For a completely different experience when you’re in Mexico City, hop on a colourful trajinera for a lively tour through the heritage canals of Lake Xochimilco.
Beginning in the 10th century the indigenous Xochimilca people established villages along the shores of Lake Xochimilco. It is one of the five interconnected lakes that used to exist in the Valley of Mexico.
Note – Xochimilco is a Nahuatl word that means ‘Fields of Flowers’ in English. It is pronounced So-chee-meel-koh or Ho-chee-mil-koh depending on who you ask.
The Xochimilca people built gardens, called chinampas, in the shallow lake creating a labyrinth of canals. To do this they piled clay and soil into mounds until they were above water level. Then they planted trees in these gardens so the roots would anchor them and provide stability. The gardens are often called floating gardens, but as it was explained to us, they don’t really float. The gardens were very prolific growing a large variety of vegetables, fruits and flowers. By the time the Mexica established the city of Tenochtitlan, the gardens of Xochimilco were a major source of food for the entire region.
We have seen floating gardens in Myanmar, but they were very different from these ones in Mexico. You can read about those in our post Fascinating Inle Lake.
The people used to navigate through the canals on trajineras (colourful flat-bottomed boats). We had heard that the best way to visit this region is by hopping on one of these traditional boats for a canal tour. We weren’t sure we wanted to go since we have been on several boat tours before, but since it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site we thought we should check it out.
As it turns out, taking a trajinera along these historic canals is a very fun way to spend a couple of hours.
These colourfully painted, wooden boats are propelled by trajineros; boat men with long poles that push the boats through the water. We began travelling along quiet canals, passing a few local homes with boats docked in front. It was very peaceful.
The boat glided by a few chinampas, but other than wooden posts for stability, these gardens didn’t look much different from mainland. Apparently there are a few areas where there are a lot of the traditional gardens left, but our boat didn’t travel to them.
Once we reached the main canal the atmosphere was completely different. We expected to see a few other boats on the canals, but we didn’t think we’d see so many. All of a sudden we were in a parade of colourful barges.
There were a few other foreigners, but on a Sunday afternoon, most of the trajineras had Mexican passengers. Many of the boats carried large groups who seemed to be celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, or other occasions. Some had music and people were singing or dancing, others were filled with laughter. It was very festive atmosphere.
As we cruised along, boats with Mariachi bands pulled up to different boats and gave short concerts for a tip.
If you’re hungry don’t worry there are a lot of dugouts going up and down the canals selling Michaelada (beer mixed with chili powder turmeric or lime juice among other choices), as well as corn on the cob, tortillas and other snacks.
It was not the day we had expected but in the end, it was a lot of fun. Here’s a short 17 second video from our boat ride. To hear the Mariachis keep your volume on.
How to take a boat ride in Xochimilco
If you want to hire your own boat, go to one of the most common piers (called Embarcaderos); Belem de Flores, Fernando Celada, Salitre and De Flores de las Nativitas. Google Maps lists a few other spots that are not piers so only go to these embarcaderos listed. Most taxi drivers will know where they are when you say Xochimilco.
Private trajineras typically cost $600 MXN ($35 USD)/ hour. By hiring a private boat you may be able to go to your own destinations, but most of the popular destinations, such as Island of the Dead Dolls, requires a 3 or 4 hour tour. Most one-hour tours seem to end up on the same main canal.
A cheaper way to get the same experience is to take a collectivo trajinera. These travel back and forth between Embarcaderos Salitre and De Flores de las Nativitas. You can hop on at either of these piers. The price is much cheaper at $45MXN ($2.50 USD) per person for the one hour trip. They are a great alternative if you don’t have a group to share the costs.
There will be a lot of aggressive touts on the streets leading up to the piers. It’s better if you go to the pier and purchase your ride directly from the boatmen rather than from these touts. We had one persistent tout follow us on his bicycle as we explored the neighbourhood before selecting our boat. Whether you take a private boat or a collectivo, you will pay the boatman at the end of your trip.
Another option is to take a tour. You will be picked up at your hotel, and end up with the same experience as if you went on your own.
Xochimilco
The community of Xochimilco is quite nice. There are several places where you can see the smaller canals that the large trajineras can’t travel down. As we wandered the streets between these canals we found street art, fountains, statues and of course, churches.
Getting to Xochimilco
If you don’t have your own car you can take a taxi or Uber to any of the above piers. You can also take public transit. It’s easy to navigate with the MoovIt app (metro and bus).
To read more of our adventures in Mexico, click here.
Coming Next – Explore the Pyramids of Teotihuacan
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To read about more of our adventures go to Destinations.
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