"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
Check Out These 10 Beautiful Gardens on Your Next Trip to Mexico
There are few places in the world that rival Mexico’s cultural color, from its festive markets and vibrant textiles to its titillating art and decorative ceramics. Even Mother Nature herself seems to bloom more brightly here, with the United Nations Environmental Conservation Monitoring Center naming the country the fifth most megadiverse place in the world in terms of plant and animal life. Across the wide-ranging landscape, the country’s remarkable flora and fauna has delighted natives and visitors alike for ages. Some of the most striking botanical displays are held like treasure inside private homes and haciendas, though there are countless public parks, botanical gardens, and even hotels that reveal its natural wealth. Below, we’ve rounded up ten beautiful places across Mexico to witness the magic firsthand.
1. Cosmovitral Jardín Botánico, Toluca
The State of Mexico’s capital city of Toluca is home to the Cosmovitral Botanical Gardens, located an hour west of Mexico City in a former 20thcentury market. Here, visitors will find a diversity of national and foreign flora and fauna, along with a series of different gardens adorned with cacti, lotus ponds, gurgling fountains, and fern-covered bridges. Elevating this natural beauty are the garden’s glorious stained-glass murals that beam throughout the property. Chief among them is The Sun Man, a huge central wall of glass made by Mexican artist, Leopoldo Flores, representing the dualities of cosmic forces, from life and death to creation and destruction. (Image in Dropbox.)
2. The Edward James Sculpture Garden, Las Pozas, in Xilitla
Diego Rivera’s grandson and fellow artist, Pedro Diego Alvarado, is just one of the many ardent fans of Las Pozas, Edward James’s spectacular Sculpture Garden in the Magic Town of Xilitla in Huasteca Potosina. The British poet, artist, collector, and patron of the Surrealist movement passed away in 1984, though his garden lives on today as a living and breathing intersection between fantasy and reality. Las Pozas, or ‘the pools’ in Spanish, is named for the medley of pools and waterfalls that exist across the grounds. Over thirty Surrealist-inspired sculptures rise amidst the verdant jungle, from columns with capitals appearing like giant flowers to dramatic gates, and spiral staircases winding skyward as if to heaven itself. Getty Image Here + One Alternate in Dropbox.)3. Los Viveros de Coyoacán in Mexico City
Amidst the chaos of Mexico’s largest city, visiting Los Viveros de Coyoacánfeels like taking a deep long breath. Situated on the south side of the city, this National Park is on a mission to donate trees and help reforest the metropolis of Mexico City. On any given day, locals can be found running along the serene pathways or taking a break beneath the flowering Mexican plum trees. Meanwhile, others come to purchase a variety of plants and blooms at the Coyoacán Nursery. (Image in Dropbox.)
4. Hacienda de San Antonio in Colima
Guests lucky enough to stay in one of the twenty-five suites at Hacienda de San Antonio are in for a treat. The 19th century hacienda, tucked into the remote foothills of the Volcan de Colima in Jalisco, feels preserved in time. And while there is no shortage of activities to partake in across the more than 5,000-acre working ranch, it’s hard to beat an afternoon on the grounds, with a fresh garden picnic under the sun. The hacienda’s back lawn features a maze of planted pathways, gurgling fountains, and ornate formal gardens planted with boxwood and flowers, leading down to an inviting, 110-foot swimming pool. (Image in Dropbox.)
5. The Ethnobotanical Garden in Oaxaca
The state of Oaxaca may be best known for its delicious moles, vibrant textiles, and ceramics, yet visitors to the region won’t want to miss its striking Ethnobotanical Garden. The garden, which sits adjacent to the Santa Domingo monastery, celebrates the biodiversity of Oaxaca and the many usages of plants throughout the region. Expect pristine manicured pathways with all kinds of towering cacti and agaves, plus glimmering pools reflecting the garden’s bounty. (Image in Dropbox + Getty Image Here.)
6. Vallarta Botanical Garden near Puerto Vallarta
Despite being just twenty miles from the buzzy city of Puerto Vallarta, the internationally acclaimed Vallarta Botanical Garden feels a world away. Here, locals and visitors can enjoy the vast diversity of Mexico’s lush flora and fauna, including the most-visited public collection of orchids in the country. Wander the cultivated green spaces and conservatories brimming with botanicals and breathe the fresh forest air. In addition to a vanilla plantation onsite, the estate also has hiking trails, a popular restaurant, culinary programming, and a river for refreshing mid-afternoon dips. (Image in Dropbox.)
7. Chapultepec Castle Gardens in Mexico City
This opulent 18th century palace perched on a hilltop overlooking Mexico City is home to many treasures, including the National Museum of History, with its sun-lit galleries walled with stained glass. Enjoy the pristine, 360-degree-views over the city as you walk through its manicured rooftop gardens and observe the vibrant green expanse that is the neighboring Chapultepec Park. (Getty Image Here.)
