"El Rosario" Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary

It was an incredible experience. The hike is moderate and there are guides along the way. We arrived early, right when they opened and got lucky by seeing many monarchs. By the time we were done, staff started to close the upper section as the butterflies started to fly down. We spent the night before in Angangueo and drove less than 10 minutes to the parking lot. Highly recommended for anyone who hasn't experienced Monarch butterflies.

Truly amazing. I visited at the end of the season, on a Tuesday, 3/18. I was concerned about my timing and the cloudy morning, but was up for a hike through the Michoacan woods regardless. This is a rural community in an argricultural region of MX. There is almost no english spoken, even amongst the available guides provided by the park, so bring your own guide if you want to learn more than what your eyes can tell you. Better yet, brush up on your spanish in order to better appreciate these caretakers of the Monarch Winter nesting area. Everyone was kind and pleasant, unlike when you visit a US beach town the weekend after Labor Day and the locals are completely jaded by the season. Yes, These are the considerations I make when planning travel😁 I stayed at Rancho Cumbre Monarca and HIGHLY recommend. They are close to El Rosario and it is a little oasis, particularly if you have dogs. Back to the experience: You get to the top and you see branches laden with butterflies. The color is dull and camouflage in The Forest, so you may not notice them right away… that is until the sunlight hits the branches and the butterflies drop like Oak leaves in the Fall catching on the wind. That is what makes this experience so hard for people to articulate is that the butterflies don’t fly away, they fall in clusters. It’s amazing. Of course they are flying in the air all around you after these drops but it was beautiful to withhold how graceful the whole dance is. This took some planning an effort to get to the sanctuary and I am so so thankful that I did it! Oh, and I was one of maybe half a dozen tourist that I saw in total that day.

We visited the sanctuary on Feb 18,2025. It was a reasonably warm day. It is quite a bit of climb uphill. We took the help of horses to go half way. From where the horses drop you, it is half way to where the actual site is. If you are not physically fit, it is advisable to take the help of the horses. The air is pretty thin at that height, and you can get out breath. When we reached the site, I was a bit disappointed, as the butterflies are quite far to view with naked eyes. If you are going with the expectation of being swarmed with butterflies all around you, you will be disappointed. There are plenty of butterflies, but they are about 50 to 60 meters away. Initially, you see black clusters that look like beehives. As it gets warmer, the clusters start turning orange. If it is bright sunny day, you might have better experience at being able to see more butterflies active. Bring binoculars to view them up close. If you are planning to take pictures with your cellphone, you will not get good pictures, as the butterflies are quite far. It is still a beautiful experience, to view the wonder of nature.

Wow!!! So many butterflies. This is a bucket list place to visit. I recommend the horse ride to save about 15 minutes of steep uphill hiking. Our family split and two of us rode while the other two walked. The hikers got more interaction with the guide, who was very nice and helpful in pointing out different plants and things along the way. There are lots of opportunities to buy souvenirs and good food. The Monarchs are a precious miracle of nature. I really appreciate the sanctuaries and all the effort that people in Mexico, the USA, and Canada are making to save habitat and plant milkweed along the migration route. We can all contribute and let the government know it's more important than logging or farming in these unique places. This is the reason we came to Mexico. It was totally worth it!

This is an amazing place. The people are very friendly and the butterflies are amazing. However be prepared for a very difficult hike up the mountain. There are 800 steps to start with followed by a 2km dirt trail that is almost straight up. Be aware the elevation is greater than 3000m. We hiked for 90 minutes and still had 35 minutes more to walk when we turned around. The butterflies at the pyramid were enough.

seeing the monarch butterflies has been on my husband’s bucket list for a long time. It was the whole reason that we booked our trip to Mexico City. Getting there from the City was a huge hassle but our hotel helped us to book transportation. It was a 3 hour drive there and more than 4 hours back because of traffic. The hike up to the reserve was nice but unfortunately it was rainy and foggy so all of the butterflies were sheltering in the trees. I felt so bad for my husband but I think he still really enjoyed the experience. There are tons of booths on the way up selling trinkets and/or food and the people working in the booths are very aggressive. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience but I’m not sure I would recommend losing a whole day by making the trek all the way from Mexico City.

This is the second time I've made the trek here and it's well worth it. I visited during a sunny weekday afternoon in January and it wasn't crowded at all. My guide was lovely and had lots of information about not only the monarch butterflies, but the birds we heard and the medicinal uses of the plants we encountered. She told me all about the local ecosystem as well as what it's like to work there and how the preserve also supports the local economy. Keep in mind there is a very steep ~45min hike to the core viewing area. Horses are available to take you part of the way, but a steep hike is unavoidable. Needless to say you need to be in good shape and have good shoes! This hike could be done faster but my guide took us at a relaxed pace due to the elevation. My first tip is to take a decent camera with a telephoto lens, a smartphone just isn't going to capture the beauty and color of the butterflies. My second tip is don't bother with the day tours from CDMX, they're expensive and exhausting. Stay overnight in Angangueo which is a really neat little mountain town with some very good restaurants and cafés. You can take the private bus service from Angangueo directly to the front gate of El Rosario! The drivers (and passengers) were sooo kind and helpful, and the total cost RT was $80 pesos. The bus stop can be found next to the school in Angangueo. Staying overnight here also helps the local economy. There were many butterflies to be seen and they were very active, but I can tell you there are far fewer of them than when I was last here 15 years ago. Tip your guides well and and if you can, make an extra donation to preserve this precious ecosystem (the entry fee is only $100pesos). When you get home, remember to plant milkweed!

An experience of a lifetime. None of the pictures or videos compare to being there. Try to go as early as possible. Definitely have a horse take you up to where the trail starts. We took our time going up the trail and spent some time at the last sightseeing spot where you'll see the most butterflies, and it took us altogether just under 2.5 hours. Wear white, pink, red or purple and perhaps a butterfly will come say hi up close! 💜🦋🥹