The main form of locomotion in man can become a sporting activity.
On foot you can reach many places that would not be reached with vehicles, rafts or any other means. Of course, the walk that is done outside the city is very different from the one we are used to doing on flat terrain and without accidents. These are usually steep slopes, difficult terrain (loose rocks, leaves on the ground, for example) where time needs to be spent. Walking as a sport is increasingly practiced and tours are made through mountains, deserts and jungles that are gradually filling the "blank" spaces on maps around the world.
Necessary equipment
It is advisable to bring two changes of comfortable clothes, personal hygiene tools, tennis shoes or hiking boots, a backpack and a deaf lamp with batteries, a spare bulb and a sun hat. Forty Houses in the desert One of the most interesting walks of the Sierra Tarahumara in its northern part, is the one that takes place along the beautiful path that accesses the archaeological site of Forty Houses.The walk begins in the city of Madera, which we can reach from the Chihuahuan capital or from Ciudad Juárez.At the beginning the path descends along one of the slopes of the ravine, between a beautiful pine and oak forest. You get to the Arroyo del Garabatoy and you cross it by means of a rustic bridge. We continue along the path climbing a rocky slope until we reach the cave. In it is the archaeological site made up of a housing complex of 17 rooms built on several levels made with adobe. The construction corresponds to the Paquimé culture which had its maximum splendor around the 13th and 14th centuries and is testimony to a generally ignored pre-Hispanic past, located in an archaeological zone that shows the high development of the so-called “desert cultures”.
The walk to Forty Houses takes four hours and is comfortable and pleasant, since the path is well prepared.
How to get there The site is 40 km north of Madera on the highway that goes to La Mesa del Huracán. Where the path begins there is a guardhouse of the National Institute of Anthropology and History.Missions of the Sierra Gorda The objective of this tour in Querétaro is to know five interesting missions founded in the 16th century by the Franciscans in their evangelizing work in the midst of an exuberant vegetation.
The first place to visit is Jalpan, where a baroque show begins: its temple built in 1751-1758 is dedicated to Santiago Apóstol and displays a display of shapes and symbols. Then we will start the trip to Landa de Matamoros (1760-1768), whose façade offers niches that keep four Franciscan saints. Concá (1754-1758) is at the other extreme, in the opposite direction from Landa. This mission is the smallest of the Franciscan constructions, but no less beautiful. Later we will go to Tilaco (1754-1762), its beauty is coupled with exuberant vegetation, and Tancoyol (1760-1766) with its very baroque and beautiful ornamentation. This tour takes two or three days. You can also walk to Xilitla and admire the ex-convent of San Agustín, the unique Cueva de Salitre and the Palacio del Inglés.
How to get there From San Juan del Río take highway No. 120 that leads after 197 km to Jalpan, the first point of our walk. Maravillas Chest The most beautiful and accessible route is the one that starts from Los Altos, Veracruz, almost on the other side of the mountain if one is located in Perote. There is a path that leaves the town and goes into a ravine, the most visible from the plain, it is somewhat difficult because it is dotted with loose stones. Little by little, the route passes through a young pine and oyamel forest and then through a grassland area. Here we must be very careful, since for several years people dug into the earth and made tubs everywhere so that the aquifer saturates more quickly and if one deviates from the route there is a risk of falling into one of the they. From here heading to the main summit, we just have to follow the dirt road and then go up the stairs that lead to the rocky summit. The return can be made by the same place or towards Perote, only that there is no path to do it in this last way and the only option is to follow the road. This tour is very easy and you can do it on your own.
How to get there From the city of Puebla take highway 150-D to Acatzingo, here you will find highway 140 that goes to Perote. It has an altitude of 4,282 m (the INEGI gives it a height of 4,250 m) and on its northern side is the city de Perote, which was an obligatory step among travelers who arrived in Veracruz from Europe in transit to the capital of Mexico for many decades. Its original name in Nahuatles Nauhcampatépetly is supposed to have worshiped Mapatecuhtli, Lord of the rain or Four times Lord. It is considered the easternmost elevation of the Neovolcanic mountain range and is the highest mountain in the state of Veracruz (The Pico de Orizaba shares it with Puebla).
