How To Visit Tapalpa, Jalisco
Tapalpa, one of Mexico’s pueblos magicos, is a small town in the Jaliscan countryside around two hours from Guadalajara. It is also stunningly beautiful and well known as a great spot for outdoor fun. Guadalajarans flock here at the weekends and, having spent some time here in the summer of 2019, I can totally see why. Now I’ve been I can’t believe I hadn’t been before or even heard of this beautiful little pueblo that well and truly captured my heart.
In this article, I’ll give you tips and hints about how to visit Tapalpa and what to do once you’re there.
We went to Tapalpa as the last stop on our trip exploring Jalisco. We were tired, we’d all been ill and we were kinda ready to go home (you know how it is by the end of a trip, especially a road trip) and then we found ourselves driving up, up, up into the cerros (small mountains/big hills). Our tiredness quickly dissipated and was replaced by excitement for the next leg of our adventure as we got closer. We were immediately captivated by the views and by the identically painted buildings. We felt as if we’d left Mexico and hit up Tibet.
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View from road up to Tapalpa
Yeah. True story. And it’s not even like I haven’t been to Tibet so when I say that I truly mean it. The buildings are all white with a deep red stripe at the base and the buildings in the centre of town have stunning wooden balconies that remind me so strongly of Tibetan architecture. The only other place in Mexico that reminds me of Tibet is the church in Chamula, outside San Cristobal. I visited there when I was exploring Chiapas.
If you enjoy exploring pueblos magicos then I highly recommend Tequila or the combination of Puebla and Cholula as great options. If you want to see what a coasta pueblo magico looks like then Sayulita in Nayarit is a great option.
Things To Do In Tapalpa
As I said above, Tapalpa is about enjoying nature and fresh air. We were there during the wet season but were very lucky and had no rain at all. We were told that even when rain is officially forecast, it often seems to miss the town.
Las Piedrotas
One of the main reasons to head to Tapalpa is Las Piedrotas, an area of incredible natural beauty about a ten-minute drive from Tapalpa town.
(If you don’t have a car when you’re in town, or don’t fancy driving, the tourist ‘train’ stops here, you can hire a quad bike or go as part of a tour.)
So, Las Piedrotas. It’s essentially a large green area with some huge rocky outcrops that are great fun to climb and explore.
As well as being truly beautiful to walk around and fun to climb, there are also a number of awesomely fun activities:
Horses – as you enter the area you’ll see a group of horses (if you don’t, just wait around until they return). You can pay to join a group and explore the area on horseback. We are mean parents and refused to do this. One of my kids is horse obsessed but I am walking and climbing obsessed so, for once, we decided to do what I wanted (also spending money isn’t fun).
Go-karts ($50 pesos per cart for two rides down a track, officially called pista de buggies) – both my kids were too small to ride in the go-karts alone as their feet didn’t reach the pedals. Handily for them, their dad is kind and loves speed (going fast, I mean), so he took each of them twice. They loved the experience of ‘hurtling’ down the track in the cart. They could have spent all day doing it over and over. My favourite part was the random three-year-old who took a go-kart with his dad. The dad drove through a cow-pat that splattered up over their faces and hands. The kid promptly licked his hand, much to the horror of every adult nearby. Hilarious…because it wasn’t my kid.
Zipline – we saw the zipline when we arrived at 10 am but it didn’t open until around 1 pm. It runs between the first rocks and the main set in the middle of the field.
If you enjoy outdoor activities, have you considered taking a trip to Colima?
Via Ferrata – this also seems to open around 1 pm and it costs $150 pesos per person. My kids really, really wanted to have a go but their dad didn’t feel great, I don’t love heights and… nah, that’s it. I’m a wuss. It’s why I made Col do the world’s second-longest zipline in the Copper Canyon in my place last year (he’s useful to keep around).
It did look amazingly fun for non-wusses though. You climb up a ladder in the rock, head across the wobbly bridge and up the next rock before abseiling down again.
