Cerro Pelon Monarch butterfly sanctuary.
3.1

Cerro Pelon Monarch butterfly sanctuary.

By Touring Mexico City
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Ages 15-80, max of 4 per group
Duration: 7–12 hours
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English, Spanish
More


  • Private transportation
  • Fuel surcharge
  • Parking Fees
  • Saddles
  • Tollroads
What's not included
  • Gratuities
  • Breakfast
  • WiFi on board
  • Alcoholic Beverages


Start:Multiple pickup locations offered.
    Hotel pickup offered
    During checkout you will be able to select from the list of included hotels.
      End:This activity ends back at the meeting point.

        • Not wheelchair accessible
        • Service animals allowed
        If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 229724P3

        • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
        • Not recommended for travellers with back problems
        • Not recommended for pregnant travellers
        • No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
        • Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
        • This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
        • This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
        • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 4 travellers

        • For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

        If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 229724P3

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        About the operator
        Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
        • Touring Mexico City
          3.9 of 5 bubbles26
          Mexico City, Mexico
          Joined in December 2019
        • theodorebroda
          0 contributions
          5.0 of 5 bubbles
          A Pedal Tour of the the Quintessential Mexico City
          From the expansive bustling Zócalo on the ruins of the Templo Mayor, to the soaring skyscrapers of the Paseo de la Reforma, purple jacaranda-lined avenues, art and anthropology museums, Belle Epoque architecture of the Postal Palace and Palace of Fine Arts, local churrerias, pulquerias, and taquerias, and of course the impressive hilltop views from Chapultepec Palace, this tour gives you the full cultural and aesthetic experience of CDMX along with a aerobic workout. José is an outgoing, knowledgeable tour guide with fluent English and a passion for history. If you only have a brief time in CDMX, this tour is the perfect way to experience the soul of the city.
          Written 18 May 2024
        • luwanam2024
          0 contributions
          5.0 of 5 bubbles
          Mexico City March 24 🇲🇽
          Where do I start!! Never in my life have I experienced such a unique roller coaster of emotions. I basically felt like a little kid free to roam around and explore! This was my very first time in Mexico city and wont be my last thats forsure!! Haha the view, the people, the FOOD and the art etc was a breathtaking experience. Site seeing was an amazing experience theres SO much to do. As we had our days planned and arranged for Mr.Jose to guide us. The comfortable of having our experienced trip advisor Mr. Jose navigate us around was a very comforting experience. 👏 he was very professional, attentive to us all and was very great at elaborating the history of each site we visited. I definitely recommend taking Mr. Jose as an advisor because you don't have to worry about finding a ride. Your entire group joining can fit in one ride together and return together and safe! We had nothing but good laughs and learned so much of Mexico city! I'm definitely ready to return and experience more! Thank you Mr. Jose for making mexcio city an experience of a life time!
          Written 16 May 2024
        • WaheedahC1
          0 contributions
          5.0 of 5 bubbles
          A beautiful experience
          I had the best time. The tour guide Jose was amazing. Very knowledgeable, polite, on time and acknowledge. He also accommodated me in my personal needs. Mexico City is beautiful and he brought it to life. I do recommend.
          Written 15 May 2024
        • active_traveller_UK
          0 contributions
          5.0 of 5 bubbles
          Highly Recommended
          We used touring Mexico City for 2 days during February: the first to visit Cholula and Puebla, the second for the butterfly experience at Cerro Pelon. On our first day, to Cholula and Puebla, we found at the last minute that our driver would be Rafael – whom we did not know. A moment of concern – but he actually turned out to be excellent for the trip, was knowledgeable, calm, an excellent driver and allowed us to 'do our own thing' in the two centres. The second day was the Cerro Pelon butterfly tour. Having researched, I was pleased that we had found what, to us, was the best solution. The Cerro Pelon area is not overwhelmed with tourists the way the others are. There is an opportunity to help the local people a little with our business at the same time as having a great trip up a beautiful mountain to experience the Monarchs. Jose's 'package' included all costs (although we added some tips) and details, so we knew exactly what we were letting ourselves in for. It probably worked out cheaper than going on a bus tour (2 of us) or trying a DIY, which would have meant spending the night somewhere else. Having some doubts about the altitude, without time to acclimatise, we rode the horses some of the way. However, eventually we decided to give them a rest, walked the remainder to the top and down the other side. So, although this area is said to be more 'challenging' it was not too much of a problem with equine help, as long as you can manage rough walking at 3,000-3,500 metres. (Both of us aged over 70 but experienced mountain walkers.) Jose was excellent, walked all the way to the top himself and had clearly done the tour many times before. Overwhelmingly the experience was brilliant, but with the small caveat that Jose's administrative skills were not the best. We weren't absolutely sure until the last minute that all would go well, as he's often away driving, there was some delay in getting details organised and he was difficult to contact if you didn't have a phone which worked in Mexico. However, all went well for us in the end. You probably don't have to worry if you have that experience, too. Highly recommended.
