Cumbres del Ajusco National Park

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Cumbres del Ajusco National Park is one of Mexico City’s national parks. Created by government decree, it’s one of the best known and it’s visible, on a clear day, from many parts of the southern City.

The park includes enormous pine and oak forests, and some high mountain pastures. These are among the few parts of Mexico City to receive significant snowfall. Guests to the park often arrive along the Picacho-Ajusco highway. Often lined with vendors of food, it’s a great welcome. Views of the city and the Ajusco valley are plentiful.

Guests arrive mostly for hiking, trekking, and mountaineering. Some extreme sports can be pursued. Most guests will go in for biking and endurance activities. Although it’s not technically connected to the larger Chichinautzin Biological Corridor to the south, the ecosystems are very similar. Together with the two National Parks in the corridor, it makes for a very large protected natural area.

Getting There

Although international guests may be tempted to take an app-based taxi, this is generally very expensive. The distance is quite long, and depending on traffic, can take up to 90 minutes at a minimum from most of the city.

The better option is to take the bus from Metro Universidad. You’ll need to ask for the bus to San Miguel Ajusco. Some buses will have the name posted in the windshield. That ride will still take about 90 minutes. It’s much less expensive and when you arrive the local taxi drivers are much more likely to know where you want to go.

From San Miguel Ajusco, a taxi will cost some $50 to $100 pesos to most places in the park, including to the main park entrance. The trip to Cumbres del Ajusco takes about 15 to 20 minutes.