Although we didn’t do the via ferrata, we did hang out on this rock pile for a long time. We had so much fun climbing and exploring. My kids are super brave and definitely think they’re mountain goats so we had a ton of fun running around and climbing here.
While entry is free, the locals do ask for a donation for the upkeep of the area. We declined to donate on the way in as we had no idea what we would find, but we did ‘donate’ on the way out after having spent a fabulous four hours exploring. I recommend getting there before midday to beat the crowds (if you go at the weekend) but do know that the adventure activities begin around 1 pm.
There are so many great places to explore as day-trips from Guadalajara, Tapalpa is just one of these such places. Guadalajara is a great place to expore with kids, there’s so much to do there.
Eco-parks Near Tapalpa
As far as I am aware there are threeeco-parks near Tapalpa:
Had we had more time we’d have visited all three but we didn’t have nearly enough time booked for Tapalpa so we chose to head to Campamento La Tuna. We chose this one because it turns out it’s owned by a friend of the wonderful volcano guide we had in Colima and we figured if it was half as wonderful as our volcano day then we’d be on to a winner.
So what did we find? Well, we found an eco-park run by some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. The park is ‘baby’ of Gerado, Daniel and Laura. When we arrived, we met Gerado and Gaby on site. They are from Guadalajara and over the last few years, Gerado and his partners have created my kind of paradise just outside Tapalpa.
We were invited to look around their site and meet them the afternoon we arrived in town so we headed over there having no clue who or what we’d find. As I said, we found the most down-to-earth and lovely people. While our kids bounced together on a trampoline (heaven for kids, right?), I was lucky enough to be given a tour around the grounds.
Even without seeing and learning, I knew I was in my place. The smell of the pines, the fields of arnica flowers all around and the fresh, fresh air. Wow. I just couldn’t stop trying to breathe in ALL the air.
Anyway, I digress, sorry (oh, but that air).
Campamento La Tuna (without me waxing lyrical about the air)
This fully sustainable site is home to an aerial tree-top course including zip lines and a rappel section, an assault course, a yoga and contemplation area, a huge fire pit with pre-sharpened marshmallow sticks, and a temazcal.
In addition to all this awesomeness, you can also rent a cabin (we really, really, really, wished we had known this before we booked our also hotel because staying in a cabin in the forest is something my family adores).
There are nine cabins on-site for various sized groups. The cabins are sparse but perfect for the environment. Solar lights light the way to the clean and spacious bathrooms (with all the hot water you could need, I was assured!)
Gerado was particularly keen to show me how hard they’ve worked on the sustainability aspect of the business. This isn’t eco-park labelling for the sake of eco-park labelling. This is serious sustainability by people who mean it, who really care and who really want to make a difference to the world. I learned all about water separation and composting, I saw the orchards where they’re making serious efforts to regrow species of plant and cacti that are dying out plus plenty of medicinal plants, fruits and veg. They are trying hard to repopulate and reforest the area with local species and to attract bees to the area.
If sustainable travel is your thing then check out my series of articles about general sustainable travel tips and tricks, sustainable living and travel in Merida, Yucatan. If it isn’t your thing, check them out anyway as they’re interesting and this needs to be “your thing” too!
We returned two days later to actually take part in the activities. I packed off my husband and kids to the aerial walkway stuff and once liberated, skipped my merry way to join the others who had signed up for the temazcal experience.
A temazcal is a prehispanic sauna or sweat-house that was probably used as a curative ceremony after battle and for healing the sick too. It was also used for spiritual healing.
One Sunday a month, the Sunday nearest the full moon, the temazcal is fired up and offered as an experience to visitors and locals. I highly recommend taking part if you can. (I checked and if there is a group needing an English temazcal experience this is also possible.) I, however, did it with a group of Mexican visitors so it was entirely in Spanish with a smattering of a local language I couldn’t understand. I was completely blown away by the experience, having had a fairly negative temazcal experience in Latuvi, Oaxaca, some years ago.