8. Bosque Los Colomos in Guadalajara
Guadalajara may not be the first place one would expect to find a resplendent Japanese garden, and yet, visitors to Jalisco’s capital city will find one within the urban Bosque Los Colomos, or Colomos Forest. Some choose to ride horses through this expansive metropolitan park, with its lakes and streams, sporting fields and running tracks, while others enjoy slowing down and admiring the thoughtfulness of the koi-filled ponds and shaded paths in the Japanese garden, which symbolizes the enduring friendship between the cities of Guadalajara and Kyoto. (Image in Dropbox.)
9. El Nido De Quetzalcóatl + Quetzalcóatl Park in Mexico City
‘Magic’ is a word that’s often used to describe Javier Senosian’s dreamy organic architecture. Case in point, one of his latest projects, El Nido De Quetzalcóatl. This hidden gem and private housing complex, which opened in 2020 and is available to book on Airbnb, features a winding, serpent-shaped structure with views to the gardens surrounding. Here, guests are invited to immerse themselves in the natural world. Though the neighboring Quetzalcoatl Park is still closed to the public and undergoing an extensive renovation under Senosian’s stewardship, a booking at El Nido de Quetzalcóatl comes with a special sneak peek and guided visit. (Image in Dropbox.)
10. Parque Hundido in Mexico City
Parque Hundido – or Parque Luis Gonzaga Urbina as it’s officially called in honor of the 20th century poet – is home to many unexpected treasures, including an open-air museum of archaeological stelae and the largest floral clock in Mexico. The “audiorama” listening area also delights, with over one-hundred people able to listen to recordings of classical music and poetry here, while immersed in the surrounding plants and trees. (Image in Dropbox.)
11. Gardens of Hotel Sumiya in Cuernavaca
The Japanese word, Sumiya, means place of peace, tranquility, and longevity. At Hotel Sumiya, these values ring true throughout the former Japanese-style-mansion-turned-private-hotel-complex, which was built by the American heiress and socialite Barbara Woolworth Hutton. The property, located in Cuernavaca or ‘the city of eternal Spring,’ was also the site of her marriage to her seventh and last husband, the Vietnamese prince, Raymond Doan Vinh Na Champassak. Today, visitors can wander the hotel grounds, which are open to the public. In addition to two distant volcanoes adding to the dramatic backdrop, Sumiya’s spectacular gardens bloom with a rich variety of Mexican flora and fauna. (Image in Dropbox.)
There are few places in the world that rival Mexico’s cultural color, from its festive markets and vibrant textiles to its titillating art and decorative ceramics. Even Mother Nature herself seems to bloom more brightly here, with the United Nations Environmental Conservation Monitoring Center naming the country the fifth most megadiverse place in the world in terms of plant and animal life. Across the wide-ranging landscape, the country’s remarkable flora and fauna has delighted natives and visitors alike for ages.
Some of the most striking botanical displays are held like treasure inside private homes and haciendas, though there are countless public parks, botanical gardens, and even hotels that reveal its natural wealth. Below, we’ve rounded up 11 beautiful places across Mexico to witness the magic firsthand.
Cosmovitral Jardín Botánico, Toluca
The State of Mexico’s capital city of Toluca is home to the Cosmovitral Botanical Gardens, located an hour west of Mexico City in a former 20th-century market. Here, visitors will find a diversity of national and foreign flora and fauna, along with a series of different gardens adorned with cacti, lotus ponds, gurgling fountains, and fern-covered bridges.
Elevating this natural beauty are the garden’s glorious stained-glass murals that beam throughout the property. Chief among them is The Sun Man, a huge central wall of glass made by Mexican artist, Leopoldo Flores, representing the dualities of cosmic forces, from life and death to creation and destruction.
El Nido De Quetzalcóatl + Quetzalcóatl Park in Mexico City
‘Magic’ is a word that’s often used to describe Javier Senosian’s dreamy organic architecture. Case in point, one of his latest projects, El Nido De Quetzalcóatl. This hidden gem and private housing complex, which opened in 2020 and is available to book on Airbnb, features a winding, serpent-shaped structure with views to the gardens surrounding.
Here, guests are invited to immerse themselves in the natural world. Though the neighboring Quetzalcoatl Park is still closed to the public and undergoing an extensive renovation under Senosian’s stewardship, a booking at El Nido de Quetzalcóatl comes with a special sneak peek and guided visit.
