3. Vallarta Botanical Gardens
by Susan Ellis of keylifejourneys
Savouring a little bit of paradise this March away from the frozen north, I was on the Pacific shores of Mexico in Puerto Vallarta. This fishing village grown to mega resort destination has been a favourite winter get away place for me for many years.
But on this visit I celebrated of my birthday. To honour the occasion we did something we have never done before. We visited the Vallarta Botanical Gardens, 12 miles south of P.V. on Highway 200 - the only road south. It is set amid 20 acres at 1,300ft in the Sierra Madre Mountains and has been open to the public since 2005.
It can be quite an adventure to reach there unless you go by taxi and indicate you want to go to the "Jardino Botanico" Many hotels and resorts don't have the bus route down exactly right. We were told to catch the Mismaloya/Boco bus south from the old town. This is a frequent bus service and we enjoyed the panoramic coastal journey. But on reaching Boca we were turfed off and told to wait on the road for another bus to take us the rest of the way. Now if we had read the instructions given on the Botanical Gardens website we would have known to catch a different bus from down town - the one heading to El Tuito running about every 30 minutes. However we chatted a while with others on the road side at Boca and finally caught the El Tuito bus we could have got in down town in the first place. But our companions didn't mind. They were coming to celebrate a birthday also.
Hacienda de Oro Visitor's Center with spectacular mountain views, is also where you will find Hacienda de Oro Restaurant, with a courteous staff, delicious brick oven pizzas, salads and other Mexican specialties. So I had my birthday lunch looking out at the dry jungled mountains of the Sierra Madre and down to the river below where one is invited to swim in the crystal clear Rio Los Horcones. Hawks and other magnificent birds of pray circle in the updrafts.
The website also declares that one should visit "the famous 'classy' restrooms" where one detects a vacancy in the cubicle by the lack of a pair of feet protruding below the red 'velvet' curtains. Stepping outside the Damas there is an orchid house and plant shop and a photographer's paradise.
In my afternoon of exploration I could not experience all there was to see. But there was joy in seeing this place in its infancy. It has big dreams and plans for the future and aims to slowly grow to meet them. Already registered with the Botanic Gardens Conservation International in Surrey, England it aims to be the best in Mexico.
As well as the path to the river in the valley, already there are Palm Gardens, Rose Garden, Tree Fern Grotto, Orchid House, Jungle Trails, Tropical Bird Watching, Agaves Gardens, displays of Mexican Wildflowers and the Carnivorous Plant Collection. On one trail a swinging bridge thwarts some explorers. But for this traveler it evokes memories of journey's past.
My winter sojourns in Puerto Vallarta have some ritual re-visitations. A new ritual has been established. The Vallarta Botanical Gardens will be included on subsequent visits to P.V.
Entry fee is 50 pesos - Currently you get about 11 pesos to the Canadian dollar and 14 to the US. The bus costs 16-20 pesos depending on the route chosen. They are open 9-5pm and are closed on Mondays, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Taking a taxi there is about $20US.
Savouring a little bit of paradise this March away from the frozen north, I was on the Pacific shores of Mexico in Puerto Vallarta. This fishing village grown to mega resort destination has been a favourite winter get away place for me for many years.
But on this visit I celebrated of my birthday. To honour the occasion we did something we have never done before. We visited the Vallarta Botanical Gardens, 12 miles south of P.V. on Highway 200 - the only road south. It is set amid 20 acres at 1,300ft in the Sierra Madre Mountains and has been open to the public since 2005.
It can be quite an adventure to reach there unless you go by taxi and indicate you want to go to the "Jardino Botanico" Many hotels and resorts don't have the bus route down exactly right. We were told to catch the Mismaloya/Boco bus south from the old town. This is a frequent bus service and we enjoyed the panoramic coastal journey. But on reaching Boca we were turfed off and told to wait on the road for another bus to take us the rest of the way. Now if we had read the instructions given on the Botanical Gardens website we would have known to catch a different bus from down town - the one heading to El Tuito running about every 30 minutes. However we chatted a while with others on the road side at Boca and finally caught the El Tuito bus we could have got in down town in the first place. But our companions didn't mind. They were coming to celebrate a birthday also.
Hacienda de Oro Visitor's Center with spectacular mountain views, is also where you will find Hacienda de Oro Restaurant, with a courteous staff, delicious brick oven pizzas, salads and other Mexican specialties. So I had my birthday lunch looking out at the dry jungled mountains of the Sierra Madre and down to the river below where one is invited to swim in the crystal clear Rio Los Horcones. Hawks and other magnificent birds of pray circle in the updrafts.
In my afternoon of exploration I could not experience all there was to see. But there was joy in seeing this place in its infancy. It has big dreams and plans for the future and aims to slowly grow to meet them. Already registered with the Botanic Gardens Conservation International in Surrey, England it aims to be the best in Mexico.
As well as the path to the river in the valley, already there are Palm Gardens, Rose Garden, Tree Fern Grotto, Orchid House, Jungle Trails, Tropical Bird Watching, Agaves Gardens, displays of Mexican Wildflowers and the Carnivorous Plant Collection. On one trail a swinging bridge thwarts some explorers. But for this traveler it evokes memories of journey's past.
My winter sojourns in Puerto Vallarta have some ritual re-visitations. A new ritual has been established. The Vallarta Botanical Gardens will be included on subsequent visits to P.V.
Entry fee is 50 pesos - Currently you get about 11 pesos to the Canadian dollar and 14 to the US. The bus costs 16-20 pesos depending on the route chosen. They are open 9-5pm and are closed on Mondays, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Taking a taxi there is about $20US.
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