Las Estacas

Las Estacas is a natural park in the municipality of Tlaltizapán, built around a spring that pours thousands of liters of water a second into a channel of startling clarity. The water comes up from the limestone at the head of the park and runs as a river, a tributary of the Yautepec, through about half a kilometer of the grounds, under big shade trees and past grassy banks. The name recalls the stakes, estacas, that farmers once drove into the riverbank to manage irrigation.

The main draw is getting in the water. You can float with the current from the spring down through the park, snorkel over the sandy bottom and water plants, or take a diving course in the deep pool at the source. Away from the river there are lawns and picnic areas, and the park has a hotel, cabins and a camping area if you want to stay the night. It belongs to the state ecological reserve of Sierra de Montenegro–Las Estacas.

Las Estacas is privately run and charges admission, and it gets very busy on weekends, long holidays and during events such as the Bahidorá music festival held here in February. A weekday morning is the best time to see the water at its calmest. Contrary to a popular story, no Tarzan film appears to have been shot here.