Hiking the Sierra Travesaño

Standing at 1,500 m (5,000 ft) in Ajijic looking up at the 2,500 m (8,000 ft) Sierra Travesaño made us want to put on our hiking shoes and find a trail. We found several hikes out of town in a guidebook by Teresa Kendrick (2007), including El Tepalo. Her directions were simple and straightforward – from Calle Jin (the main east-west street) follow Incarnación Rosas to Callejon de Tepalo up (north) to the entrance of El Tepalo – the canyon of the waterfalls. It was the end of the dry season, so we didn’t expect any water (and there wasn’t any). Our objective was the ridge where several white crosses were visible with binoculars from the village.

Looking up to the Sierra Travesaño

Ajijic

We left the Pacific coast before Easter and headed inland to Lake Chapala. Semana Santa (Holy Week) was approaching and the beaches would be filled with vacationers, a kind of Mexican spring break. The drive from Barra de Navidad to Lake Chapala was uneventful. We took Mexico 200 south along the coast skirting mangrove-flanked estuaries and the port of Manzanillo. Turning north on Mexico 110, we passed through Colima, the capital of Mexico’s fourth smallest states, and picked up Mexico 54 to Guadalajara. Gaining elevation, we passed the impressive Colima Volcanic Complex, including Nevado de Colima at 4,300 m (14,000 ft), at the western end of the 900-km (560-mi) trans-Mexican volcanic belt (link).

Ajijic and Lago de Chapala