Colonia Valle de Atongo
Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. View of the mountains from Cafe Motzart in Colonia Valle de Atongo.
Colonia Valle de Atongo (pronounced "Ba-yea de Ah-ton-go"), is the largest of the neighborhoods in Tepoztlán. It is also the wealthiest. Only a very small part of it is businesses. The major portion is residential, with very large estates behind high walls, often with gorgeous flower overhangs, mostly bougainvillea.
This article is the third in a monthly series on the neighborhoods of Tepoztlán. You can visit the one prior here, and the introductory article to the series here.
From the map below, you can see that to get there the best way is to take the main road from the center of Tepoztlán, Av. Revolucíon, east to "La Cruz, turning left onto the sinus Camino de Meztitla. This corner is labeled on the map as "Corregidor Ecológico." It's about a ten-minute ride, with several different public transportation routes going there.
The icon on this map, labeled Corredor Ecológico, is the corner where one turns from the main street to enter Col. Valle de Atongo.
Ecological Corredor
Communal land rights are contested every year, but Tepoztecos (the part of the population descended from the original tribes) continue to defend these rights despite the loss of land to outsiders throughout the Valley of Atongo and beyond. (See this article) . Here is another quote from that article relative to modern land usage:
The decade of the 2010s was defined by the slow expansion of the highway from Cuernavaca to Yautepec that encircles the town. It was a contentious issue amongst "Tepoztecos." While the highway entailed the appropriation of "Tepozteco" lands and the ecological devastation of the mountainside, the economy of Tepoztlán has become so entangled with tourism that many "Tepoztecos" supported the expansion for the sake of local businesses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, "Tepoztecos" raised barricades at the entrances of the town again, denying entry to tourists in direct opposition to the national policies of the time.
Note that this area was primarily agricultural and has given way to estates, both residential and as spas and retreat centers. But there are two public parks remaining. One is the Deer Sanctuary, and the other a Boy Scout camp.
The scout camp is Meztitla, the second largest in Mexico and home to international jamborees. This was where I camped for a week, attending the First Turtle Island Bioregional Gathering, in 1996, during my first visit to Mexico. Since then there have been other gatherings, like this one.
Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. The entrance to the Boy Scout Camp, Meztitla, in Col. Valle de Atongo
The other park, the Deer Sanctuary, was created to house some of the original inhabitants. At its center is a very large fenced off area where visitors can enter to feed the deer. One trail leads to a cascade.
Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. Cascade at the Deer Sanctuary in Col. Valle de Atongo
Another trail in the park goes to an overhang with petroglyphs and a view of the valley.
Commercial
A small section of Atongo has a cluster of businesses catering to expats, tourists, and visitors from Mexico City. Included are two nightclubs/restaurants, a couple of coffee houses, a smaller restaurant, an art gallery, and boutique clothing store. Here is a video slide show of a plaza in that area:
Two long blocks have many spas and retreat centers.
Near them is a public cultural center, with workshops, events, and a library. The latter houses the state of Morelos film archives.
And in the midst of the residential area is an authentic Austrian bakery/restaurant called Cafe Mozart. Look at the short video slide show below documenting the Cafe.
Residential
The largest area of Colonia Valle de Atongo is devoted to large residential estates that used to be farmland.
Here is a gated community, which is rare, where I enjoyed housesitting.
Next is a reel of a donkey in the compound.
Street sign in the colonia:
Here is a collage showing selected images of the residential area.
This ends our journey through Colonia Valle de Atongo, one of the neighborhoods of Tepoztlán. Next month we will explore another neighborhood.
Meanwhile, if you want to know what it is like to live in Tepoztlán, please read this very popular article. Inside is a related FREE offer for new subscribers. If you get someone to subscribe, I'll send you the offer, too.