          Written 9 April 2023
        • adamlP7902FN
          0 contributions
          5.0 of 5 bubbles
          Phenomenal Tour and Amazing Guide!
          José was fantastic. He put together a great customized itinerary for us, from the culturally significant, to happening restaurants and bars - all over a very busy dia de los muertos holiday season. José was friendly, knowledgeable, professional, adaptable, and really cared about the experience that his group was having. He went above and beyond several times to make sure that we got the experience we were looking for, and was very responsive to our requests and inquiries. Our experience was tailored and unique, and our trip to Mexico City and Tepoztlan wouldn’t have been possible (or nearly as fun) without him. When we go back, he will be our first call! Adam
          Written 27 November 2021
        • BoardingPass192249
          0 contributions
          5.0 of 5 bubbles
          Touring Mexico City Dia de Muertos & Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe
          Have used Touring Mexico City twice and have been very satisfied. We were never rushed, we were taken to all the places I wanted to visit and felt comfortable we had two male guides with us explaining what was safe at what time. We ate at the best spots couldn't ask for anything more. I will always use them in the future .
          Written 20 September 2020
        • peterbK6155DZ
          0 contributions
          5.0 of 5 bubbles
          Mexico tailored to your desires
          I cannot say enough about Jose’s tours. My wife, son, and I wanted to visit Mexico City but all we were certain about was visiting the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Jose fleshed out the rest of our 4 day visit with exceptional tours of sites of cultural, artistic, historic, ecological, and religious significance. Every place Jose took us to was amazing. Furthermore it was an all inclusive experience for a set, very reasonable price: airport pick up/drop off, tickets to attractions, transportation, and historical and cultural interpretation at the attractions. No surprises; what he says he’s going to do, he does, for the price he said he was going to do it for. However, the best part of our experience was to hang out with Jose as he took us to “his” Mexico City: the insider’s tour of the city, so to speak. We went to his favorite spots to experience some things tourists don’t get to with a hotel sponsored tour: craft and food markets, cafes, pastry shops, tequila bars, pulque bars, etc., safely and securely. If you want to do something different, just ask and Jose will show you the real Mexico City! Jose was more than a tour guide, he became our friend.
          Written 10 March 2020
        • anywhereeverywhere69
          0 contributions
          5.0 of 5 bubbles
          Great Tour company in Mexico City
          I had the pleasure of touring Mexico City and the surrounding area with Jose on 2 separate occasions! What an incredible time I had exploring with Jose in Mexico city! From museums to parks and many street food stands and coffee shops! We also ventured outside the city to Teotihuacan pyramids and to the city of Puebla. Jose will taylor the tour to your needs and wants. He speaks great English and is a pleasure to be around. If you are thinking of touring in and around Mexico City I highly recommend Jose and his tour company.
          Written 13 February 2020
        • Luv2flyer
          0 contributions
          5.0 of 5 bubbles
          Had a fabulous guided tour of Mexico City
          My family of four visited Mexico City. Unfortunately, none of us speak Spanish. I searched for a tour guide to take us to the pyramids as well as show us Mexico City. Jose took us around all of these places and gave us a lot of information. He was willing to take us to places that we had not heard about as well as take us to restaurants to enhance our enjoyment of our trip. I highly recommend this tour group. I have even referred other family members to Jose.
          Written 5 February 2020
        • konkan
          0 contributions
          5.0 of 5 bubbles
          Amazing experience for Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) festivities
          My family with two kids went with Jose and Touring Mexico City for three days to various locations around Mexico City for Day of the Dead / Dia de los Muertos festivities and had a great time. Jose made the experience safe, entertaining, and education at the same time and took us to places that would be very difficult for tourists to go without a local guide, especially during the festivities. I highly recommend Jose and Touring Mexico City.
          Written 16 January 2020
        • ChachiTravel
          0 contributions
          5.0 of 5 bubbles
          Excellent services! Highly recommended!!
          Last March we had the opportunity to travel to Mexico City. We found Touring Mexico City thru Facebook. Jose was our driver and guide and was excellent. We hired him for the full five days that we were in Mexico City. He was punctual when picking us up everyday and was very friendly. We were able to visit so many places by having Jose with us. We highly recommend him and we will definitely use him again when we go back to Mexico. He had great suggestions for places in The city that we hadn’t planned on visiting. To us, there is just no other way to visit such a big city without a private driver.
          Written 16 January 2020
        See all 26 reviews
        These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

        Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

        Popular mentions

        3.1
        3.1 of 5 bubbles15 reviews
        Excellent
        8
        Very good
        0
        Average
        0
        Poor
        0
        Terrible
        7

        These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
        This service may contain translations provided by Google. Google disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to translations, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from forgery.

        Elizabeth C
        New York City, NY10 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Jan 2023 • Couples
        My husband and I had a wonderful, adventurous time! Our tour guide, Rafael, promptly picked us up at 6:30 AM at our rental apartment in CDMX. He was very friendly, professional, knowledgeable, and spoke excellent English. We then picked up the two other members of our tour from their hotel and proceeded to our destination. The car was a standard-sized, pretty new, Volkswagon sedan.
        It was a scenic 3 hour ride on the toll highway, with a couple bathroom/coffee stops included. When we arrived in the village, we were greeted by a lovely family and their horses. We then proceeded on a 1.5 hour or so horse ride up a steep, rugged, but beautiful forested trail. The horses were each led by a guide on foot, so we did not have to “steer”, but I could imagine this being a challenging horse ride if you are not fit for trail riding. We then dismounted and took a short but steep hike to the lookout location. My husband and I both regularly exercise, but did find ourselves out of breath at the 10,000 ft elevation (Note if you are sensitive to altitude.)

        Once at the lookout, the butterflies are absolutely breathtaking! Do bear in mind their activity is dependent upon there being warm sun, as they did not fly around when it was cloudy.
        After getting our fill of viewing the butterflies, we returned back to the village. The family then welcomed us into their home and fed us a delicious chicken mole dish with truly homemade tortillas; the meal was cooked entirely from ingredients in their village! After our meal, we returned with Rafael to Mexico City and were returned to our rental apartment on time.
        It was such a memorable experience! I would recommend this tour to anyone looking to get off the beaten path and experience a true marvel of nature.
        Written 17 January 2023
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        emergguy
        sudbury18 contributions
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Feb 2020 • Friends
        Our guide José picked us up at our hotel in Mexico City along with another couple and we drove approximately two hours to a small village in the Cerro Pelon area where we were outfitted with horses by a local family who led all of us up the mountain to a very private Butterfly Sanctuary. It was close to a two hour horse ride on very rugged terrain but it was worth the ride when we arrived at the summit where thousands upon thousands of Monarch butterflies surrounded us! It was simply astounding and magical and we spent a couple of hours both in the sanctuary in the forest and out on a vast meadow where thousands of these beautiful butterflies swirled around in the sunlight.
        José was knowledgeable and very personable and the local family who provided the horses were so helpful in every way.
        Written 24 March 2020
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        Oscar E
        7 contributions
        1.0 of 5 bubbles
        They look bad, I was scammed, the trip was contracted for December 15, 2024 and had good expectations. They didn’t even have the despair to cancel by mail or call. We were waiting outside the meeting point for more than 1 hour and could never contact Touring Mexico. I will definitely never hire tours from this company. The tripadivisor page was the one that I supported with refund issues but in the meantime we spoiled a wonderful day from very early.
        Automatically translated
        Written 19 December 2024
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        Illybilly5
