When the sun is out and they flutter about, you see them in full glory orange as that’s the colour on the other side of the wings. When they sleep they have their wings together and you see the white/grey side of the wings. It looks just like the trees have lots of rotten leaves on them. The guide told me that there had been about 10cm of snow here in early January, it was very beautiful to see the oranje butterflies against the white background.Ī little further into the forest I first noticed the butterflies hanging from the trees. You’re really at an altitude here, over 3,000 meters. At the top there is a pretty meadow,parts of the shrubs here were still frozen. It’s a steep climb on a well-cared for forest path. We walked up the mountain slowly, stopping now and then to look for birds (many hummingbirds here) or catch breath. Entrance to the park is now 50 pesos (about 3 EUR), for which you also get a (compulsory?) guide assigned to you. I choose El Rosario for my visit, as it’s the most accessible park. My visit as described below was on Friday January 17, and I arrived at the butterfly viewing point at about 10.45 a.m. Finally, the parks are the busiest in the weekends when Mexican daytrippers are visiting. They will fly out for the day when they feel the sun glowing on their wings, so a sunny day is better than a clouded one. The little creatures stay “in bed” (huddled together hanging from a tree branch) when it’s too cold. Considering which month, February is supposedly the best with January and early March as alternatives. There are varying reports about what is the best time to see the butterflies. I had witnessed that already the day before when driving from Morelia to Zitacuaro via the mountain road #15. The landscape around here is very un-Mexican, more Alpine or Nepalese. From there it’s an easy drive up into the mountains where the butterflies stay for the winter. I stayed overnight in the nearest city, Zitacuaro. This is such a unique WHS, and my visit was all that I had hoped for.
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