Hacienda de San Antonio in Colima
Guests lucky enough to stay in one of the twenty-five suites at Hacienda de San Antonio are in for a treat. The 19th-century hacienda, tucked into the remote foothills of the Volcan de Colima in Jalisco, feels preserved in time. And while there is no shortage of activities to partake in across the more than 5,000-acre working ranch, it’s hard to beat an afternoon on the grounds, with a fresh garden picnic under the sun.
The hacienda’s back lawn features a maze of planted pathways, gurgling fountains, and ornate formal gardens planted with boxwood and flowers, leading down to an inviting, 110-foot swimming pool.
Gardens of Hotel Sumiya in Cuernavaca
The Japanese word, Sumiya, means place of peace, tranquility, and longevity. At Hotel Sumiya, these values ring true throughout the former Japanese-style-mansion-turned-private-hotel-complex, which was built by the American heiress and socialite Barbara Woolworth Hutton. The property, located in Cuernavaca or ‘the city of eternal Spring,’ was also the site of her marriage to her seventh and last husband, the Vietnamese prince, Raymond Doan Vinh Na Champassak.
Today, visitors can wander the hotel grounds, which are open to the public. In addition to two distant volcanoes adding to the dramatic backdrop, Sumiya’s spectacular gardens bloom with a rich variety of Mexican flora and fauna.
The Edward James Sculpture Garden, Las Pozas, in Xilitla
Diego Rivera’s grandson and fellow artist, Pedro Diego Alvarado, is just one of the many ardent fans of Las Pozas, Edward James’s spectacular Sculpture Garden in the Magic Town of Xilitla in Huasteca Potosina. The British poet, artist, collector, and patron of the Surrealist movement passed away in 1984, though his garden lives on today as a living and breathing intersection between fantasy and reality.
Las Pozas, or ‘the pools’ in Spanish, is named for the medley of pools and waterfalls that exist across the grounds. Over thirty Surrealist-inspired sculptures rise amidst the verdant jungle, from columns with capitals appearing like giant flowers to dramatic gates, and spiral staircases winding skyward as if to heaven itself.
Bosque Los Colomos in Guadalajara
Guadalajara may not be the first place one would expect to find a resplendent Japanese garden, and yet, visitors to Jalisco’s capital city will find one within the urban Bosque Los Colomos, or Colomos Forest. Some choose to ride horses through this expansive metropolitan park, with its lakes and streams, sporting fields and running tracks, while others enjoy slowing down and admiring the thoughtfulness of the koi-filled ponds and shaded paths in the Japanese garden, which symbolizes the enduring friendship between the cities of Guadalajara and Kyoto.
Vallarta Botanical Garden near Puerto Vallarta
Despite being just 20 miles from the buzzy city of Puerto Vallarta, the internationally acclaimed Vallarta Botanical Garden feels a world away. Here, locals and visitors can enjoy the vast diversity of Mexico’s lush flora and fauna, including the most-visited public collection of orchids in the country.
Wander the cultivated green spaces and conservatories brimming with botanicals and breathe the fresh forest air. In addition to a vanilla plantation onsite, the estate also has hiking trails, a popular restaurant, culinary programming, and a river for refreshing mid-afternoon dips.
The Ethnobotanical Garden in Oaxaca
The state of Oaxaca may be best known for its delicious moles, vibrant textiles, and ceramics, yet visitors to the region won’t want to miss its striking Ethnobotanical Garden. The garden, which sits adjacent to the Santa Domingo monastery, celebrates the biodiversity of Oaxaca and the many usages of plants throughout the region. Expect pristine manicured pathways with all kinds of towering cacti and agaves, plus glimmering pools reflecting the garden’s bounty.
Parque Hundido in Mexico City
Parque Hundido—or Parque Luis Gonzaga Urbina as it’s officially called in honor of the 20th-century poet—is home to many unexpected treasures, including an open-air museum of archaeological stelae and the largest floral clock in Mexico. The “audiorama” listening area also delights, with over 100 people able to listen to recordings of classical music and poetry here, while immersed in the surrounding plants and trees.
Los Viveros de Coyoacán in Mexico City
Amidst the chaos of Mexico’s largest city, visiting Los Viveros de Coyoacán feels like taking a deep long breath. Situated on the south side of the city, this National Park is on a mission to donate trees and help reforest the metropolis of Mexico City. On any given day, locals can be found running along the serene pathways or taking a break beneath the flowering Mexican plum trees. Meanwhile, others come to purchase a variety of plants and blooms at the Coyoacán Nursery.
Chapultepec Castle Gardens in Mexico City
This opulent 18th century palace perched on a hilltop overlooking Mexico City is home to many treasures, including the National Museum of History, with its sunlit galleries walled with stained glass. Enjoy the pristine, 360-degree-views over the city as you walk through its manicured rooftop gardens and observe the vibrant green expanse that is the neighboring Chapultepec Park.
You Might Also Like