        Toronto, Canada12 contributions
        1.0 of 5 bubbles
        Dec 2022
        Most unprofessional, unreliable and inefficient tour operator. Paid for and booked a trip without any word from them. No answer even after contacting them to confirm the trip was happening. Viator/tripadvisor had to contact them before they responded two days alter, only to cancel our trip. It was by then too late to book any other trips as everything was booked for the holiday season. Extremely frustrating experience.
        Written 25 December 2022
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
        I'm sorry we couldn't provide you with the experience. However, we do explain the situation and that it was something out our hands. Keep in mind that you were fully reimbursed, since the amount arrange it's only send after the tour happens. Have a nice day.
        Written 27 December 2022
        This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

        Evan
        Leesburg, VA1 contribution
        5.0 of 5 bubbles
        Feb 2020
        Jose was an amazing guide and provided great conversation throughout the day. The sanctuary was not crowded which made the experience more peaceful. It was a long journey to make it to the butterflies, but completely worth the trouble. This was just as magical as I expected.
        Written 23 February 2020
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
        Hey, Thanks so much. It was indeed a fun trip. Hope see you soon in your next visit to Mexico.
        Written 9 March 2020
        This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

        Mary Ellen H
        1 contribution
        1.0 of 5 bubbles
        Jan 2024 • Couples
        We signed up and paid for this tour. This was a "Life Event" for me, something I had dreamed of doing. We were to meet at the hotel lobby at 6:30am for a full day. No one showed up. We called the tour operator, no answer. We called TripAdvisor/Viator and they were not able to help us. I have tried to contact Trip Advisor for a Refund and their website provides no guidance or help. Very Disappointed
        Written 29 January 2024
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        CraigTodd67
        Gungahlin, Australia4 contributions
        1.0 of 5 bubbles
        Don't book. The tour operator no longer provides this tour, despite the fact that we booked 1 month in advanced and received confirmation (and reminders) from TripAdvisor.

        I booked this trip for my wifes birthday, we were so looking forward to it. We got up early for a 6.30am pickup, and the tour operator didn't show up. We called at 7.15am, and he stated he no longer provides the tour.

        Tripadvisor why are you still advertising this tour?
        Written 27 February 2025
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        Jeanne B
        3 contributions
        1.0 of 5 bubbles
        The company was very unprofessional. They did not show up for the pickup and did not contact us. The payment was refunded, but the whole day trip that was part of the reason we visited Mexico City could not be rescheduled. I would not recommend this provider!
        Written 13 February 2025
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        grblay
        San Antonio, TX7 contributions
        1.0 of 5 bubbles
        I was sooo disappointed! We were in Mexico City at the perfect time for the monarch migration. We had a reservation and the night before we were notified that the tour guide had cancelled. We were not able to rebook because of time restraints
        Written 4 January 2025
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        Monique G
        1 contribution
        1.0 of 5 bubbles
        Dec 2024 • Solo
        It has been very dissapointing. There was a cancelation of my trip just 20 minutes before my pick up at the hotel, 6:10 in the morning via e mail.
        Written 6 December 2024
        This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

        Showing results 1-10 of 13
        *Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.

        Cerro Pelon Monarch butterfly sanctuary. provided by Touring Mexico City

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