Nature reserve Tlalpan, Ciudad de México Municipality of Tlalpan Valley of Mexico
A 253-hectare urban park on Xitle lava: running tracks, mountain trails, a duck lake and traces of Cuicuilco. Open daily.
From Mexico City: 30 min by car (23 km by road) How to get there ↓
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Tours to Bosque de Tlalpan
Day trips and guided outings from Tepoztlán often include Bosque de Tlalpan; with a local guide you can get there without a car.
Tours from Mexico City
Teotihuacan pyramids morning or afternoon without tourist traps
★ 4.9 (10,252) · From US$59
How to get to Bosque de Tlalpan
- From Mexico City: about 30 min by road (~23 km)
- Nearest airport: Mexico City (MEX), 1 h 25 min by car to Tepoztlán
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Tours from Mexico City, near Bosque de Tlalpan
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About Bosque de Tlalpan
Bosque de Tlalpan covers 253 hectares in the south of the city, between the Periférico and Insurgentes Sur, and has been a protected urban park since 1997. The ground is lava from the Xitle volcano, which poured over the area some 1,700 years ago and buried much of Cuicuilco, so rock-hugging xeric scrub and native oaks share the hills with cedars and eucalyptus planted in the 20th century. Roughly 206 plant species grow here, more than 80 kinds of birds (41 of them migratory) and a pine snake, the cincuate, regarded as endemic to the forest.
Recent history explains the landscape. The Peña Pobre estate stood here, founded in 1543 by the conquistador Bernal Díaz del Castillo, and from 1845 a paper mill. In the 1900s the German industrialist Alberto Lenz and his son Walter planted hundreds of thousands of trees on Zacayuca hill. The mill shut on 17 March 1987, and the park served as a zoo from 1970 to 1988. A prehispanic trace survives in the Tenantongo mound, with remains of a platform, aqueducts and dikes.
Today it is mostly a place to run: close to 63% of visitors come for that. The clay track is about 890 m, the Bugambilias loop 958 m, the Leones circuit 1,162 m, the Cedros circuit 1,423 m and the Montaña circuit nearly 6 km, with steep climbs. Every third Sunday of June the Father's Day Race, a half marathon, takes over; it began in 1981 with 57 runners and now draws about 13,000. There is also a lake with ducks, swans and turtles, children's play areas, a cultural centre and parking.
How to get to Bosque de Tlalpan
Drive from Mexico City: 30 min, 23 km
By Metrobús: take Line 1 (Insurgentes) to Villa Olímpica or Corregidora station and walk along Camino a Santa Teresa to the gate, aprox. 1.5 km. The bus lane skips the Insurgentes Sur traffic, and Line 1 links Indios Verdes with this stretch without a change. By car, use the Anillo Periférico Sur or Avenida Insurgentes Sur; from the Zócalo it is about 23 km and aprox. 30 minutes with no traffic, much longer at rush hour. The park has its own parking lot, entered from Camino a Santa Teresa s/n in Parques del Pedregal. There is no village nearby to use as a base: the closest is central Tlalpan, a few kilometres south, and the Cuicuilco archaeological site sits right beside it on the Insurgentes side.
Directions to Bosque de Tlalpan 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 Tlalpan
- Mexico City · 23 km by road, 30 min
- Cuernavaca · 60 km by road, 1 h 10 min
- Toluca · 63 km by road, 1 h 10 min
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 Tlalpan: hours, prices and tips
- Hours
- Open every day, 5:00 am to 5:00 pm. Time Out México · checked Oct 2026
- Time needed
- The short loops take under an hour; the nearly 6 km Montaña circuit takes a couple of hours. Wikipedia (es) · checked Oct 2026
- Best season
- On the third Sunday of June the Father's Day half marathon fills the park. Wikipedia (es) · checked Oct 2026
- What to bring
- Comfortable shoes, a light backpack and a camera; the Montaña circuit is dirt trail with climbs. Chilango · checked Oct 2026
Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.
Visiting Bosque de Tlalpan: what to see and do
Run or walk the clay oval by the entrance and the Bugambilias, Leones and Cedros loops.
Climb the Montaña circuit (nearly 6 km) for dirt trails and real elevation gain.
Look for the Tenantongo mound, a leftover of ancient Cuicuilco.
Walk around the lake, home to ducks, swans and turtles.
Note the old oaks and the volcanic-rock scrub, which grow only on Xitle lava.
Nearby, at Insurgentes and Periférico, the Cuicuilco archaeological site has its round pyramid.
Plan your trip
Places to stay in Bosque de Tlalpan
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Bosque de Tlalpan.
Tours & activities
Day trips and guided outings from Tepoztlán often include Bosque de Tlalpan; with a local guide you can get there without a car.
Rental cars
Pick up a car at MEX (Mexico City): about 1 h 25 min by road to Tepoztlán, then 36 km more to Bosque de Tlalpan, on your own schedule.
Flights
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Mexico City (MEX), about 1 h 25 min by road from Tepoztlán, the base for Bosque de Tlalpan.
Travel insurance
If you plan on hiking at Bosque de Tlalpan, check that your policy covers it: some plans leave adventure activities out.
Mobile data
Signal can drop away from Tepoztlán: download a map of the way to Bosque de Tlalpan before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.
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When to go to Bosque de Tlalpan mild
Bosque de Tlalpan shares the climate of Tepoztlán, 36 km away. The best months to visit are January, February, March, and December.
See the month-by-month climate of Tepoztlán
Weather in Bosque de Tlalpan now and the next 7 days
Live forecast from Open-Meteo. Chance of rain is the day's highest.
The closest Pueblo Mágico: Tepoztlán
Tepoztlán is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Bosque de Tlalpan, with places to stay, food, and more to see.
Also close to
- Metepec · Estado de México · 43 km away
- Tlayacapan · Morelos · 44 km away
- Tepotzotlán · Estado de México · 47 km away
- Malinalco · Estado de México · 50 km away
- Villa del Carbón · Estado de México · 56 km away
Closest to Bosque de Tlalpan
-
Cuicuilco · Archaeological site · 2 km away
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Parque nacional Fuentes Brotantes de Tlalpan · Nature reserve · 2 km away
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Tlalpan · Town · 3 km away
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Ciudad Universitaria · Landmark · 4 km away
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San Lorenzo Huipulco · Village · 4 km away
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Copilco · Archaeological site · 5 km away
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La Magdalena Contreras · Village · 5 km away
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San Andrés Totoltepec · Village · 5 km away
Near Bosque de Tlalpan
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Lists with Bosque de Tlalpan
Nature Parks in Ciudad de México · 7 Nature Parks near Mexico City · 16 Nature Parks near Tepoztlán · 19 Nature Parks near Cuernavaca · 18 Nature Parks near Metepec · 16 Nature Parks near Tepotzotlán · 11 Nature Parks near Toluca · 15 Nature Parks near Malinalco · 17Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.