Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve

Visiting the Monarchs in Mexico is an amazing adventure. The sight of over 89 million butterflies will leave you speechless. It’s an easy 3 hour drive to walk through the forest.

It takes 1,000 butterflies to weigh one pound (.45kg), and the branches on this tree were sagging under the weight.

The monarch colony here was quite different than at the more popular El Rosario sanctuary. 40 minutes outside Zitacuaro, near El Capulin, we chartered a couple of tiny mountain horses to take us up the rugged path to view the colony. The monarchs were clustered within a ravine, swirling around a few choice pine trees in search of sunny roosts. Whenever the sun went behind a cloud the butterflies scrambled into the air and back to the safety of the nucleus, knowing that settling down for the night outside the warmth of the colony would mean certain death.

Up to 1 billion monarchs winter in the mountainous pine-oak forests of central Mexico after completing one of the most spectacular migrations on Earth.

From November to March they hibernate here, waking only long enough each day to sip water and gather pollen. As the weather warms they fatten up and mate. The males die quickly, but the pregnant females head north to Texas in search of a milkweed plant on which to lay their eggs.

Four days later each egg hatches into a tiny caterpillar that feeds non-stop for two weeks before molting into a small cocoon-like chrysalis. Hormonal changes lead to the "birth" of the next generation of monarch, which continues the northward migration. Over the course of the spring and summer three successive generations of butterflies repeat this cycle on their northward trek. By the time the fourth generation emerges it is once again time to head south - a journey last undertaken by this generation's great-great-grandparents.

The El Rosario sanctuary is open to visits, but it's a long drive from Zitacuaro and you need to get here early in the day to catch the monarchs when they are active. It also requires some steep hikes at elevations great than 10,000ft (3,000m).

Those are millions of little Monarchs clumped on the threes!

Monarch Migration 🦋
Hands down one of the most special events we have had the pleasure to witness. Millions of Monarch wings fluttering to sound like a huge stream, the swarm of delicate orange overhead. Simply magical. .

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Activities

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GR Solaris Caribe Adults Only - All Inclusive

Zona Hotelera

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HK$7,225

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22 May - 25 May

found 13 hours ago

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New York (NYC) to Cancun (CUN)

8/10 Very Good! (1,018 reviews)

Too many stairs and they charge for room service every time you order

Reviewed on 14 Mar 2026

Majestic Elegance Costa Mujeres – All Inclusive

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HK$9,047

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22 May - 25 May

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New York (NYC) to Cancun (CUN)

9.2/10 Wonderful! (3,560 reviews)

We stayed at Majestic elegance for one week with my wife and our 4 year old son. The resort is amazing, always clean, staff are all very friendly and make you feel welcomed all over the resort. The selection and variety of food is amazing with lots of restaurants to choose from. We enjoyed the daily and nightly entertainment and there was always something to do with our little guy. Big thank you to all the staff and we highly recommend this resort for anyone that values good food and amazing service. Special thank you to Krystel for making our stay feel special and catering to all of our needs. She was amazing and a great person. She takes pride in her job and ensuring we were happy daily. We really enjoyed our special friends at the Lively Bar at the pool and want to thank them all for an amazing time. Thank you to Sandra, Jesus, Leo, Santiago, Sylvia, Victor, Escamilla. Also the entertainment team were all fantastic thank you Ricardo and Leo.

Reviewed on 14 Mar 2026

AVA Resort Cancun - All Inclusive

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HK$10,479

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22 May - 25 May

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New York (NYC) to Cancun (CUN)

8.4/10 Very Good! (922 reviews)

A lot of great things to say about this resort. Rooms: First, the resort is all ocean front and all rooms are ocean facing as well. We got the F& F deck and as a family of 4 was perfect bc there is a small room in the front where the kids each had a twin bed and their own tv Pool: same, bc of the way the resort is laid out lots of places to be by the pool, saltwater pool is a bonus and plenty of space and place to hangout poolside.

Reviewed on 15 Mar 2026

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Top Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve Hotel Deals

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8 Cipres Manga de Clavo Zitácuaro MICH

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