Golden sunrise over a sea of clouds covering the valley, with a forested hillside on the right.
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Water, forest and volcano · Sierra Norte of Puebla

The nature of ChignahuapanWater, forest and volcano

The axolotl that gives the town its identity, a clear-water lagoon, waterfalls in the canyon, stacked rocks that hardly anyone knows and sunrises over a sea of clouds.

Meet the axolotl Viewpoints and sunrises

Chignahuapan’s identity

The axolotl, at home here

In Chignahuapan the axolotl is family. Chigni, the guide of the Chigni Route, is an axolotl, and the municipality has a lake and a village both called Ajolotla.

The wild species of the region is the plateau axolotl (Ambystoma velasci), found only in Mexico: UNAM’s scientific collections hold specimens collected within the municipality. It is dark brown with pale spots, very different from the pink axolotl of Xochimilco, which is another species and does not live here.

It can spend its whole life in the water, with its feathery gills, or become a land animal. And like all axolotls, it regenerates limbs, eyes and even parts of its heart and brain.

  • Prunder special protection (NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010)
  • Endemiclives only in Mexico
  • 1 FebruaryNational Axolotl Day

How to look after it

Its threats are habitat loss and water pollution, capture, and non-native fish such as carp or trout, which eat its eggs and young.

  • Leave it in its water: catching it puts it at risk.
  • If you want one at home, buy it only from breeders authorised by SEMARNAT (UMA), with proof of legal origin.
  • Never release aquarium axolotls or fish into lakes or rivers: they can bring diseases.
  • Look after the water: don’t throw rubbish or chemicals into lakes, rivers or ponds.
Meet Chigni and his route
Chigni, the axolotl guide of the Chigni Route, pointing the way.
Chigni, the axolotl guide of the Chigni Route.
Photo comingThe plateau axolotl, dark brown with pale spots

Where to see it

Axolotl museums

Chignahuapan has two places devoted to caring for the axolotl and telling its story.

  • Mexican Axolotl Museum (MUMAX)

    A living museum devoted to axolotl conservation. It began as the Casa del Axolote and has been registered as a museum with Mexico’s Ministry of Culture since 2020. It keeps several species, including the plateau axolotl, the Pátzcuaro achoque and the Xochimilco axolotl.

    Castro 16, between Vicente Guerrero and Melchor Ocampo, Centro

    Hours: check before you go.

  • Axolotl Sanctuary

    The municipality’s space for axolotl conservation, on the shore of the lagoon. It opened in January 2026.

    On the shore of Chignahuapan Lagoon

    Hours: check before you go.

One kilometre from the square

The lagoon

It is the town’s postcard: mist over the water at dawn, a waterfront open 24 hours and boat rides from 10:00. On the Day of the Dead it is the stage of the Festival of Light and Life.

All about the lagoon Festival of Light and Life
Chignahuapan Lagoon from a drone on a sunny day: blue water between the town, green fields and the mountains
The lagoon between the town and the fields, from the drone.

8 km from the center

The Quetzalapan waterfalls

On the road to Zacatlán, the water drops more than 100 metres inside a forested canyon. To reach the bottom you go down 365 steps; up top the zip line, the suspension bridge and the viewpoints await.

Its 100 years of history
The Quetzalapan waterfall falling in full between rock walls and forest.
The full drop, in the Quetzalapan canyon.

The best-kept secret

El Arenal: Chignahuapan’s stacked rocks

At El Arenal, within the municipality, huge rocks rest one on top of another. It is a publicly accessible spot that hardly anyone knows, and one of the best-kept secrets of the sierra.

It is not the Valley of Stacked Rocks in Zacatlán: it is a different place, and it belongs to Chignahuapan.

Location
To be confirmed: soon, on the map
Access
Public

We are preparing the route to get there safely. Meanwhile, don’t climb on the rocks and wear hiking shoes.

Photo comingThe stacked rocks of El Arenal
Photo comingThe spot from above

Beneath your feet

A land of volcanoes

Almost the whole municipality sits on the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, the chain of volcanoes that crosses Mexico, and its rock is volcanic: tuff, andesite, basalt and rhyolite.

To the northwest lies the Acoculco caldera, a volcanic complex 18 by 16 kilometres across whose formations are between 2.7 million and 60,000 years old, with high geothermal potential.

East of town rises Quexnol, which a UNAM geological engineering thesis describes as a volcanic edifice of about 2,900 metres; the same thesis suggests the water of the hot springs may be linked to it. The highest point in the municipality is Peñón del Rosario, at 3,400 metres.

If you want to climb its hills, go with a local guide and tell someone your route.

A cone-shaped hill covered in forest and grass, among fields and a body of water, under a cloudy sky.
A conical hill in the northwest of the municipality, from the drone.

Pine, oak and fir

Forests and pines

Forest covers 37 % of the municipality: pine —patula, Chinese pine, ocote—, pine and oak, sacred fir, alder and madrone.

It is also a working forest: Chignahuapan is among Puebla’s leading timber producers, and Christmas trees are grown on its slopes. In December, at some plantations each family chooses and cuts its own tree.

Among its mountain spots is Cañada de Piedras, a hamlet at 2,589 metres, northwest of town.

The town’s timber Christmas trees
A mountain range covered in forest, with crop fields and houses at its foot, under a cloudy sky.
The sierra’s forest, with fields at its foot.

Worth getting up early

Viewpoints and sunrises

Some mornings the mist fills the valley and, from up high, the town lies beneath a sea of clouds. At the lagoon, the mist floats on the water until the sun lifts it: the waterfront is open 24 hours, so you can arrive before sunrise.

Bring a sweater: mornings in the sierra are cold.

Orange sunrise over the mountains reflected in Chignahuapan lagoon, with the waterfront in the foreground.
Sunrise at the lagoon.

Before you go

Frequently asked questions

Which axolotl lives in Chignahuapan?

The plateau axolotl (Ambystoma velasci), found only in Mexico and under special protection. It is not the pink axolotl of Xochimilco, which is another species.

Where can you see axolotls in Chignahuapan?

At the Mexican Axolotl Museum (MUMAX), at Castro 16 in the center, and at the Axolotl Sanctuary, on the shore of the lagoon. Check opening hours before you go.

Where are Chignahuapan’s stacked rocks?

At El Arenal, within the municipality. It is a publicly accessible spot; we will soon publish its exact location on the map.

Are there volcanoes in Chignahuapan?

Yes. Almost the whole municipality sits on the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. The Acoculco caldera lies to the northwest and, east of town, Quexnol, at about 2,900 metres.

Can you cut your own Christmas tree in Chignahuapan?

Yes. In December, at some plantations in the municipality each family chooses and cuts its own tree.

Outdoors

Keep exploring

Sources: INEGI, Encyclopedia of Mexican Municipalities (INAFED), SEMARNAT and CONANP (NOM-059 and Ambystoma conservation programme), UNAM scientific collections, Mexico’s Ministry of Culture, Journal of Maps (2019), UNAM thesis (2010), Milenio, El Universal and El Humanista.