Biosphere Reserve Los Tuxtlas
Country: Mexico.

The Tuxtlas was declared Biosphere Reserve on November 23 1998. It has an extension of 155,122 hectares, which covers a mountainous area with varied ecosystems like: ever green forests, low forests subperennifolia, forest caducifolio, forest medium perennifolia, forest low perennifolia, forest of tropical pine, oak forests, coastal vegetation, vegetation of tidelands, mountain forest, swamps, savanna, communities of flooding areas. One of the good known places of the Tuxtlas is the town of Catemaco. This area is to the west of what was the central area of the Olmeca civilization.

Inside this Biosphere Reserve we can find a community project of ecotourism developed mainly in the rural community of López Mateos. In 1999 it invited other communities Margaritas, Miguel Hidalgo, Peninsula of Moreno Sontecomapan, Benito Juárez and Tebanca to participate in the ecotourism project to conform a Network of Ecotourism. At the moment the Network of Ecotourism is conformed by the communities Margaritas, Miguel Hidalgo, Sontecomapan and the community Adolfo López Mateos as the base project.

"Selva del Marinero" is a project that has the main objective of promoting an Ecotourism Route and the Network of Ecotourism in the Region of the Tuxtlas. This community project is managed by the Society of Social Solidarity "Cielo, Tierra y Selva", your economic contribution will assure the protection of the environment and the economic improvement of the families from these communities.

You can participate with the Network of Ecotourism in several EcoTours from one to four days that cover the following aspects: cultural exchange; contact and interaction with the natural surroundings; eating regional and exclusive plates of the Community hostess with ingredients of the forest; recreation and adventure, a space with environmental quality, tranquility, beautiful landscapes, and places to swim and rest; natural areas with forest and cloud forests inside the Biosphere Reserve of Los Tuxtlas; environmental education; attention to school groups in topics of ecology, sustainable development, environmental education and historical, cultural and socioeconomic aspects; and above all security.

How to get there?

To Catemaco from the Mexico City - take the highway Mexico-Veracruz until the toll booth of "Paso del Toro" and turn to get on to the highway 180 that says Alvarado Acayucan. You pass the cities of Alvarado, Lerdo, Cabadas, Santiago Tuxtla, San Andrés Tuxtla and Catemaco. If you are in Catemaco and want to arrive to "Selva del Marinero" go towards the place known as the "la Cruz" and from there take the highway that surrounds the lagoon until Coyame it is approximately 11 kilometers and from there you turn to the left to take a dirt road, without straying, always to the right go on for about 8 kilometers you will see signs.

For further information: www.tuxtlas.org