Yecahuitzotl Park

The Parque Yecahuitzotl was renewed in 2021 as a part of a broader effort to improve and rehabilitate more of the Sierra de Santa Catarina. The project has been widely recognized and won several awards for Public Architecture and  Landscape Design. Some of that recognition has led to Yecahuitzotl being broadly considered the premier park of the entire Sierra. It’s also grown into one of the most important new parks in Mexico City.

The name comes from that of Santa Catarina Yecahuitzol, on the southern slopes of the same volcano. One of the original settlements of Tláhuac, it’s about 3.5 kms traveling southwest along the volcano base. A taxi will make the trip in about ten minutes. For the origin of the Nahuatl name, see there.

The park is on the far eastern edge of the City, and on the edge of the Iztapalapa and Tláhuac. The conservation area receives upkeep and maintenance from the Mexico City Secretary of the Environment. In fact, this park is but one of 21 designated environmental areas in the Sierra, and stretching around multiple volcanos in the range.

Today the park is increasingly important as an educational space, and for astronomical observations. The park includes cactus gardens, a labyrinth of painted red poles, an outdoor auditorium, and a pollinator pavilion for bees and butterflies. There are also exercise areas, a bike path, playgrounds, seating areas and extensive green areas. Several lookout areas also make it ideal for sightseers.

The Geodome that’s become something of a symbol of the park is used for meetings and workshops. Some good part of the park is also within hearing distance of the Puebla highway. That’s just to the east. But here, on the slopes of the Tetlalmanche Volcano, there’s nearly no better place to see the Caldera Volcano, across the way.