What are the best things to see in Tlahuac of Mexico City?
I spent a very brief month living in Tlahuac and checked out various points in the area.
Based on what I saw, this is the best that I think Tlahuac has to offer below.
Lagos de Los Reyes Aztecas
This is by far one of the best lakes in Mexico City.
It's basically a smaller and less touristy version of Xochimilco.
It costs about 400 pesos per hour (not per person) to get on a boat and be taken around.
Compared to Xochimilco, you don't have random people offering beer or food when on the water.
You need to bring everything wish you while on there.
You also might be able to get a discount if you negotiate in Spanish and want to go longer for like 3 to 6 hours.
Perhaps a free hour included in that.
I was able to get a discounted price anyhow.
And it's very nice.
I really enjoyed it.
Lagunas de Xico or Lago de Chalco
On Google Maps, you have two names for this area but it's basically the same place.
You have this little lake area very close to Lago de los Reyes Aztecas.
It's not touristy whatsoever.
You won't see a single soul trying to enjoy this lake.
No tourism infrastructure for you to enjoy it.
But the lake does have some cool history like Lago de los Reyes Aztecas.
And you can see it by getting a taxi to drive you down the road called Calz. Tlahuac Chalco.
Don't go all the way down though!
It's a very narrow road and you'll find a spot half way down that lets you park to the side so you can enjoy it.
When you do park, make sure to look both ways when crossing the road because it is busy and the drivers won't have anyway to drive around you given how narrow it is.
But this spot is the best place to enjoy a view of this lake.
You might think you can enjoy it by getting to the end of the road and turning left but you can't.
That narrow road you see on Google Maps doesn't offer a good view of the lake.
So this is the best you're going to get with it.
Also, if you do go to the end of the road, you'll be exiting Mexico City and you'll be in an area called Chalco in Estado de Mexico.
At the end of the road though, you'll find a place that sells pulques in 2022.
If it is still there when you get there, why not grab a pulque?
Grab one and go back to that point in the road where you can park and enjoy a pulque to a view of the lake.
Anyway, check out this article I wrote here discussing Lago de los Reyes Aztecas and Lagunas de Xico.
Ejido Land: Bosque del Tequesquite
In Tlahuac, there are some specific ejido lands that you can't have access to normally.
But sometimes, depending on the person and how you interact with them, maybe they'd let you on to enjoy the view of the area.
If you want to know what ejidos are, check out this source here.
But, to keep it simple, access to them is limited
I bring it up though because there is a place on ejido land in Tlahuac that would be nice to visit.
It is called Bosque del Tequesquite.
It's right next to Lagunas de Xico.
And, if I had to guess, you'd probably get a better view of Lagunas de Xico if you could get onto this land.
My only advice if you want to get onto Bosque del Tequesquite is to have a taxi driver help explain your circumstance (he's a foreign tourist) and have some bribe money and ask if you could pay to see the area.
How much?
I have no idea.
Maybe a 100 pesos? Surely, if you have a few extra dollars to spend, then 25 dollars or 500 pesos would be convincing enough.
But who knows.
Anyway, I'm not 100% sure this is ejido land but, from what I read online, it apparently is.
Your taxi driver probably won't know how to get there so you'll have to use a combination of Google Maps and having the taxi driver ask some locals passing by about where the area is.
Mina la Estancia
There is a road called Av. de las Minas
If you go down it, you'll be going through an area that Google Maps calls Mina la Estancia.
It's a dirt road.
The area is used by companies to extract minerals for construction.
You'll want to take a taxi to drive you down it and back.
There is nothing on this road to see really but it brings certain benefits:
First, it lets you escape or feel like you escaped the urban jungle that is known as CDMX.
Where you can't see other buildings.
And you have a bunch of green around you.
Second, it does offer a decent view of Xaltepec Volcano.
I personally enjoyed going down this road.
More on that experience here.
Bosque de Tlahuac
This is a park area that has a little lake but, when I went, the lake was dried up.
Maybe the lake will be there when you show up.
Anyway, it's one of the nicer parks in Tlahuac outside of the question of if you'll have a lake to enjoy or not.
Makes for a decent walk and physical exercise in general.
Alcaldia Tlahuac
In Alcaldia Tlahuac, you have a few things nearby that are worth checking out that you can see more in this article I wrote here.
But the main things are the following:
One, a little market is nearby.
Two, it makes for a decent and calm space to relax and sit down.
It's a pretty decent area for people watching, relaxing and whatever.
That's all.
Parque Los Olivos
Next, we have another park that is OK for walking around and enjoying some green space.
