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Hiking Ajijic (and Beyond)


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Rainy season is such a great time to go hiking, 

How we love rainy season!

The waterfall in the Ajijic Mountains is great, and oh how our dogs love it at full blast!

Drier dustier trails with rolling pebbles are a challenge to negotiate.

Hiking is definitely more challenging, compared to the the National Parks trails I have enjoyed.

I actually located one simpler stretch of trail in this area. That serves well in dry 

season and for hikers who don't prefer the steep rock climb feel to a path.

That said, what other easier to navigate trails both in this area and beyond?

Up to 2 hours tops (Dogs accompany).

 

 

 

 

 

 

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There's a site called WikiLoc (http://www.wikiloc.com/trails/hiking/mexico/jalisco/ajijic)

It shows maps and trails recommended by hikers, along with the difficulty level. It uses GPS: you download an app for your phone or tablet after you sign up. It is becoming quite popular.

Another site that has clearer online maps is Every Trail: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1211077

In fact, it turns out there are lots of hiking sites.

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If you go to Ciudad Guzman about two hours from Chapala, they have the Penas Ecological Park.  The park is very nice and green and they have some decent mountain type trails you can go hiking on.  Also, you will have great views of the Colima Volcano.  Or you could just go into the volcano park area and hike up there.   But I really liked the Penas park, it has lots of trails waterfalls, old sugar cane factories, or you could climb up into the penas or giant rocks above the park for the great views.  Those trails are similar to the ones going to the tepalo waterfall possibly a little better kept in my opinion.  And don't miss Ciudad Guzman which has a beautiful downtown, definitely merits a visit unto itself!

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5 hours ago, dichosalocura said:

If you go to Ciudad Guzman about two hours from Chapala, they have the Penas Ecological Park.  The park is very nice and green and they have some decent mountain type trails you can go hiking on.  Also, you will have great views of the Colima Volcano.  Or you could just go into the volcano park area and hike up there.   But I really liked the Penas park, it has lots of trails waterfalls, old sugar cane factories, or you could climb up into the penas or giant rocks above the park for the great views.  Those trails are similar to the ones going to the tepalo waterfall possibly a little better kept in my opinion.  And don't miss Ciudad Guzman which has a beautiful downtown, definitely merits a visit unto itself!

Sounds like a great outing.  So the trails are better maintained on which area of those you mentioned.  Are we speaking about three different areas, Vocano Park, Penas Park, & Ciudad Guzman?  How would you rate each for ease/difficulty...   Easy/beginner, Moderate, Intermediate, Advanced?  Which trails are steepest, and which have the least incline?  Thank you so much... Appreciate your taking the time to respond.

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I basically was referring to Parque Ecologica Las Peñas which is a park that is pressed up against the side of a mountain, with the Peñas or big rocks jutting out on top of the mountain above.  It is located on the other side of Ciudad Guzman nestled into the mountain above just opposite from where you get off of the cuota or free road (they run parallel) to go to the small city of Guzman.  You will need to take the small two lane loop road that goes around Guzman City, check out the area first on Google Earth, find the road and the park then check out Street View on Google Earth to get a better idea of how to get there, its basically pretty simple to find but Google Earth helps out a lot.  Honestly, the park is similar in feel to the Cristiania Park in Chapala, but the immediate park might be 3 times or so larger, with lots of trees and shady bricked paths to wonder around and explore.  There is an easy to get to very level path through the woods to a cool waterfall, there is the ruins of an old sugar cane mill probably dating back to the late 1700´s if I were to guess, that you can explore around.  The park is much better maintained than Cristiania and very beautiful to walk around and explore with plenty of paths to leisurely walk around with lots of trees and forested areas.  But the real treat is the jungle like hike up to the Peñas above the park or large rocks that jut out of the mountain above the park.  When I went I went with my father and we only went up about halfway and climbed back down, but people that I met on the trail told me that the trails went a good distance into the forested mountains.  But I would say that it has a similar feel to the climb up to Tepalo waterfall above Ajijic, but the paths were trimmed back much better, wider, and were more frequently traversed.  We went last summer so there were plenty of families hiking up and down the trails, so we felt safe.  It is a very beautiful area much more forested than what you see around the lake of course and this time of year is the best and prettiest in my opinion.  If you go, leave early in the morning and stop first in downtown Ciudad Guzman, walk around the plaza area and find a cool place to eat lunch, you will be glad you did, Ciudad Guzman is easily one of the prettiest small Cities in all of Jalisco and much greener than those cities like Lagos de Moreno that you find in the dry Los Altos region of Jalisco.  The city is surrounded by green forests and mountains; and across the valley about 30 minutes away is the Volcano of Colima.  There you can find the Parque Nacional Nevado de Colima where you can do some extreme hiking up to the glacier above, hiking through majestic alpine pine forests, it looks and feels like you are in Colorado, pretty cool.  There are English speaking hiking tours where they jeep you up half way and you hike the rest with a guide, you will have to google the name of the hiking guides though.  I'm not so sure you can bring your dog in the park though.  You can go there first, check it out, and if you like the place, plan to come back another weekend with your dog would my recommendation. 

Here is a nice youtube video about the place:

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