The Pueblo Magico of Capulálpam de Médez was high on our list of highlights to introduce to Steve and Sharon. We reserved 2 rooms at Hotel Chorromonte for 2 nights in the center of the Pueblo, from where we could walk to the restaurants, Traditional Medicine ‘clinics’, and generally get acquainted with the Pueblo.

The Drive In

No -drive in- was required to get from Chorromonte to the trailhead located at the office of Ecoturismo Capulálpam, it was a walk of only a 1 km (2/3 mi).

The Hike

Notes about the Google Earth screenshot: the graph at the bottom shows elevation of the track (pink area) and speed (the blue line).

We met Ulyses, our guide, at the office of Ecoturismo Capulálpam at 9:00 and started shortly on the trail. The trail proceeds through the lush forest of these Sierra Norte mountains. We’re told there are 7 species of pine trees, many species of deciduous trees, a myriad of plants many with medicinal uses, and many species of bromeliads. Like other guides that have accompanied us on hikes here, Ulyses stopped often to point out one or another plant, describe its features and benefits, and answer our questions.

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Epilogue

A new attraction near Capulálpam is the Mirador de Cristal de Ixtlán de Juárez, a glass-bottom balcony extending from the end of a ridge some 800 feet above the pueblo of Ixtlán de Juárez. We enjoyed a great view of the pueblo below and to the surrounding mountains.

Statistics

Total Distance: 2.7 miles
Elevation: start 6,818 ft, maximum 7,122 ft,  minimum 6,802 ft
Gross gain: 314 ft.  Aggregate ascending  781 ft, descending  784 ft
Maximum slope: 36% ascending, 36% descending, 9.4% average
Duration: 2:44

If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out  Using Google Earth Track Files.

Related Posts

Other hikes to Capulálpam
Other hikes around Oaxaca.

References and Resources

Turismo Ecológico Comunitario Capulálpam Mágico: Welcome to Capulálpam
Things to do in Oaxaca: Capulálpam – Sierra Norte, Oaxaca
Oaxaca Mio: Capulálpam de Méndez
Oaxaca Cultural Navigator : Norma Schafer: One Day in Capulálpam de Mendez: Oaxaca’s Pueblo Mágico.
El Universal Oaxaca: Mirador de cristal de Ixtlá de Juárez, Oaxaca …
Escapada: Mirador de Cristal de Ixtlán, la belleza arquitectónica que atrapó a Yalitza Aparicio
Food and Pleasure: Conoce el mirador de Cristal … 100 metros más alto …
And many more via GoogleSearch

George’s Photos w/ Captions: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.