More Close Encounters with Nature

Two Overnight Trips in the Chatino Coffee Country:

Finca Las Nieves

SITTING AMIDST 1,000 sprawling acres of wooded hillside, creeks and towering trees, situated 4,000 feet in the Sierra cloud forest, Finca Las Nieves is a working coffee farm which offers elegant rustic accommodations amid the tranquil beauty of the old-growth mountain forests which shade the coffee plants and shelter native wildlife.

Visitors can hike the miles of trails through the woods, enjoying spectacular views, colorful butterflies, exotic birds and plantlife. You can savor the excellent coffee and learn about the entire coffee-raising process, as well as tour the nearby Chatino towns and villages. Information on this truly tranquil get-away is available at Hotel Santa Fe: 582 0170. www.hotelsantafe.com.mx

Rancho el Sagrado

A QUICK AND ECONOMICAL mountain escape is to a cabin in the woods at Rancho el Sagrado, just an hour north of town on Highway 131 to Oaxaca a few minutes from San Gabriel.

A few years ago the Sierra family, formerly of Oaxaca city, inherited a small coffee plantation which they still operate, but they had the brilliant idea of building comfortable cabins, each with tiled bathrooms, and serving food to create a rustic mountain retreat. Just the thing for visitors and residents of Puerto who want to get away from the heat of the coast. Last month they added a large temescal (sweat lodge).

27-year-old Lalo Sierra speaks English and leads guests on nature hikes in the woods. Otherwise you are on your own to just kick back in a cooler climate - bring a sweater or jacket for the evenings.

To get to Rancho El Sagrado take 131 to the 195 km mark, on the right you will see a sign for the ranch. You can also get to Rancho Sagrado by taking a van going to Oaxaca and getting off in San Gabriel and continuing by taxi. Reservations by e-mail: reserve@ranchoelsagrado.com or visit the site ranchoelsagrado.com.

Botanical Garden

IN 2005 A 17 HECTARE PARCEL of land, which had been slated to become a new municipal dump, was instead donated to the Puerto Escondido campus of the University of the Sea (UMAR) to convert into a botanical garden. The land, much of old growth woods, was clear cut for logging some ten years earlier, then left alone.

Faculty and students went to work on nurturing the land and restoring the plants native to the lowland deciduous forest environment typical of the Oaxacan coast. The garden is made up of a series of hills, which form a gully that becomes a creek during the rainy season.

The Botanical Garden is now ready to receive visitors. Some 2 hectares with meandering trails are available for guided tours. The remainder of the terrain is used for the project's scientific mission of conservation, investigation and propagation of indigenous plants and wildlife.

It is a work in progress, a living museum where you can observe some 800 varieties of 100 species of plants and learn about their morphological, environmental and physiological characteristics, as well as the cultural and economical aspects of Mexican flora, particularly Oaxacan. All these plants have adapted to our specialized climate made up of a 5 to 8 month dry season characterized by the presence of flowers and fruits and the rainy season, when the trees burst into leaf, providing a shady canopy for the entire garden.

As the forest is nursed back to its natural state, so, too, much of the native fauna has returned, including mammals such as: onzas, a small ocelot-like wild cat, foxes, possums, deer, skunks, armadillos, moles, and at least 30 species of birds, not to mention to reptiles and insects.

HOURS: Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free Admission. It is located at kilometre 240 on the highway from Puerto Escondido to Sola de Vega

Santiago Jocotepec

Santiago Jocotepec is a peaceful Chatino community nestled among oak woods in the crystalline air of the Sierras, about 700 metres above sea level. There's a deer nursery, a fenced hectare of oak and brush - - the deer just love those acorns. To the side of the deer enclave is a smaller enclosure, devoted to animals that are far from skittish: the small wild boar, known as jabalí.

Other attractions here are birding - - parrots and toucans are common - - and hikes out to some magnificent waterfalls or to the ancient sacred site of Cerro de la Cometa, "Hill of the Comet". There are two rustic cabins maintained for visitors who wish to spend a night or two. (Overnight stay is $100 pesos per person; Meals are offered for about $30 pesos in the homes of participating families. No charge for fascinating company, tales and legends and local customs.)

Getting There:
On Highway 200. pass through the town of Rio Grande, after the bridge take the first paved road on the right (the sign reads Juquila, Zacatepec). After 11 km there's a turn off onto a dirt road marked "Jocotepec 10 km."

Mata De Ajo

The main attraction of Rancho Mata de Ajo is the iguana hatchery. You'll see both the green and black varieties of this emblematic creature in all its stages of development. The green and black adult iguanas live in a wooded area with tortoises and wild rabbits. The goal of this project is the conservation of the species in the region.

On a 2-3 hour guided tour, visitors can learn about the organic farming practiced here. At present the produce is for local consumption, but the plan is to sell it in other markets in the future. Mata de Ajo is also recovering and using native seeds and plants (corn, watermelon, etc.) that were disappearing from the region..

Getting There:
On the Cost Highway 200, after Rio Grande, beyond the turn offs for Chacahua and Tutútepec, just one km. before your reach Santa Rosa de Lima, look for the small town of Calzada San Miguel. Take the dirt road that runs parallel to the highway (on the north or mountain side) and follow the signs about 4 km. The place is known locally as "El Iguanario", beyond "Zanjón", if you need to ask directions.

Santa Ana

Santa Ana is best known for its complex of beautiful springs and waterfalls. On the way there you'll pass through coffee groves, shaded by enormous, old growth trees. The villagers here also offer cabins for an overnight stay, as well as traditional and natural meals in local homes. Also of note is the aviary which raises chachalacas, a noisy game bird much enjoyed as a culinary treat by the campesinos.

Getting There:
Take the turn off of Highway 200, to Tututepec, at the first Y, stay right towards La Luz. Stay on the road to Santa Cruz to Santa Ana, 17km from the highway.

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