Huasca de Ocampo is a Pueblo Mágico and is situated just outside of the El Chico national park. It is about an hour and about 2,000′ lower in elevation from where we were camped. Because of its close proximity to Pachuca and its relatively close proximity to Mexico City, this region is very popular with Mexicans for all sorts of outdoor activities. When we visited the area, we saw very few foreign tourists, but the streets were packed with Mexican tourists. This is great to see, as over the last 5-10 years, the growth of the middle class in Mexico has afforded more an more local tourism.
The town itself is a quaint little town with many, many summer cabins. The downtown section is six square blocks and is easy to navigate. But like all small towns, parking a Super Duty F-350 is a bit difficult.
One of HdO’s claim to fame, is that it was the First town to obtain the Pueblo Mágico status. IMO, the primary reason why HdO got this status was for the UNESCO site, and the outdoor recreation potential the area has.
UNESCO Site
Just outside of town, there is a UNESCO site, Las Prismas Basálticos. This site is located at a Balneario or a “spa”. It’s mostly a water park, or community swimming pool, situated on the downstream side of the town’s reservoir. This is a bit different than most balnearios as this one is full of tourist shops, restaurants and vendors. Aside from the pools and sports courts that are here for people to enjoy and have events, there is also a river that runs through the park. The river comes out of the reservoir and is in a canyon about 100-150 meters deep. The canyon starts from the reservoir dam, runs through the park and on its way. The canyon walls are why it is a UNESCO site. The walls are tall hexagonal basaltic columns ranging from 2-4′ in diameter and as tall as the canyon walls. They are all broken off at various points to give the impression that you could play Q*Bert on them.
It certainly is a wonder and deserves to be on the UNESCO list. However…
As you look down, you don’t immediately notice the color of the water, as the numerous waterfalls flowing makes you think it’s just the churning of the water that discolors the water. But as you walk down the steps into the canyon and start getting sprayed by the fine mist, you recognize the unique smell of sewage. The reservoir is highly polluted and as it flows into the river and thus canyon, so too are they polluted. As soon as I realized this, I ran back out of the canyon and ewww… I just wanted to take a shower at that point. Anyway, beautiful YES – best to view from the top.
Gnomes, Trolls, and Elves
In the area of El Chico National Park, it is largely a mining area of which the Spanish started mining in the early 16th century. Shortly thereafter, the Cornish came over and had their take at extracting ore from the mountains. Because of this, the whole area has English superstitions about gnomes, trolls, elves, and basically other fey to explain the unexplained. HdO has many, many theme parks and museums focusing on these superstitions. Most of them are over the top. My take on this, was that it could have been done much better, but the way this one theme park was done, they want you to believe that they are true believers, but they fill the park with cheap Chinese plastic gnomes. There’s just no way any reasonable person could do anything other than laugh – and run away a fast as possible.
Pizote Adventures 