6 Nature Parks in Veracruz, Mexico: Map & Photos

6 parks and reserves

Veracruz has 6 parks and reserves with their own page on Puebloteca, near the Pueblos Mágicos of Coatepec and Orizaba. The closest to a pueblo is Cañón del Río Blanco, 4 km from Orizaba; the farthest out is Jardín Botánico Clavijero, 7 km from Coatepec.

Parks and reserves are best on weekdays and early in the day. Bring water, and check the opening hours, since some close one day a week.

Best months, when most of these towns are dry with comfortable afternoons: Feb, Mar, Apr, May.

The Nature Parks 6

Cañón del Río Blanco · Nature reserve · 4 km from Orizaba
A national park since 1938 around Orizaba, with pine-covered peaks, waterfalls on the Río Blanco, and trails above the valley.
Jardín Botánico Clavijero · Nature reserve · 7 km from Coatepec
A large botanical garden and cloud-forest sanctuary run by INECOL on the old road between Coatepec and Xalapa.
Cerro de Macuiltépetl · Nature reserve · Xalapa
A wooded extinct volcano in the middle of Xalapa, now an ecological park with spiral paths, a lookout tower and a small fauna museum.
Nanciyaga · Nature reserve · Catemaco
Private rainforest reserve on the shore of Lake Catemaco with jungle walks, a mineral spring, mud masks and temazcal; Apocalypto was shot here.
Parque Ecológico Los Tecajetes · Nature reserve · Xalapa
A sunken spring-fed park near central Xalapa, with ponds, channels, bridges and shady paths, open daily and free.
Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano · Nature reserve · Veracruz
Coral reef national park off Veracruz, Boca del Río and Antón Lizardo: reef islands, wrecks and the best-known diving in the Gulf of Mexico.