Been home for about a month now. I wanted to share some experiences with fellow mud readers on some off road excursions I did during my vacation/family visit around Puerto Vallarta, Jal. Mexico.
Ruta Chacala y Yelapa - Chacala to Yelapa Trail
Date traveled: 01/28/07
The village of Yelapa lies on the southern shore of the Bay of Banderas, about 15 miles southwest of Puerto Vallarta, on the west coast of Mexico in the state of Jalisco. Most visitors arrive by taxi pangas from nearby Puerto Vallarta. Yelapa is part of a large indigenous community, in addition, to a few Americans and Canadians who also call Yelapa Home. The El Tuito River empties into the sea here, as well as another small mountain tributary. Yelapa’s name is said to be an old Indian one meaning “where two rivers meet the sea.”
The area is in what is geologically known as the Southern Escarpment, one of Mexico’s several immense mountain ranges dividing and defining the country’s regions. The land is densely foliated from the sea to the peaks, boasting a wide range of tropical flowering plants and trees, truly a nature lover’s delight. This is a tropical dry broadleaf forest, where the wet or rainy season lasts to nearly half the year, leaving the land gradually drying in the winter and the spring.
This particular region of Mexico was cited by the magazine Cultural Survival as one of the richest and most valuable bioregions in the world. It is believed that its forest tree genetic resources rival that of any topical moist forest region. According to one source, this area of Mexico is second only to the Amazon rain basin in terms of biodiversity and numbers of indigenous communities.
To get to Chacala via road. You must drive to El Tuito (29 miles from Puerto Vallarta) then follow a dirt road from El Tuito to the village of Chacala, then on to Yelapa. The dirt road will meander from here on out through the mountains and will have opportunities to do some creek crossings. The most memorable is at el rancho llano Grande. Plan about 1.5 to 2 hours of trail distance between El Tuito and Yelapa. It is advisable to have a 4WD vehicle in case you get rain, as rain would make the clay like dirt very slippery when wet.
Plan on stopping at the lookout point on top of the mountain to appreciate the panoramic views of Yelapa, & the bay of Banderas and beyond.
The rewards for arriving into Yelapa and making the roughly ½ hour walk to the beach is that you get to enjoy some peace and quite at a very laid back beach, with restaurants serving fresh seafood and cold beers.
For a link to my photobucket to view more pics click here.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v228/bohemianjsr/36%20Chacala%20to%20Yelapa%2007/
Ruta Chacala y Yelapa - Chacala to Yelapa Trail
Date traveled: 01/28/07
The village of Yelapa lies on the southern shore of the Bay of Banderas, about 15 miles southwest of Puerto Vallarta, on the west coast of Mexico in the state of Jalisco. Most visitors arrive by taxi pangas from nearby Puerto Vallarta. Yelapa is part of a large indigenous community, in addition, to a few Americans and Canadians who also call Yelapa Home. The El Tuito River empties into the sea here, as well as another small mountain tributary. Yelapa’s name is said to be an old Indian one meaning “where two rivers meet the sea.”
The area is in what is geologically known as the Southern Escarpment, one of Mexico’s several immense mountain ranges dividing and defining the country’s regions. The land is densely foliated from the sea to the peaks, boasting a wide range of tropical flowering plants and trees, truly a nature lover’s delight. This is a tropical dry broadleaf forest, where the wet or rainy season lasts to nearly half the year, leaving the land gradually drying in the winter and the spring.
This particular region of Mexico was cited by the magazine Cultural Survival as one of the richest and most valuable bioregions in the world. It is believed that its forest tree genetic resources rival that of any topical moist forest region. According to one source, this area of Mexico is second only to the Amazon rain basin in terms of biodiversity and numbers of indigenous communities.
To get to Chacala via road. You must drive to El Tuito (29 miles from Puerto Vallarta) then follow a dirt road from El Tuito to the village of Chacala, then on to Yelapa. The dirt road will meander from here on out through the mountains and will have opportunities to do some creek crossings. The most memorable is at el rancho llano Grande. Plan about 1.5 to 2 hours of trail distance between El Tuito and Yelapa. It is advisable to have a 4WD vehicle in case you get rain, as rain would make the clay like dirt very slippery when wet.
Plan on stopping at the lookout point on top of the mountain to appreciate the panoramic views of Yelapa, & the bay of Banderas and beyond.
The rewards for arriving into Yelapa and making the roughly ½ hour walk to the beach is that you get to enjoy some peace and quite at a very laid back beach, with restaurants serving fresh seafood and cold beers.
For a link to my photobucket to view more pics click here.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v228/bohemianjsr/36%20Chacala%20to%20Yelapa%2007/
Thanks for the review.
