The great monarch butterfly migration: Mexico

January 2025 – 6 days

Register now at tours@newscientist.com and we will contact you later this year with full tour details.

Witness one of the world's most astounding wildlife events, the monarch butterfly migration, which occurs each year in the forested Central Highlands of Mexico and features the most delicate of creatures. This all-encompassing itinerary offers extensive time among the butterflies, as well as a chance to enjoy authentic cultural encounters.

Every autumn, tens of millions of monarchs set flight on a remarkable 4000-kilometre journey from the north-eastern US and Canada to their ancestral wintering grounds in the volcanic mountains of central Mexico. The location of their breeding grounds remained a mystery until 1977, and how an infant generation of butterflies finds it anew each year is still unknown.

Experience this magnificent natural wonder for yourself. After an overnight stay in Mexico City, you will transfer to the small town of Angangueo where you will be mesmerised by the millions of monarch butterflies, filling the sky with clouds of orange as they come to rest on the oyamel fir trees at the end of their epic migration to a warmer breeding climate in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. Afterwards, you will return to Mexico City via Valle de Bravo and Toluca to enjoy some of the cultural aspects of this region of Mexico.

You will be accompanied by experts throughout, who will be on hand to explain the origins of the migration through a series of talks, walking seminars and fireside chats, covering the following topics:

• Migration biology, including advanced navigation and orientation mechanisms
• Complete natural history of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
• The effects of, and adaptations to, climate change in the monarchs’ winter home
• The origins of their migration in connection with the last glacial period during the Pleistocene Epoch
• Ecosystem characteristics that allow for quasi-hibernation in monarchs
• The role of conservation travel in protecting sensitive environments
• Novel conservation strategies to protect summer breeding grounds for monarchs in North America

As Mexican butterfly conservationist Carlos Gottfried said: "When you stand in a monarch sanctuary, your soul is shaken, and your life is changed."

DAY 1: MEXICO CITY ARRIVAL

You will begin your tour in Mexico City. On arrival, you will be met and transferred from the airport to your downtown hotel in the trendy Polanco district.

Mexico City is the oldest urban centre in the Western hemisphere. It was founded by the Aztecs in the 14th century, when it was called Tenochtitlán.

Gather this evening for a welcome dinner with your expedition leader, followed by an insightful talk covering the orientation of the wonders that lie ahead.

DAY 2: ANGANGUEO AND EL ROSARIO SANCTUARY

You will depart Mexico City after breakfast and drive into the Central Highlands past vistas of the snowcapped Nevado de Toluca volcano, bound for the small mountain town of Angangueo.

Once a copper and silver mining town, today Angangueo thrives on butterfly tourism and local agriculture. It is important that visitors demonstrate to locals that ecotourism can be a more viable and sustainable source of economic well-being than resource exploitation.

Enjoy a hearty lunch of homemade Mexican fare before making your first foray into the monarch kingdom at El Rosario Butterfly Sanctuary, which is the largest of the monarch sanctuaries in the region, offering the best opportunity to view large numbers of monarchs in one location.

Mexico's sanctuaries are the only place in the world where you can actually hear butterflies' wings beating. Their beauty is so ethereal that many Mexicans still hold the Aztec belief that the souls of the dead are reborn as monarchs.

Drive high into the hills in an open-topped truck; a few butterflies flit about, offering a hint of what awaits ahead. From here, you will mount one of the small Mexican horses provided by the local community, which will be led by your own caballero, allowing you to ascend the trail through the forest to the heart of the monarchs' migration site.

At first glance, it looks as though the trees are covered with rusty autumn leaves. But you soon realise that you are looking at millions of butterflies, covering the oyamel fir trees in a delicate, quivering blanket of black and orange. Though each butterfly weighs less than half an ounce, they mass together in a colony, clinging to the trees in huge clusters to survive the cool winter temperatures. When the sun warms their parchment-thin wings, the monarchs take to the sky in a fluttering cloud of orange – so many that the air hums with their movement.

Return to Angangueo for dinner at your hotel and a fireside chat discussing today's incredible sighting.

DAY 3: ANGANGUEO AND CHINCUA SANCTUARY

Today, you will explore a different sanctuary, Chincua Butterfly Sanctuary, where another magical encounter with the monarchs awaits.

As before, you will ride horses along the established trail most of the way. You will then have to hike in the last section to reach the mariposas.

During your visit, you will learn about the efforts to preserve this fragile forest ecosystem, which is the key to the monarchs' survival. You will also hear about what WWF Mexico is doing, in conjunction with local communities, to protect the butterflies' habitat.

Later this afternoon, you will have time to discover more of the village of Angangueo, known for its magnificent murals celebrating the importance of monarchs to the community.

DAY 4: EL ROSARIO SANCTUARY AND VALLE DE BRAVO

This morning, you will return to El Rosario to observe the butterflies in the early morning light. In contrast to our previous afternoon visit, you can witness the monarchs as they awaken for the day, hoping the sun will shine and warm their wings, prompting lively activity. As the butterflies take flight, you may see them float down to drink nectar from flowers or even alight on an arm or shoulder.

Enjoy lunch in Angangueo before travelling to the Valle de Bravo where you will visit the resort of Avandaro, which means "dream place" in the Purépecha language. Set on a lush hillside overlooking the valley, the hotel offers a relaxing setting in which to enjoy the fresh air and panoramic views from your casita, and perhaps a dip in the pool.

DAY 5: VALLE DE BRAVO AND TOLUCA 

Today, enjoy a short hike to the Bridal Veil Waterfall before driving to the nearby resort town of Valle de Bravo on tranquil Lake Avandaro. See white stucco houses with red tile roofs, covered in bougainvillea vines, while brilliant flowers in the Plaza Independencia attract a host of birds.

You will have lunch overlooking the lake. Afterwards, take a walk through the colonial town centre and its busy market.

This afternoon, you will begin your return journey to Mexico City, stopping en route in Toluca, originally a 13th-century Indigenous settlement, to visit Cosmovitral Botanical Garden. The building's interior, which houses 500 plant species from Mexico and around the world, glows with the ethereal light of stained-glass panels created by Tolucan artist Leopoldo Flores.

Say farewell over a classic Mexican feast before returning to the capital this evening for a late check-in at your hotel.

DAY 6: MEXICO CITY DEPARTURE

You will be transferred to the airport after breakfast for your onward travel.