It's not overly big but it's worth checking out if you want to see what Tlahuac has to offer in terms of parks.
More on that area in this article I wrote here.
The Southeastern Pueblos
This is arguably one of the better things to enjoy in Tlahuac.
Right up there with Lago de Los Reyes Aztecas.
In the far southeastern corner of Tlahuac, you'll encounter "pueblos" or what more closely resembles small towns than the typical urban neighborhoods of what you'd expect in Mexico City.
Without question, the best one is Mixquic.
The full name being San Andres Mixquic.
Mixquic has so much of a community feel to it and is honestly one of THE most underappreciated areas of Mexico City for those looking to live in a place with a small community feel to it.
It's ironic that so many gringos claim Coyoacan is the best for that when it's really certain areas in Tlahuac (like Mixquic) and neighboring Milpa Alta that make Coyoacan pale in comparison.
Of course, the reasons for why no gringo lives in those areas is because it's far from everything else and few gringos talk about those areas online.
Outside of Mixquic, you can check out other "pueblos" of Tlahuac I recommend with photos included in this article I wrote here.
Museo Andrés Quintana Roo
This is a museum of Pre-Hispanic artifacts that you'll find in Mixquic.
Entrance is free.
Open from 10 Am to 6 PM from Tuesday to Sunday.
Worth checking out.
Parroquia de San Andrés Apóstol Mixquic
One of the nicest churches I saw in Tlahuac.
Located in Mixquic next to that last museum mentioned.
Recommended to visit.
Museo Regional Comunitario Cuitláhuac
They have a museum of some Pre-Hispanic artifacts to the area that you can find here.
Open from Saturday to Sunday from 10 AM to 4 PM.
Makes for a quick and OK visit.
Tribute to the Metro Collapse Victims
Another thing to see -- and to pay respect to -- is the tribute given to the metro collapse victims outside of Metro Olivos.
You can find Metro Olivos located on Av. Tlahuac.
And, for those who don't know, you had one of the metro's worst accidents in years by Metro Olivos where there was a train accident that killed a lot of people.
Outside of Metro Olivos is a tribute to the victims that I took a picture of here.
It's obviously not a thing to be a tourist to but to simply visit and pay respect to the victims.
It's interesting to visit anyhow as it relates to the history of the area also.
Parque Ecologico El Zapote
On the edge of Tlahuac and Estado de Mexico is a park called Parque Ecologico El Zapote.
I wrote more about this park with photos in this article here.
It makes for a simple walk.
It's not overly exciting but makes for an OK visit.
The only thing I'd add though is that it is a pain in the ass to get out of the neighborhood that it is located in.
Could not find a single taxi to take me outside.
Mostly "pirate taxis" where you have these random vato looking motherfuckers with beat up cars offering to drive people around.
Be prepared for the guy to rip your gringo ass off wanting to charge 150 pesos for a 70 peso ride.
Your best bet out of the neighborhood -- outside of taxis run by dudes who look ready to kidnap you to a hostage house -- is to take those combis.
You'll see a spot outside of the park mentioned that has combis passing by all the time.
Many of them.
From what I remember, I think they'll take you to the purple metro line eventually.
Otherwise, your only other way out that is not too expensive (assuming you don't get ripped off) is to take a taxi to the cablebus station known as San Miguel Teotongo.
Annual Events
Finally, you have these little annual events held in Tlahuac every so often that you have in other parts of Mexico City.
For example, I always heard that Mixquic puts on a decent celebration for Day of the Dead.
Similarly, you have the Llorena event that is celebrated in Tlahuac for Day of the Dead as you can see here.
"El Día de Muertos está a la vuelta de la esquina y con él se recuerda una de las leyendas más arraigadas en México: La Llorona. La cual cobra vida, como cada año, en la chinampa Atezcatl, en el Lago de los Reyes Aztecas en Tláhuac."
Among other events to keep in mind as the year goes on.
Just keep an eye out.
Maybe follow social media accounts on Twitter for Tlahuac and you'll get updates on anything else going on when it does.
Final Thoughts: Best Things to Do in Tlahuac
Got anything to add?
Those were the main things I noticed to do when I was visiting Tlahuac.
Some not so touristy at all like Mina la Estancia but still offer some value.
And other things -- like Lago de los Reyes Aztecas or pueblos like Mixquic -- being cool as fuck to do.
To this day, Lago de Los Reyes Aztecas is one of my favorite things to do in all of Mexico City and is really underappreciated greatly by foreign tourists.
At any rate, that's all I got to say.
If you got anything to add, drop a comment below.
And follow my Twitter here.
Thanks for reading.
Best regards,
Matt