Tlaxcala is the smallest state in Mexico. However, it has a great tourist offer.
To the Northwest of the capital of Tlaxcala is Nanacamilpa, a municipality that houses a magical place where summer nights cover a coniferous and oyamel forest to make the ideal setting in which thousands of fireflies illuminate the darkness with their incandescence.
There are other activities to do in Nanacamilpa to enjoy outdoors, as a couple or as a family. And so that you get more out of your visit, we present 12 activities that you can do Nanacamilpa.
The 12 activities you can do in Nanacamilpa:
1. Visit the Sanctuary of the Fireflies
A natural spectacle that occurs during the warm summer nights, between the months of July and August. A phenomenon worth enjoying.
Below is a video of how fireflies look like:
2. Hiking
Fill your lungs with fresh air observing birds, rabbits, deer, tuzos and all the fauna that inhabits the forests, while you enjoy a pleasant walk.
Below is a video of what it is like to walk in Nanacamilpa:
3. Feed the deer
If you travel as a family, the little ones will love the great experience of feeding these mammals that inhabit the forest and that from time to time come to nearby ecotourism centers.
4. Horseback riding
The ecotourism centers in the area offer horseback riding to enjoy the trails and enjoy nature.
5. Observe the stars
It will be a pleasant experience to lie on the grass and enjoy the darkness of the stellar mantle and, if you are lucky, admire a shower of stars.
6. Enjoy its gastronomy
The food of Tlaxcala is famous for dishes such as: barbecue, mixiotes, maguey worms, quesadillas, quelites, tamales, chicken to the penca and the very traditional wallpaper trout, among other delicacies that you can taste during your visit.
7. Visit the Municipal Palace
Be sure to visit this historic building that houses the offices of the Nanacamilpa City Council.
8. Visit the old railway station
Another historical building worth visiting, since the pulque shipments left for the capital from here.
9. Make camping
There are several ecotourism places with a reserved area and the necessary services to place your tent and live an adventure experience and enjoy nature.
10. Enjoy a bonfire
In the areas designated for camping, you can make a bonfire enjoying the crackling of the flames, while listening to the sounds of the night or telling legends, with no other light than that of the fire and the stars.
11. Visit the exhaciendas
Nanacamilpa has a great architectural wealth formed by old farms that were important in their times, due to the production of pulque, so you can take a tour to learn about its history and take beautiful photographs.
12. Toast with pulque
And to close your visit to Tlaxcala with a flourish, nothing like or enjoy a good pulque and toast a soon return to the Sanctuary of the Fireflies.
How to get to Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala?
The easiest way to get there is by car. When leaving Mexico City, you must take the federal highway Mexico - Puebla and follow the Texmelucan - Calpulalpan deviation, which will take you directly to Nanacamilpa.
What to see in the town of Nanacamilpa?
Although the main attractions of this place are outside the town, before venturing to know everything you can do, we recommend you take a walk through the main square, while enjoying a snow or a delicious Pulque (a drink that is extracted of the maguey).
You can also visit the parish of San José, patron of this community, which is located right in front of the main square.
On March 19 the festival is held in honor of San José, and although the sense is religious, it is also known as the Pulque Fair.
In this festival the gastronomy of Tlaxcala is present and you can taste snacks such as tlacoyos, mixiotes, barbecue, ´quelites, quesadillas and the traditional drink par excellence of Tlaxcala: natural or cured pulque.
Cabins in Nanacamilpa
Very close to the municipal seat, there are eco-tourist cabins that are located a few kilometers from the Sanctuary of the Fireflies.
Villas of the Forest of Santa Clara
An ecotourism complex that is located 9 kilometers from the municipal seat, Nanacamilpa and has cabins to accommodate couples or groups of four to seven people with everything you need for a pleasant stay.
It has a restaurant that offers the most representative of Tlaxcala cuisine: tlacoyos, quesadillas, cuts of meat, served with handmade tortillas.
Rancho San Pedro
On the outskirts of the municipality of Nanacamilpa is this eco-tourist center, around a lake that has cabins, a dining room, a camping area and where you can carry out activities such as boat rentals, horseback riding or enjoy the sports fields.
