The mountains where Michoacán meets the State of Mexico are cold, high and thickly forested with oyamel fir, and every winter they host one of the great natural spectacles of the continent. The Chincua, Campanario, Chivatí and Huacal sanctuaries are part of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO site, and they are where millions of monarchs arrive from Canada and the United States after a journey of thousands of kilometres. Nobody has ever fully explained how butterflies that have never seen the place find it, but they do, usually in early November, around the Day of the Dead, which locals link to the souls of the departed.
The butterflies cluster on the fir branches at about three thousand metres, so densely that the boughs bend, and in the cold they hang like dead leaves. When the sun warms the forest at midday they spill into the air in orange clouds, and the sound of their wings has been compared to light rain. The best time to see them is from late January to early March, between about eleven and three in the afternoon, on a sunny day. The final approach to some sanctuaries is on foot or by horse, and visitors must walk quietly and not touch the insects.
Angangueo, the small mining town below, was once a silver and gold producer and has steep narrow streets and old miners' houses. A flood in 2010 hit it badly, and the memory is still part of local life. The approach roads are winding mountain roads, partly paved and partly rough, with fog, potholes and sharp bends, so they are best ridden dry and in daylight. Nights are bitterly cold in winter, so bring serious layers, and rain can make the unpaved parts slippery.
Angangueo and Ocampo have simple accommodations and fuel is limited, so top up in a larger town such as Zitácuaro before climbing. Family kitchens near the sanctuary entrances serve quesadillas, trout and hot corn drinks, and the guides are usually local farmers who earn part of their income from tourism, which is why the butterflies are protected. Out of season, the forest is quiet, cool and fragrant with fir resin.