Zirahuen Lagoon: a place for ecological and alternative tourism.

Courtesy Government of the State of Michoacan

Because of its amazing diversity of sightseeing, people who visit Michoacan are enchanted right away. This land surprises everyone for its fresh forests full of pines, its deserts, virgin coasts and archeological and colonial sites.

Michoacan is known for being a land of skillful craftsmen, whose artistic expression reflexes the style of each ethnic culture -- mix between Indian and Spaniard -- in products made of clay, copper, wood and textiles among others.

Morelia, the state’s capital, is located 288 kilometers away from Mexico City, 290 kilometers from Guadalajara, Jalisco, 191 kilometers from Leon, Guanajuato and 320 from the coast of Lazaro Cardenas. Morelia is recognized for its architectural construction style and its historic downtown, the second biggest in the country, with more than 1000 historic buildings.

Morelia´s downtown has an extension of 3.42 kilometers, offering 219 blocks, 15 public squares and 1,113 monuments. When all put together, the city offers a great value for its architectonical characteristics that creates a local colonial style, an art that has merged with modern times, modern hotels, restaurants and shopping malls.

The state of Michoacan has countless natural beauties, which make it an important point of attraction with its infinite number of places fit for ecotourism, spring water and its unique type of butterfly. As well as its geographic characteristics, Michoacan is one of the states of Mexico with the most diverse climates. Its weather can range from temperate and humid with forests, to warm and dry regions.

Michoacan´s coasts have interesting places for people who like scuba diving, due to the enormous quantity of fish seeking refuge on its coasts. There are also many different species of sea birds, which can be admired from very close range, as these places are semi-virgin, and the fauna are not scared of the presence of visitors.

Michoacan has parks, natural reserves and lakes that serve as backgrounds for horse riding, camping, and mountain activities especially in the regions of Patzcuaro, Uruapan and Morelia. The Mariposa Monarca biosphere reservation is a wooded sector of the state where this type of butterfly migrates after flying nearly 5,000 kilometers from Canada and the northern United States in the middle of November, finding the ideal habitat for reproduction because of the weather and food conditions. This reserve is placed in the woods of pine and oyamel about 2,200 and 3,000 meters above sea level. Scientists calculate about 60 million butterflies arrive every year.