Nearby Turistic Sites
Xilitla and Las Pozas
Enchanted Garden
Located 86 Kilometers from Cd. Valles, San Luis Potosí, Xilitla is a coffee grower town with around 50,000 people, at the base of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, 1000 msnm, with a view to a deep canyon. It is part of the mountain region of the Potosí Huasteca that borders with the states of Querétaro and Hidalgo.
Xilitla, its name in nahuatl means “place of snails” it is in a mountain valley, semi tropical, it has a rich natural environment that characterized by its water springs and waterfalls. History says that Xilitla belonged to Doña Isabel De Cano, daughter of King Moctezuma who liked so much the Augustinian monks whom he always helped, giving them the land for the construction of a convent to evangelize the Indians, being its founder fray Alonso de Veracruz. This ex convent built in the XVI Century (1557) it is located in front of the People’s Square and it’s the oldest colonial construction of San Luis Potosí.
Among the main tourism attractions in the region there is the Jardín Encantado de las Pozas that is the site for the Edward James’ masterpiece, for the followers of the Adventure Tourism, mainly those that like climbing they can do it at the Silleta or Huitzxalotepetl a.k.a. Cerro del Agua. Nearby, there are beautiful places like the Sótano de las Golondrinas at Aquizmon and the waterfalls of Tamul, Micos, Tamasopo and Puente de Dios only a few kilometers from Cd. Valles.
Las Pozas Enchanted Garden
In 1945 on one of his visits to our country, Edward James starts a trip to different places to look for orchids. Traveling by car accompanied by a friend, they decided to stop to refresh at the are of Las Pozas, after getting off the water his body is suddenly covered by a great number of butterflies of different color. Taking this as a signal to erect at this site the paradise that he has always dreamed of. In 1947 supported by his friend Plutarco Gastelum who he met in Cuernavaca he buys the land of 30 acres Rancho La Conchita where starting in 1960 begins to create his own Garden of Eden looking for his own spiritual and personal achievements. Plutarco establishes himself in Xilitla and Edward James joins the family.
At Las Pozas, Edward James created with great passion his own surreal world, surrounded by orchids, and dense vegetation within a beautiful environment that included natural wells and crystal water waterfalls. In his constant trips to this site, this eccentric person arrives with cages of birds, snakes and other animals and exotic plants with the objective of preserving their species and creates their own environments.
Las Pozas is not only a group of extravagant constructions, is a magical place where the architectural sculptures created by Edward James have a hidden language. As a secret garden, the more than thirty structures that you will find here will take you to a different world with riddles and fantasies. To build this surrealistic paradise, it was necessary the hiring of more than 150 workers that were under the carpenter José Aguilar, who elaborated the molds made of wood for the figures created by Edward James. Each one of them represents a work of art laden with symbolic meanings.
At the entrance of Las Pozas you will pass through the door called The Engagement Ring (El Anillo de Compromiso), the idea of Edward James was that the visitor entering this place will leave out when passing through the serpent’s road all of his secrets and will arrive pure. At the superior part of this structure there is a diamond formed by 18 arrow points that will brighten when the sun light hits them, the number 18 in Hebrew correspond to the letters jet and yod that together form the word that means life, thus we have to pass through this door we are entering to the intimate life of Edward James.
Among the surrealistic structures that you will find at Las Pozas there are several stairs that symbolize the road that man has to go to reach God or the ascension to the knowledge. Here you will also find the “Puerta de las Navajas” (door of the knives) that only can be crossed without harm those who are jousts while the sinners will receive their punishments, the “Plaza de Don Eduardo” called on his honor has a fountain with a large bromelia that shows the possibility that two world apparently separated, are capable to live simou8ltaneously, the “Palacio de Bambu” is a three level construction without walls with a concrete plaque with the form of a shamrock supported by capitals with bell form.
Tips:
- The place has a lot of irregular stairs so we recommend wearing tennis shoes. During raining season they are extremely slippery, please take your precautions.
- To better understand Edward James’ work and better use of your visit, we recommend to hire one of the two available expert guides that work at this place (Carlos Barboza or Abril Diaz). For information on these guided tours call 01-489 and 100-2743.
- If you require accommodations, in this place there are several villas with all amenities, for information call 01-489 and 365 0367
La Posada de El Castillo
Named for being the place were Coronel José Castillo used to live. was bought by Plutarco Gastelum to live with his family, housing Edward James and his artists friends. During the 50’s was renovated by Plutarco who also built some additional areas, today it is a hotel with 8 rooms and an excellent option during your visit to Xilitla. This place of gothic reminiscences has a fascinating architecture full of extravagancies with Mexican, British and Moor styles. In its interior it has a wall paint from Leonora Carrington.
Tips: This place is located at the center of Xilitla and not at the Jardines de las Pozas, since it has a limited number of rooms it is recommended to make reservations at least a month prior to your visit. Only open its door for it guest and not for the tourist that visit the region. For more information call 01 489 365 0038 or visit their web page www.junglegossip.com
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