February 5th is a holiday in Mexico: a great opportunity for us to go visit the wonderful city of Valle de Bravo!
Day 1: Cascada Velo de Novia
I read online that there are two waterfalls in Valle de Bravo so Vivien & I decided to take a walk to one of them. We reached the Cascada Velo de Novia via the Ruta del bosque.
Then, after walking 10-15 min in the forest, we reached the main waterfall. It was stunning!
There was a little sign that explains the legend which gave the waterfall its name: Velo de Novia (Veil of the bride). From what I understood (the sign was in spanish!): Once upon a time, there was a young woman in love with a young man, toguether, they decided to run away and get married. Unfortunately, a friend of the woman was actually also in love with the groom-to-be. To stop the wedding, she gave the man a potion that made him fall asleep in her arms. When the bride-to-be went to see her future husband, she found him sleeping in her friend's arms. Devastated, she killed herself in the river.
Such a sad story for such a beautiful place!
There's an hotel right next to the waterfall, which we crossed for our way back.
Day 2: Santuario Piedra Herrada, Mariposa Monarca
During our second day in Valle de Bravo, we went for a 4 hours tour at the Sanctua Piedra Herra, where monarch butterflies migrate every year, from end of November to beginning of March. Unfortunately, the photos I took don't do it any justice (butterflies are not photogenic!). It was absolutely beautiful ! I had never seen so many butterflies in my life. They were EVERYWHERE. After several attempts, I finally managed to take a close-up of one of them!
The reserve was a bit crowed as this was a holiday weekend but the visit was SO worth it!
Day 3: Centrer of Valle de Bravo
During ou last day, we went for a tour on the center of Valle de Bravo. We first took a cab to the Mirador de la Peña. It was a bit hard to climb but the view from the top was amazing! We were glad we took a taxi to drive us to the entrance of the mirador, the road was very steep.
From up there, we could see the Lake Avándaro and spotted some people doing paragliding.
Then we walked down to the city center.
It was warm and we felt like eating icecream so we stopped at Los Alpes in the main plaza and they were delicious & refreshing. Mine was guanabana flavor, yummy!
