Las Pozas

Edward James, the English poet, heir and patron who bankrolled Dali and Magritte, arrived in the Huasteca in the 1940s and spent the last decades of his life building the strangest garden in the Americas. Las Pozas covers some 30 hectares of steep subtropical forest along a river of waterfalls and blue pools - the "pools" of the name - and through it James raised dozens of concrete structures with no function whatsoever: spiral staircases that end in air, colonnades of columns shaped like bamboo and flowers, a "house destined to be a cinema" that never was, gothic arches, doorways framing jungle, platforms reached by ladders and vines. Orchids grew here first; when a freeze killed them, he began casting his fantasies in concrete instead, employing local craftsmen for decades. The forest has been colonizing the work ever since, which finishes the effect - moss on the balustrades, ferns in the stairwells, water everywhere. Visits run on timed entry with capacity limits; swimming in the pools is allowed in designated spots and is the perfect coda.

History

Edward James built the concrete structures between 1949 and 1984, among them The House on Three Floors Which Will in Fact Have Five or Four or Six and The Staircase to Heaven, and at one time the garden held 29,000 orchids. The work cost more than $5 million, which James paid by selling his collection of surrealist art, and he employed more than 100 local workers; after his death Plutarco Gastélum stopped the building, leaving several structures unfinished (Wikipedia, Las Pozas).

Highlights

• The stairways to nowhere - concrete flights ending in air.
• The flower columns - bamboo and blossom cast in concrete.
• The waterfalls and pools - the river that runs through it.
• The reclaiming forest - moss, ferns and vines at work.

When to go

November to May for the driest paths; mornings for cool air and the earliest entry slots. Book ahead in holiday periods - daily capacity is capped.

Practical notes

Paths are steep, wet, mossy and often without railings; grip shoes matter and the site is hard on limited mobility. Rain makes everything slick. Xilitla itself is a small mountain town with modest services.

Nearby

Xilitla's convent and market sit above; the Huasteca Potosina's waterfalls - Tamul, Micos, Puente de Dios - fill the surrounding days.

Key facts