I highly recommend a trip to visit them and am happy to share information on the trip that we did in 2009, the guide we used, the prices etc. You can plan now for a trip next February!
I saw this posting on the Monarch Watch listserv from one of the tour operators regarding the status of the sanctuaries. Sounds like the Mexican govt has made the needed investments to restore the facilities after the 2010 floods:
We were in the State of Michoacan and the State of Mexico from Feb. 08 until March 03 2011 and we are pleased to provide the following report.
Sierra Chincua- The existing guest facilities have been completely demolished and replaced with new entrance buildings ,washrooms and vendor buildings with front decks and rear picnic porches. There are steel art sculptures , stone walls and walkways and decorative grass plantings all at a cost of approximately $4,500,000.00 USD. The style is similar to that seen in a state park. The route to the butterflies was straight up behind the horse corrals for about one hour and then a 15 minute walk down into a valley. The volume of monarchs was moderate ; similar to last year.
Angangueo- The road from Chincua to Angangueo has been completely rebuilt . The road through the north part of town has new stone retaining walls, new concrete spillways gabion stone retaining walls and a completely new road surface. I would estimate the work to date to be approximately 85% complete. The cost to date I would guess to be in the 3 to $ 4,000,000.00 USD range. There are very
few signs of last years damage.
El Rosario- The damaged tree area in the buffer zone south east of the sanctuaries has been completely replanted. They have also planted more trees on the forest floor in the sanctuaries. The butterflies are approx. I hour from the entrance buildings and are moderate to good in number.
Cerro Pelon ( Macheros)- The butterflies are west of the welcome center in the valley below the white cross on the mountain. This means no streaming down the road this year and a one hour walk to the sanctuaries minimum. The walk was worth the effort as the monarch showing was spectacular each time we visited the site. My son Phill was there on Wednesday this week and witnessed entire trees of monarchs releasing at once. In short…just about as good as it gets! The locals felt that by
March 15 a large portion of butterflies will have headed north. My guess is that volumes were very close to last year.
Herrada- ( Valle de Bravo) The locals have diverted a creek to form mud flats near the road. This causes butterflies to stream down the hill to get water and then stream back up the hill. We were told that there were no butterflies in the trees and therefore did not go up the hill. Summary—Very good showing. Moderate number of butterflies. By March 05 last year there were only a very few butterflies at this location. There were signs of a moderate sized colony but they had all left to fly
north.
Visitor Numbers: At all locations there were very few visitors each time we spent time there. Most of the stores and restaurants were closed. All locations reported very low numbers all season from both national and international visitors. My guess is that the visitor numbers are DOWN TO 25 % of what you would expect in a good year. This is the second bad year for visitors. We only had 45 guests this
year, however we were welcomed like we had a group of 1000. The economic impact to all of the above locations has been devastating. This is not my opinion but is feedback from the locals. If they do not rent their horses, serve snacks and drinks in the restaurants or have the admission fees to the sanctuaries to provide an income it will be a very difficult year for them.
Safety and Security: If we were to base our decision to go or not to go this year strictly on the news media and government safety agencies, then we probably would not have gone. Our local Mexican embassy provided us with information, we have family in Michoacan and we have contacts in Michoacan with inside information. From this information we decided to go. Our Report on a regional basis:
Angahuan, Tingambato, Patzcuaro , Santa Clara Del Cobre, all of the sanctuaries and surrounding areas, Valle de Bravo, Ocampo, Maravatio……..No concern at all!
Morelia… Increased police and military presence in the city center…No incidents reported. Tourism is way down this year.
Uruapan…increased State police presence in the city center …. No incidents reported.
Zitacuaro… There was an incident four hours before our arrival. This was not directed at tourists and was no reason for concern to us.
Mexico city airport… This is a world class facility. Unlike other airports there are men and women in orange hats that will help you to find what you are looking for. As long as you buy a taxi ticket before taking a taxi, there is no reason to fear taxi crime as all of these cabs are registered.
Mexico city Historical center …I spent two days here on a tour investigation. Fabulous malls, parks, architecture, fountains etc….etc. …..In short …one of the great cities of the world! I saw many foreign tourists each day. No safety concerns whatsoever.
Teotihuacan archeological site- Fabulous site …no safety concerns.
If you would like to receive the information that was provided to us from the Mexican embassy just send us an email and we will forward the information ….. rocamar@rocamar.com.mx
Respectfully submitted ….Paul Justice….Rocamar Tours.
