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    Aerial view of the Bosque de Chapultepec with the castle on its wooded hill and the Niños Héroes monument at its foot, Ciudad de México

    Photo by Gobierno CDMX, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Bosque de Chapultepec

    Nature reserve Miguel Hidalgo, Ciudad de México Municipality of Miguel Hidalgo Valley of Mexico

    More than 800 hectares of forest in four sections: rowboats on the lakes, a free zoo, the castle hill and the city's great museums.

    From Mexico City: 15 min by car (9 km by road) How to get there ↓

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    Tours to Bosque de Chapultepec

    Day trips and guided outings from Tepotzotlán often include Bosque de Chapultepec; with a local guide you can get there without a car.

    CDMX Highlights & Munchies: E-Bike, best Tacos & Churros ★ 4.9 (347) · From US$70
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    How to get to Bosque de Chapultepec

    • From Mexico City: about 15 min by road (~9 km)
    • Nearest airport: Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles) (NLU), 48 min by car to Tepotzotlán
    Rent a car at NLU Flights to NLU

    Route, map and directions ↓

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    Popular tours to Bosque de Chapultepec

    CDMX Highlights & Munchies: E-Bike, best Tacos & Churros ★ 4.9 (347) 4 h From US$70

    Tours, prices and ratings from Viator, checked weekly. We may earn a commission if you book.

    About Bosque de Chapultepec

    The Bosque de Chapultepec is Mexico City's great forest park, covering more than 800 hectares on the west side of the city in four sections. Its name means grasshopper hill in Nahuatl, after the rocky hill at its centre. For the Mexica the hill was sacred: its springs supplied Tenochtitlan with drinking water through an aqueduct that Moctezuma I ordered in 1465. Charles V declared the woods public in 1530, and in 1785 a viceregal summer palace rose on the hilltop. That building, the Castillo de Chapultepec, is now the Museo Nacional de Historia and has a page of its own. A monument at its foot honours the Niños Héroes, cadets who died defending it in 1847.

    The Primera Sección is the oldest and busiest part. Besides the castle it holds the Lago Mayor and Lago Menor, where you can rent a rowboat, the city zoo (founded by the biologist Alfonso L. Herrera in the 1920s, it received its first giant pandas from China in 1975), a botanical garden, the Museo Nacional de Antropología, the Museo Tamayo and the Museo de Arte Moderno. Los Pinos, the presidential residence until 2018, is now a free cultural centre. The Segunda Sección, opened in 1964, has more lakes, the El Sope running track, the natural history museum and the Cárcamo de Dolores, waterworks built between 1942 and 1952 that hold Diego Rivera's mural El agua, origen de la vida and a fountain of the rain god Tláloc.

    Farther west, the Tercera Sección, opened in 1974, is the best part for nature walks, with trails such as Serpientes y Escaleras and more than 200 bird species recorded, best seen early in the morning. The newest Cuarta Sección opened in 2024 together with Line 3 of the Cablebús and includes the Cineteca Nacional Chapultepec, Parque Polvorines and the old Santa Fe gunpowder factory. Entry to the forest is free; the castle and some museums charge. Sunday around midday is the most crowded time in the first section, so come on a weekday or before 11 am for a calmer walk, and remember that the first section and most museums close on Mondays.

    How to get to Bosque de Chapultepec

    Drive from Mexico City: 15 min, 9 km

    First section: Metro Chapultepec (Line 1) or Auditorio (Line 7), or Metrobús stops Chapultepec, Gandhi or Antropología on Paseo de la Reforma. Second section: Metro Constituyentes (Line 7). Third section: Cablebús Line 3 or RTP bus route 34A. Fourth section: Cablebús Line 3. Parking is limited, so public transport is the easier option.

    Directions to Bosque de Chapultepec on Google Maps

    Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.

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    From the nearest cities to Bosque de Chapultepec

    Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.

    Before you go to Bosque de Chapultepec: hours, prices and tips

    Hours
    First section: Tuesday to Sunday, 6 am to 5 pm (closed Mondays). Second section: open 24 hours, every day of the year. Bosque de Chapultepec · checked Oct 2026
    Entry
    Entry to the forest is free; some museums and attractions, the castle among them, charge their own admission. Bosque de Chapultepec · checked Oct 2026
    Best time of day
    Come on a weekday or before 11 am to avoid crowds; Sunday midday is the busiest. Birders do best in the third section from 7 to 10 am. Bosque de Chapultepec · checked Oct 2026
    What to bring
    A reusable water bottle, and binoculars if you plan to watch birds. Bosque de Chapultepec · checked Oct 2026
    Rules
    No pets in the first section; in the second, dogs on a leash except on the El Sope track. No campfires, don't feed the squirrels, ducks or birds, and take your rubbish with you. Bosque de Chapultepec · checked Oct 2026

    Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.

    Visiting Bosque de Chapultepec: what to see and do

    Rent a rowboat on the Lago Mayor or Lago Menor in the first section.
    Visit the free Alfonso L. Herrera zoo and its pandas.
    Climb the hill to the Castillo de Chapultepec, now the Museo Nacional de Historia (it has its own page).
    Spend a morning at the Museo Nacional de Antropología, or at the Tamayo or Museo de Arte Moderno.
    See Diego Rivera's Tláloc fountain and water mural at the Cárcamo de Dolores in the second section.
    Walk the Serpientes y Escaleras trail and look for birds in the third section between 7 and 10 am.

    Plan your trip

    Places to stay in Bosque de Chapultepec

    Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Bosque de Chapultepec.

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    Tours & activities

    Day trips and guided outings from Tepotzotlán often include Bosque de Chapultepec; with a local guide you can get there without a car.

    Viator GetYourGuide

    Rental cars

    Pick up a car at NLU (Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles)): about 48 min by road to Tepotzotlán, then 34 km more to Bosque de Chapultepec, on your own schedule.

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    Flights

    The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Mexico City (Felipe Ángeles) (NLU), about 48 min by road from Tepotzotlán, the base for Bosque de Chapultepec.

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    Travel insurance

    If you plan on hiking at Bosque de Chapultepec, check that your policy covers it: some plans leave adventure activities out.

    SafetyWing

    Mobile data

    Signal can drop away from Tepotzotlán: download a map of the way to Bosque de Chapultepec before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.

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    When to go to Bosque de Chapultepec cool

    Bosque de Chapultepec shares the climate of Tepotzotlán, 34 km away. The best months to visit are January, February, March, and December.

    See the month-by-month climate of Tepotzotlán

    The closest Pueblo Mágico: Tepotzotlán

    Churrigueresque facade and tower of San Francisco Javier with its atrium cross, Tepotzotlán, Estado de México cool
    Estado de México Tepotzotlán

    Tepotzotlán is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Bosque de Chapultepec, with places to stay, food, and more to see.

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    Closest to Bosque de Chapultepec

    Near Bosque de Chapultepec

    Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.

    Lists with Bosque de Chapultepec

    Nature Parks in Ciudad de México · 7 Nature Parks near Mexico City · 16 Nature Parks near Tepotzotlán · 11 Nature Parks near Villa del Carbón · 11 Nature Parks near Metepec · 16 Nature Parks near Teotihuacán · 15 Nature Parks near Tepoztlán · 19 Nature Parks near Toluca · 15

    Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.