El Cielo Biosphere Reserve

El Cielo protects one of the northernmost cloud forests in the Americas - a Tamaulipas range where four ecosystems stack up the slope: tropical forest at the base, cloud forest in the fog belt, pine-oak above it and dry scrub on the western side. UNESCO listed it as a biosphere reserve in 1987, and its biodiversity is disproportionate: hundreds of bird species including military macaws and rare parrots, jaguars and ocelots in the deeper zones, black bears, orchids, tree ferns and bromeliads dripping from the canopy. The visit runs through community ejidos: from Gomez Farias, trucks climb a rough track to Alta Cima, where a small cooperative runs cabins, a comedor and a shop of forest products, then further to San Jose and La Gloria for higher forest, caves and lookouts. Guides from the villages lead birding walks, cave trips and the trail to the ridge. Weather is the constant character - mist, drizzle and sudden clearings - and the reserve's rule is that money and management stay local.

History

In 1935 the Canadian farmer and horticulturist Frank Harrison set up a homestead he called Rancho El Cielo at 1,140 metres in the cloud forest. The ornithologists George Miksch Sutton and Olin Sewall Pettingill Jr. worked here from 1941 and Paul S. Martin from 1948 to 1953, and in 1965 Harrison gave his land to a non-profit with Texas Southmost College and the Gorgas Science Foundation. The state protected the area in 1985, and UNESCO recognised it as a biosphere reserve in 1987 (Wikipedia, El Cielo Biosphere Reserve).

Highlights

• The fog forest - tree ferns, orchids and dripping canopy.
• The zone stack - tropical to pine-oak within one climb.
• The birds - macaws, parrots and hundreds of species.
• The ejido villages - Alta Cima and San Jose as bases.

When to go

November to April for the driest tracks and the best birding; the wet season turns the road into a genuine expedition. Nights are cold in the cloud belt year-round.

Practical notes

Access is by rough track only - hire community transport rather than testing a rental car. Lodging is simple and cold; bring layers and cash. Guides are required for most trails and are the reason you see anything.

Nearby

Ciudad Mante's sugar country sits below; the Huasteca's waterfalls lie southwest across the state line.

Key facts