Zapotitlán de las Salinas - San Juan Raya

Into Another World

Ruta: Tehuacan-Cuicatlan

For more than 4,000 years, the people of Zapotitlán de Salinas have harvested salt from natural springs in a tradition that continues to this day. Surrounded by dramatic desert landscapes and towering cacti, this remarkable village in the state of Puebla feels like a gateway to another world.

We spend the night in the beautiful Helia Bravo Hollis Botanical Garden, immersed in one of the largest cactus forests in the Americas. As the sun sets over the desert and the stars emerge above the giant organ-pipe cacti, it becomes easy to understand why this place feels so magical.

Zapotitlán is part of the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site celebrated for its extraordinary biodiversity and cultural history. Nearby, in the community of San Juan Raya, we explore a landscape that was once covered by the sea millions of years ago. Fossilized shells, marine creatures, and dinosaur footprints reveal a fascinating story of the Earth’s distant past.

This journey combines living traditions, unique desert ecosystems, and traces of prehistoric life, offering an unforgettable encounter with one of Mexico’s most extraordinary regions.

Gallery