something like that in order to get what I was looking for, but then my friend Rose Burillo said that I could find what I was looking for, without actually going too far from the city, surely this wasn’t true!
As it happens, the State of Mexico, which surrounds CDMX, is a place where you can find all that you are looking for and between the two states, there is plenty of nature to get involved in.
La Marquesa
La Marquesa is a national park which is around 40 minutes from the center of the city. Once you leave the city limits you quickly find yourself surrounded by sharp ridges and acres of trees, and then when you get the national park it is a wonderfully silent and relaxing place. La Marquesa is cold and almost like the rolling fields of the UK. Here you will find many places to take a walk, to go on a horse ride or to take your bike out for a spin.
Los Dinamos
This is another national park which is very elevated and found in the Mexico City. There are 4 places where our an get out and walk around, enjoy the river and the hug waterfall too. Alternatively you can go to the 4th section where there is a steep hill to climb, which offers absolutely incredible views from up the top. This takes around 30 minutes from the city center and is a popular place to go and get some fresh air into your lungs.
Xochimilco
Many people forget about the fact that Mexico City was once a vast series of canals and lakes, and this can still very much be explored today. The city itself is built on the dried out lakes, but the canals in the south of the city near Xochimilco, they are still there and perfect for exploration. Xochimilco is famous for these long boats which can be rented called trajineras, and they are certainly good fun. There are however many more places where you can go in this region, to really have some fun on the water in canoes and smaller boats.
And finally we should mention the fact that Mexico City has one of the world’s biggest urban parks in Chapultepec, and if you are not able to get out of the city to visit the other places on this list, then you can at least relax in a glorious natural setting here in this enormous city park.
There are always places to go, despite the fact that the city is so dense.
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