Parque Nacional Eduardo Ruiz

(0800-1800. US$0.85. To get there, walk 1 km from the town centre or catch a bus 1 block south of the Zócalo marked ‘El Parque’.)

The Parque Nacional Eduardo Ruiz is a verdant urban park space that’s considerably smaller and tamer than other national parks in Mexico, but refreshing and pleasant all the same. Replete with subtropical plants, flowers, birds, butterflies, waterfalls and boulders, this 20-ha space follows the course of the Río Cupatitzio. Its source is known as the Rodilla del Diablo (the Devil’s Knee), after a myth relating how the Devil met the Virgin Mary whilst strolling in the park, knelt in submission and caused the river’s water to spring forth. The park is very popular with families and there are food stalls serving economical snacks. At the entrance to the park, on the corner of Independencia and Culver City, is a Mercado de Artesanías selling wooden boxes and bracelets among others.