Santuario de Luciérnagas en la Sierra de Guadalupe
C. Juárez #76, Francisco Villa, 90280 Cd de Nanacamilpa, Tlax.
7481069122
Hundreds, maybe thousands of Macrolampis Palaciosi greet you and share a 2-kilometer walk through the dark forest illuminating your path along the way. They’re a type of firefly that’s endemic to this part of Mexico, and they’re bigger in size, with shorter but stronger wings. They inhabit the Sierra de Guadalupe, which is in the northern part of the city, within the neighboring Estado de Mexico. “Las Noches de las Luciérnagas” (“Night of the Butterflies”) is a wondrous short expedition that lets people commune with nature and allows them to enjoy an immersive experience surrounded by these luminous critters that had been diminished in population size due to the cutting down of trees, the Macrolampis Palaciosi firefly had almost gone extinct.
“It isn’t just something visual, as the walk allows people to also appreciate exquisite aromas and the magical sounds of the nocturnal birds, of the insects, and of other animals”, said Víctor Zendejas, the President of Franature, the Naturist Ecological Fraternity of the Sierra de Guadalupe
The “Night of the Fireflies” at the Sierra de Guadalupe takes place every day of July of every year, and it’s a 2-kilometer walk where beautiful landscapes can be appreciated along with hundreds of fireflies illuminating the surroundings. The experience lasts around two hours and it starts with a projection of a documentary at the Centro de Educación Ambiental (“Center for Environmental Education”). They start at 7 p.m. and it’s recommended to wear warm clothes and to not carry any flashlights or any other type of lighting device.
The Sierra de Guadalupe is part of the Valle de México (“Valley of Mexico”) natural reserve, and due to reforestation and preservation efforts carried out by the Secretariat of the Environment and private environmentalists, it has seen a resurgence in its firefly population and the “Night of the Fireflies” continues to be a promotional tool that creates awareness in the population on preserving this natural environment that’s the home to these endemic creatures. The groups of people during these expeditions are kept to less than 30 and at the end of the walk, there is an activity where the importance of preserving the environment is reinforced.
The “Night of the Fireflies” is completely free as it’s in the authorities’ best interest to reinforce their eco-friendly message and to bring the general population and nature a little bit closer together.