This place is located on Avenida Revolución, without number, Nanacamilpa.
Villas del Bosque Santa Clara
They are rustic cabins that can accommodate up to four people. It also has a camping area, rental of sports equipment and an area for bonfires.
They are located in front of the Blue Lagoon, on the road to San Matías Tlalancaneca, Nanacamilpa.
Places To Visit in Nanacamilpa
Without hesitation we can say that the letter of presentation of this place is the Sanctuary of the Fireflies, a forest that is only 22 minutes by car from Nanacamilpa.
But there are other places of great attraction, such as some shops that are a great architectural and cultural heritage of this area:
Hacienda San Cayetano
Located 6.5 kilometers from Nanacamilpa. It is a construction with adobe and concrete walls and a white and red facade. It has a chapel built in the 19th century in honor of San Cayetano.
Occasionally it is rented for events and as a hotel in the firefly watching season. However, throughout the year activities related to the process of making pulque are carried out in a route called: To the flavor and wonders of the maguey.
It is located just 20 minutes from Nanacamilpa, at Juan Escutia number 201, Niños Héroes neighborhood.
Hacienda Ixtafiayuca
Another pulquera hacienda built in the 19th century and currently rented for special events or to house small groups of people who want to spend a few days relax in a colonial environment.
It offers activities such as a pulque-making workshop, a healing plant workshop, a firefly museum, horseback riding, soccer, zip-lining and, obviously, a visit to the firefly sanctuary in July and August.
It has the capacity to house 120 people in firefly season. It is also rented for special events and reservations are required. It is located 13 minutes by car from the municipal seat, 7 kilometers following Federal Highway 136.
La Calera Farm
Built in the 16th century and in its time it was the main source of lime production, which served to make a large part of the buildings in New Spain in colonial times.
Parish of San José
In honor of the patron saint of Nanacamilpa, whose festivities take place in the second half of March and which is also known as the Pulque Fair.
It is said that it was the chapel of a hacienda built in the 16th century, although the parish has been known as such since the 19th century.
Firefly sanctuary
It is a beautiful forest of ancestral trees inhabited by rabbits, gophers, squirrels, deer and birds, all are silent accomplices of these unique insects, who chose this place to illuminate the darkness with thousands of incandescent lights, making a magical phenomenon.
It is in the months of June, July and August, when the darkness of the forest is painted green due to the thousands of lights that randomly turn on and off, indicating that the beetles are in the mating season.
It is quite a ritual to watch the females generate neon light in the lower part of their abdomen to attract male fireflies. This phenomenon is known as bioluminesence.
The sighting begins at 8:30 at night and the spectacle offered by these insects is so beautiful that it is necessary to reserve your accommodation several months in advance to be able to witness this phenomenon up close.
To live this natural experience in the best way, it is advisable to refrain from using the camera flash, using a cell phone, lighting lamps or any object that causes artificial light, since this will scare off fireflies and the show will lose its charm.
In the surrounding eco-tourist centers they offer guided tours of the Sanctuary and give you detailed information about this event.
Eco Hotel Piedra Canteada
Among a wide wooded area near the Sanctuary of the Fireflies, is this eco-tourist center. It has 17 comfortable cabins equipped with double-size beds, fireplace and full bathroom with capacity for two to six people.
It has a camping area (in case you want to take your own tent), a games area, a load of firewood to make a fire, tables, grills and a restaurant with capacity for 50 people.
This pleasant complex is located on the road to Atzompa (no number) in the municipality of San Felipe Hidalgo, Tlaxcala.
Visiting the towns of Mexico is always an enriching experience, since they allow you to oxygenate your spirit and enjoy a life without haste and at a calmer pace in a rustic and simple environment with unique natural landscapes.
This place is an excellent alternative to experience nature to the fullest and enjoy the spectacle offered by thousands of fireflies every summer; so write it down on your list of places to visit now that you know what to do in Nanacamilpa. Don't stop sharing your experience with us.
