Botanical Garden

Even in the times of the Aztec empire, the area that is now the Bosque de Chapultepec was prized for its lush vegetation. Montezuma planted age-old trees here, such as cypresses and willows, medicinal plants, and brightly colored flowers like poinsettias. 

In this setting, the Instituto de Biología de la UNAM (Biology Institute of the National University) created a beautiful botanical garden with the aim of reclaiming more of the forest’s natural habitats. It has shared space with the Museo de Arte Moderno since 2006. 

The 13 acres were recently overhauled, and the botanical garden now boasts new ecosystems and gardens. There is a pollinator garden with beautiful flowers to nourish bees; a grasshopper garden bursting with irises that attract grasshoppers and hummingbirds; a chili pepper garden where a wide range of these peppers found all over Mexico are grown alongside cilantro plants; the dahlia garden dedicated to the national flower; the Tlalocan garden honoring Tláloc, the god of rain, with mini wetlands inhabited by cranes and frogs; and the xeric garden presenting the Reserva del Pedregal nature reserve in the San Ángel neighborhood in miniature. 

There is an eye-catching tiled metal structure with art deco-style stained glass that shelters a large collection of orchids. Some are endangered, and others are just cultivated here. 

Don’t miss the edible garden, as well as the areas with succulents and fruit trees. There are other zones that, to a smaller degree, replicate prairies, deserts, and the freshwater habitat of axolotls.