Description: This National Park used to be the meditation retire for a religious group, thus the name Desierto(Desert) not meaning an arid place, but empty of people. And a lot of people still believe that Leones had to do with the animals, but it was the family name of the first owners of the land.In these days, Desierto de los Leones is one of the last forests around Mexico City, the trees are fighting against pollution and timber groups, not to mention the urban developers who are eyeing this property to build luxury condos and villas, the way it happened in the surrounding area but this area is off-limits thanks to it´s status as protected area.There is an old convent in the center of the park and is a nice place to visit, full of flowers and old architecture. The catacombs had been site for scary ghost histories to entertain visitors, as you have to go underneath with just a candle and it´s really dark down there.
There is a cozy restaurant on the premises but is a bit overpriced, so I always eat in the little quesadilla shops outside the convent, and is much tastier and cheap.
Most of the local visitors to the area come to spend the day throwing a picnic, there are a few "ermitas" for rent at the park entrance, on weekends they go fast.
To get there you need to rent a car or take a bus at the "Observatorio" subway station, the trip up to the convent may take 30-40 minutes. Make sure to ask the guards about schedules to go back as the park closes at 5:00pm. It´s a long way to the entrance (more than 5km) and walking would be the only option out.
Not far from the entrance you have a place you can't miss if you have a car, the very famous "Las Fresas" at Km 23.5 on the free highway, extremely recommended if you want some delicious strawberries with cream and honey. Yum.
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