February
25, 2018
My friend Josh Wolf finally got himself a vehicle designed for
exploring the byways of Jalisco...many of which cannot be reached by
ordinary cars. Well, he may have overdone it a bit, as his new Nissan
Pathfinder comes with so many bells, whistles and built-in
entertainment attractions that kids might never be tempted to peek out
the window at the natural marvels around them.
"Let's give your new 4x4 a real test," I suggested to Josh. "Let's go
to Agua Blanca and the Saucillo Pyramid."
Agua Blanca is an UMA, an officially recognized animal sanctuary
started by members of the local ejido (co-operative) on 433 acres of
their land which are "too rocky for farming but unusually beautiful and
home to all kinds of animals, including an extraordinary variety of
birds."
The enthusiastic founders of Agua Blanca managed to get support and
grants to create a 350-meter-long nature trail overlooking a steep
canyon and leading to a combination bird-watching platform and lookout
point with a magnificent view. They even built a dramatic hanging
bridge across the arroyo and managed to print up a very useful,
professional-looking guide to the local birds.
On top of that, only 500 meters away lie the ruins of El Saucillo, a
well-preserved circular pyramid and ball court over a thousand years
old, conveniently located a two-minute walk from where you park your
car.
Because of all this, I included the Agua Blanca Sanctuary in volume two
of Outdoors in Western Mexico (Chapter 24), but ever since I've had the
nagging fear that the bad road leading to the place might ruin what had
seemed like a wonderful project.
Well, the Pathfinder lumbered up the four-kilometer-long dirt road
without a hitch and brought us to the parking lot of Agua Blanca, where
not a soul could be seen.
The Reception Center was filled with cobwebs and the Nature Trail with
fallen branches, suggesting that no one had been there for a long time.
Next we drove to the pyramid, which we found guarded by a whole herd of
cows and bulls, but they graciously allowed us to pass among them to
reach the El Saucillo Guachimontón, which looked in wonderful shape for
being over a millenium old.
The circular walkway around it is clear of undergrowth and you can
easily distinguish the platforms on its perimeter, where colorful
houses once stood, long ago. The only damage is a looters' hole at the
very top of the central mound. "I doubt if they found anything
interesting here," I told Josh's children, "as these structures were
not tombs, but platforms for ceremonies and for groups of musicians
entertaining throngs of people who danced arm-in-arm around the
circular patio surrounding the mound."
As long as you have a high vehicle—even if it has no bells and
whistles—you can visit this most remarkable wildlife-sanctuary-bird
watching paradise-cum-pyramid. Bird watcher Julio Álvarez assures me he
can make the arrangements. So just call him at cell 375 111 2223 or
send him an email at juliopajarero@gmail.com.
How to get there
From Guadalajara, take highway 15 west toward Nogales. Turn off onto
highway 70 for Ameca. After 18.5 kilometers, turn right onto Jalisco
highway 4 and drive 14 kilometers to Teuchitlán. Continue past
Teuchitlán for 7.3 kilometers and turn right onto a dirt road at
N20.68973 W103.91775. To see the pyramid (located at N20
44.493 W103 52.966) and other ruins, follow the northeasterly route
shown on Wikiloc.com, under "GuadHikes – UMA Agua Blanca." The UMA
(Trail, campsite, hanging bridge, bird-watching platform) is located at
N20 44.675 W103 53.219 and you can arrange to visit the place by
contacting Julio Álvarez as mentioned above. From the Lake Chapala
area, take the Circuito Sur (Ajijic-Tlajomulco-Tala). Just past Tala
you will come to highway 70. Drive southwest only 1.5 kilometers to get
on highway 4 heading for Teuchitlán. Driving time from Guadalajara:
about an hour and a half and about two hours from the Lake.
The trail at Agua Blanca is still in fine shape.
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