Bosque de Aragon
Av. José Loreto Fabela s/n, San Juan de Aragón II Secc, Gustavo A. Madero, 07969 Ciudad de México, CDMX
55 2603 6271
http://www.bosquedearagon.com
North of Mexico City is one of its most prominent natural areas, a park really, with ample green spaces and other ones designed for the outdoor recreation of visitors, even whole families. It’s the Bosque de Aragón (“Forest of Aragón”), which was created in 1964 and has an approximate area of 162 hectares, 114 of which are green spaces occupied by grasses and trees, and the rest are dedicated cultural and recreational areas, such as the children’s play center, a skatepark, an open-air theatre, a screening room, and a public waterpark. The Bosque de Aragón also has a zoo that was opened that same year, but that has gone through renovations and the remodeling of its exhibition spaces so that it fits the profile of a modern zoo in a better way.
The park sits at what was formerly the “Hacienda de Aragón”, a plot of land that was rented to Blás López de Aragón by the Tlatelolco people. The area eventually became the town of San Juán de Aragón which after the revolution of 1917 was divided among the peasants that actually worked the land, it wasn’t until 1962 that the Government of Mexico City’s Federal District expropriated a chunk of land and built the park that would provide a natural green area for families to be able to enjoy outdoor activities. The park receives some 3.5 million visitors every year and it’s populated by a few animals like: a healthy selection of native birds, such as green jays, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, the red siskin, the sparrow, blue jays, and the Muscovy ducks that have been migrating to the area ever since the ancient times of the Aztecs when this whole area was still the Lake of Texcoco.
The Bosque de Aragón still has a lake, as a matter of fact, albeit much smaller, and man-made, yet this body of freshwater creates a nice little habitat for the birds to enjoy, along with the human visitors of course and contains tilapias and wild guppies in its waters. The Bosque de Aragón is free to access and is serviced by its own metro station, “Bosque de Aragón” from Línea B. The park is open every day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. except on Mondays.
This man-made park, which was originally envisioned during the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas as a recreational area and also as a buffer for dust storms, is considered nowadays the 2nd “lung” of Mexico City (only behind the Bosque de Chapultepec). It keeps residents and visitors on the north side of the city in contact with nature and exercise and it provides peace and natural beauty in the middle of this growing urban sprawl.
