Chapultepec Park (Grasshopper Hill Park) travel guide

An important recreational park for the city dwellers

With about 4 sq km/1.5 sq mi it is also the largest park in Mexico City. Chapultepec was once a Toltec castle, where the last Toltec ruler Huémac is said to have hanged himself in 1177 after fleeing from Tula. In 1299, the Méxica (Aztec) ended a long period of migration by settling around the hill. Neighbouring tribes however chased them away only 20 years later. The poet-king Netzahualcóyotl (also known as the philosopher king) reputedly first created this park in the first half of the 15th century. As the power of the temple city of Tenochtitlán grew, the hill became the summer residence of the Aztec rulers. Via an aqueduct, springs from the hill provided water for the city; ruins of the aqueduct still stand in Avenida Chapultepec in the block between Calle Praga and Calle Warsovia. Portraits of the Méxica rulers were sculpted into the eastern slope of the hill; fragments of these sculptures still exist.
The park is full of old trees. The most impressive are the giant cedars and Montezuma cypresses (Ahuehuete in Nahuatl). Lakes, sport facilities, a beautiful botanical garden, a zoo, several museums and Chapultepec Castle attract many visitors. Mexico City residents in particular like to come here to hike, ride on horseback, have a picnic or enjoy the many events, such as concerts, plays, children’s programs and other entertainment.

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