We were led in a fascinating thought exercise by the most charismatic and engaging of speakers who talked about current events and our place in the world and ensuring we remain true to ourselves. It felt very much like a peaceful and positive call to arms, encouraging us to be our best selves. All this took place in the dark, whilst the heat was increased regularly via the stones that had been ‘cooking’ in the fire outside for hours.
Top Tip: Most women were in white dresses in the temazcal. I wore my bikini with shorts and tshirt on top. It was fine. Men were in shorts and tshirt.
Costs: $370 per person for bed and breakfast
$450 pesos per person for ziplines and via ferrata (recommended for over four years old. My five year old managed although did get a bit nervous)
$170 pesos assault course
$450 pesos temazcal (recommended for people over 10 years old)
Nogales Waterfall
This is apparently the highest waterfall in Jalisco state but we were recommended not to go with little kids during the wet season as the paths can be difficult. Honestly, I am 99% certain my kids would have been fine and that the woman in tourist information was being cautious but we didn’t actually have free time to visit anyway.
If you love a good waterfall, and let’s face it, who doesn’t, then I highly recommend Creel, Chihuahua as a great vacation spot. It has so much opportunity for outdoor fun and is the starting point for visiting two amazing waterfalls.
What Else To Do In Tapalpa
Sacred Art Museum
There is a small museum in town, opposite the church. It was free to enter and took us about five minutes to look around.
Tourist Train
There is a small bus/train thing that takes visitors around town as well as to Las Piedrotas. We didn’t take it as the town is small and walkable and we had a car but it looked fun.
Miradores
There are a few lookout points that get mentioned. I used this link to find them.
Where To Eat In Tapalpa
We were extremely lucky with our eating experiences in Tapalpa. Every meal except one was delicious and can be recommended here. The only time we had a bad experience is when we strayed from the list Gabi accidentally gave me (she told me to meet her at one of three restaurants so we decided since we liked her so much we’d just eat in the places she thought were good). Thanks, Gabi, your recommendations were top notch.
Paulino’s Restaurant – ate on balcony overlooking the plaza. Superb. The queso fundido was best we’ve had in Mexico. Kids had meat dishes that were fine.
Paulino’s Restaurant
Los Encinos – ate at both the restaurant in town and the larger one on the outskirts of town. Food was delicious and everyone wanted to return here more than once.
Birria at Los Encinos
Market stalls underneath the church for street tacos and canela coffee. We had breakfast and snacks from here. The kids particularly loved their breakfast tacos from the market.
street tacos for breakfast
Madre Tierra – We ate breakfast here. It was delicious and the portions were huge portions, great coffee too.
Where To Stay In Tapalpa
There is no shortage of hotels in Tapalpa. As I noted above, it’s a popular weekend retreat for Guadalajarans. We stayed in Hotel Luna Sacra, which I would wholeheartedly recommend. It was small, clean, quiet, the staff were incredibly friendly and the beds were very comfortable. I have not one single complaint about the hotel or its location in town. If we went back we’d either stay there again or head to La Tuna for a little more of a rustic experience.
How To Get To Tapalpa
From Guadalajara, it’s about a two-hour drive to Tapalpa along the 54D across what looks like big lakes on the map. Apparently the big blue areas on the map can fill up with water although when we went in the rainy season, they were almost entirely dry.
It’s also possible to take a bus from Guadalajara to Tapalpa. It takes around 3.5 hours with Sur de Jalisco Autobuses. It costs under $200 pesos.
From Colima (the route we took) was winding and my daughter got quite car sick so if you have a carsick passenger, be aware you may have issues. Tapalpa is up in the cerros (low mountains) so it’s an ‘up and around’ drive with spectacular views and a number of good stopping points. It’s weird, I look at the map now and it doesn’t look winding but I certainly remember struggling.
Have you been to Tapalpa? Did you do anything different there? Leave me a comment and let me know what you did.
1 Comment
Olga Alexzanders · 20/10/2021 at 8:31 pm
Cassie, thank you.. great to see what is availalbe… how can i get mor einfo about la Tuna ? i want to rent for a while in nature.. than you Olga