Metzabok | Informal Campsite

Mexico

Details

Verified:
about 5 years ago
Altitude:
541.2 masl
Website:
Contributor:
bobandmarilyn

Amenities

Electricity:
No
Wifi:
No
Kitchen:
No
Restaurant:
No
Showers:
No
Water:
No
Toilets:
No
Big Rig Friendly:
No
Tent Friendly:
Yes
Pet Friendly:
Yes

Something not right?

Description

Camping on the shore of a lake in the Metzabok Biosphere Reserve. Absolutely no facilities except a raised gravel road and parking area above the muddy lake shore. Beautiful view. Out of sight of, but adjacent to, a small Mayan village. You will be charged a small fee and be given a paper bracelet when you enter the village. Everyone was extremely friendly. We hired a guide (but ended up with 2 15-year-old boys who were lots of fun) to oar us across the lake to some so-so paintings on a rock face and then to a steep trail up a hill to a viewpoint. All very interesting.
You will travel over an hour on dirt roads. The turn off to Metzabok was not marked but you will see power lines going down a major side road. Follow them. You will go through fields for awhile and then cross a stream where you will see a sign indicating you are entering the reserve. No farming after this point.

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We were asked to pay 36pp entry fee, and received the paper bracelets with 34pesos price printed on it.... (???) perhaps new year price increase.

A short trail starts at the RIGHT corner of the camping area (if facing lake) and it goes for about 750m / 0.5 mile to a small clearing/"mirador". Follow orange markers on the ground.
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We were alone for whole duration of our stay - 2 nights, and had absolutely no problems. There was no charge for camping.

Very quiet. Good place to rest.

We came from NORTH/WEST (Mex307 & Rio Chancalá). First 20km(?) of the road were paved, after that just a dirt road. In rainy season, 4x4 would be good idea. If road is dry, should be possible to drive with decent 2WD.
However, low hanging brunches a overgrown sides of the roads will put limitations on the height and width of the vehicle.

The same goes for the drive SOUTH/WEST to Tonina / Ocosingo, which has just about 50km of dirt road first, asfalt for last 55km to Ocosingo (Jan 2019).

We have randomly offerred and given rides to 12+ locals. They all were very shy, polite.... and positively surprised.

We opted for Rio Chancalá => Ocosingo traverse as an alternative to Mex199 (Palenque - Ocosingo) because we did not want to deal with pressure tactics employed on the highway by the street vendors and possibly road blockers. This alternative path proved to be a very nice drive, with decent enough road and very nice scenery. Some villages were surprisingly large and had shops with most basic stuff. There are no gas stations, just road side sales of gasoline in plastic bottles and jugs. Locals were reserved and shy, but responded well to all our inquiries and kept us on the right track.

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Nice place in the jungle, near a little mayan villages. People are friendly. we paid 34 pesos for the biosphère fee.
the overnight near the lake was free.

you can hike in the jungle around the lake to a viewpoint. follow the orange mark at the left of the camp (there is only one track)

for coming we take a dirt and muddy road from Tonina. You need high clearance and 4wheel drive (mud)

there is a better road from palenke.

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Exactly as described. When we entered the village we were pointed to the tourism office. Here they advised 34.50 each for entry (paper bracelet), 250 for just the boat to the ancient wall paintings or 500 to carry on to the look out point (regardless number of people). As we arrived at 4pm we said we’d return the following day to (perhaps) do the tour. In this case access to the lake and camping on the raised gravel area was free access. We passed a small cafe on the corner of the dirt road which had a sign for WiFi but no Telcel signal here. No facilities so toilet options need to be explored if required. You can make a camp fire in the wooded areas where they have made benches and tables for camping. As it’s school holidays (Semana Santa) there were families and children all playing in the lake (speaking Mayan and Spanish) - the place is really special and so tranquil if you can accommodate the detour to this region. All the villagers were genuinely really friendly and very polite children from the village. It’s a real pleasure to experience a very rustic and traditional Mayan/Mexican village.

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Camping on the shore of a lake in the Metzabok Biosphere Reserve. Absolutely no facilities except a raised gravel road and parking area above the muddy lake shore. Beautiful view. Out of sight of, but adjacent to, a small Mayan village. You will be charged a small fee and be given a paper bracelet when you enter the village. Everyone was extremely friendly. We hired a guide (but ended up with 2 15-year-old boys who were lots of fun) to oar us across the lake to some so-so paintings on a rock face and then to a steep trail up a hill to a viewpoint. All very interesting.
You will travel over an hour on dirt roads. The turn off to Metzabok was not marked but you will see power lines going down a major side road. Follow them. You will go through fields for awhile and then cross a stream where you will see a sign indicating you are entering the reserve. No farming after this point.

Report Check-In

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