Cañón de Matacanes

Matacanes is a canyon in the Sierra de Santiago, in the municipality of Santiago, Nuevo León, inside Cumbres de Monterrey National Park, and it is often called one of the most spectacular canyons in the country. The descent runs for about 9 kilometers from the mountain community of Potrero Redondo down to Las Adjuntas, and the canyon is about two hours by road from Monterrey, the last part on dirt mountain tracks. Its name refers to the matacanes, porous rock formations inside the caves through which water filters.

Groups often sleep in Potrero Redondo, where there are cabins, and set off in helmet, wetsuit and harness. After a walk of a little over an hour the canyon proper begins with a jump into a cold pool, followed by a rappel of roughly 30 meters beside a waterfall. Operators describe rappels of about 27 and 15 meters, and up to 30 jumps from 1 to 12 meters into turquoise pools, many of which can be skipped by climbing around. In between there are natural water slides, long swims, two underground rivers and dark caves, and the whole route takes most of a day.

There is no entry fee, but this is a technical, supervised activity, and almost everyone goes with a certified guide or tour operator. Tours cost roughly 1,500 to 2,000 pesos and normally include transport, safety gear, ropes, meals and insurance. The descent ends at Las Adjuntas, a rural spot where groups eat home-style dishes such as cortadillo, discada and pollo al ataúd, and where there is also hiking, horseback riding and kayaking. High season runs from about March to August; the autumn rains and the cold winter water make the rest of the year harder going.