Xochimilco Floating Gardens

Xochimilco and its floating gardens, located at the southern edge of Mexico City, offers one of the city’s  most magical outings. The lake bed, springs and ground water in the area have for centuries provided an ideal  setting for a criss-crossing of canals and chinampas, matted and root-bound floating islands on which  horticultural products have been and still are raised.

Xochimilco (1)

Canoes and colorful trajineras, flat-bottomed boats or barges typical of Xochimilco, festooned with flowers and bright paint, ply the canals giving passage to visting tourists and tenders of the chinampas. These craft leave from any of nine different wharves  situated along the shores of the canals.

The area is home to verdant plant nurseries and flower markets offering a staggering selection of ornamental plants  and trees. There is the Mercado de Madre Selva in the Nativitas forest, the Palacio de la Flor (Flower  Palace), the Mercado histórico or Historic Market of San Luis Tlaxialtemalco and the spectacular central  plant and flower market of Cuemanco, 13 hectares that form the largest market of Latin America.

Other sights to see in Xochimilco are the 16th C Franciscan Convent and church of San Bernardino de Siena, patron saint of Xochimilco, located in the town center; numerous other churches and historical  monuments dating from the colonial era; and the Archaeological Museum of Xochimilco, set amidst riotous  gardens and flowers. The museum holds nearly 2,500 historical artifacts and figures in clay and stone.

Xochimilco (2)

Xochimilco and its various settlements host many religious and cultural festivities during the year. On  Candlemas day, the 2nd of February, a carved doll child called the Niñopa is taken on a procession through  the streets and houses of the town, visiting the sick at home and in hospitals, accompanied by chinelos,  elaborately robed and masked dancers. Other popular fairs are the Amaranth and Olive fair in February in  Santiago Tulyehualco; the Fair of the Most Beauiful Flower of the Ejido (Feria de la Flor mas bella del  Ejido) in Xochimilco at the end of March; and the Snow or Ice Cream Fair (Feria de la Nieve) at the beginning  of April in Santiago Tulyehualco, with a showcase of incredibly ingenious flavors of ice cream that can  include such things as rose petals, fresh mint, shrimp, tequila, corn and maguey worms. Then there is the Corn and Tortilla Fair in honor the most important staple food of Mexico and the Crystallized Candy Fair of Santa Cruz Acalpixca where you can find sweets made with coconut, peanuts, yams, tomatoes, stuffed chiles and a whole range of other regular and not-so-regular flavors.

The name Xochimilco stems from the Nahuatl language, and translates into “place where flowers are sown” or  “place of the flowering plants” .

Xochimilco was declared a World Heritage site in 1987.

For further information see http://www.xochimilco.df.gob.mx/turismo/index.html

Xochimilco (1) photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/louis/ / CC BY-NC 2.0
Xochimilco (2) photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/starobs/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

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