OUR MISSION: To preserve the natural and cultural heritage of El Charco del Ingenio, and maintain a botanical garden dedicated to the conservation and study of regional flora and ecosystems, with a primary focus on environmental education.
In order to offer a better service to the visitors and users of the Botanical Garden, the entire reception area will be remodeled in an integral manner this year. The work will include the reconstruction of the reception and gift shop, the expansion of the toilets, the refurbishment of the cafeteria patios, the creation of an elevated viewpoint, the renovation of the plant exhibition areas and the construction of a new information module, which will allow an accurate interpretation of the site and the biocultural conservation project of the Charco del Ingenio.
The remodeling of the Reception was recently agreed upon by the Board of Directors, because of the current facilities’ insufficiency. The new project is in charge of two professionals experienced in architecture and museum design: José María Bilbao and Marco Barrera Bassols, who are currently working on the executive project, in close contact with the managers and staff of the Botanical Garden. It aims to achieve a functional space that harmonizes with the discreet and natural style of the Garden.
A work of this magnitude obviously requires extraordinary resources. So we have already started the corresponding fundraising, especially at the local level, going to all the members, friends and collaborators of the Charco. The first contributions have already arrived, and soon we will roll out a wider fundraising campaign, through informative meetings, artistic activities and other means. For more information or to make a donation, please contact ariascanal@gmail.com.
We hope to have a broad collaboration from the community. El Charco del Ingenio requires it and deserves it.
Following up on the Water Forum held in 2016 and 2017, and celebrating the World Water Day, the Botanical Garden and the cultural center, El Sindicato, had a new meeting for citizens to discuss on water, a common natural asset, threatened by irrational extraction, growing contamination and privatizing threats seeking to turn it into a commodity, depriving water of its character as a fundamental human right. The third Water Forum included the participation of scientists, jurists, environmentalists and civil servants, who addressed the water crisis we are going through in different ways and its environmental and social consequences. The meeting ratified the Declaracion of El Charco del Ingenio, a manifesto in defense of water drafted during the first Water Forum in 2016, signed by more than a hundred civil organizations and citizens which, to this date, has been ignored by authorities at all three levels of government.
When we visit natural areas our attention is usually focused on the great display of flora and fauna, forgetting that in those same environments microecosystems are functioning in an enigmatic and complex way.
We are talking about lichens, those vegetative bodies formed by the association between a fungus and a bacterium, which present a great originality in their populations’ growth and development. They are usually attached to tree barks, soils, rocks and other surfaces, including turtle shells. The lichens have different colors: light blue, mustard yellow, dry green, orange, among others, which are provided by bacteria attached to the fungus. These associations present very unusual but easy to observe forms of growth, the most common being lichen in the form of a crust, which is closely linked to rocks or tree barks.
Lichens are excellent bioindicators of the environmental climatic conditions of their habitat, being a great biological phenomenon of evolutionary adaptation. Since they are not able to actively regulate their water content, their temperature depends directly on the atmospheric environment.
They are considered "true survivors", since they are the result of an evolution of 500 million years. Lichens are located in the least imagined places, such as cold deserts or high mountains, which have the most extreme environments.
With the generous donation of our long term supporter, Jennifer Haas, we were able to purchase new vests and shirts for our staff which helps our visitors identify them. Thank you.
We remind everyone that since February of this year, the general entrance fee to the Botanical Garden is 50 pesos, without alteration of the preferential rate for students and national teachers, which remains at 30 pesos, and without affecting the facilities of access for San Miguel families on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Also, the annual fee for membership of the Botanical Garden increased to 900 pesos.
These revenues are applied in full to cover the operation and maintenance costs of the Garden, along with other ways to gather resources.
The Charco Board of Directors is grateful for your support and understanding.
WHAT IS A MEMBER?
- A person who is part of the community where the Bótanico Garden exists and collaborates with an annual financial contribution, to support the achievement of the objectives of the AC, and in exchange carries a credential that gives advantages and responsibilities.
WHY DOES SOMEONE BECOME A MEMBER OF El CHARCO?
- To support the conservation project and its programs (scientific, educational and communitarian), to learn about environmental conservation and the botanical collection, because the Botanical Garden honors nature and traditions, and because El Charco makes our city a better place to live in.
ADVANTAGES OF BEING A MEMBER OF THE BOTANICAL GARDEN.
- Special guided tours
- Discounts or free events: concerts, courses, full moon ceremonies, equinoxes and solstices
- Discount of 5% for the cardholder in the Café (NEW)
- Special hours. The Botanical Garden's schedule for the general public is from 9am to 5pm. For members: Summer time: Entry from 7:30 am / Departure 6:30 pm
Winter timetable: Entrance from 7:30 a.m./ Exit 6:00 p.m.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITMENTS
- Comply with the Charco regulations:
(NOT ALLOWED
* Bring food or alcoholic beverages
* Enter with pets or bicycles
* Collect plants, animals, rocks or seeds
* Throw stones or objects * Smoke or light fires
* Use sound equipment
* Photo sessions and use of drones (without permission)
* Alter the natural landscape)
- Bring the membership card when you visit. The card is non
-transferable and there are no family memberships.
-Enter through the Reception and register in the guestbook.
Visit the Conservatory of Mexican Plants, the Scented Garden and the canyon, archeological ruins and much more. We recommend you wear sunscreen, and bring a hat.
Don’t forget the free transportation from town to El Charco on these days.
School groups require prior reservation: charcodelingeniocomunicacion@gmail.com
Ask about our discounts.
We invite everyone to this open celebration that has been taking place for many years during the full moon cycle at the Four Winds Plaza in the Botanical Garden under the always surprising direction of Alicia Mayo. It’s worth arriving a little early to admire the setting of the sun and the appearance of the moon over the mountains. You may want to bring a coat for cool evenings and you may bring a musical instrument.
Alicia Mayo : 152 .0376.
This sweat-lodge steam bath, of ritual and healing character, takes place under the direction of an experienced temazcal leader in the ruins of the hacienda located in the Botanical Garden on the far side of the reservoir.
The combination of heat, humidity and fragrant herbs provides a purifying experience for the body and spirit. Its benefits are multiple: it activates circulation, increases the body’s defenses, eliminates pains, decreases uric acid, relaxes the muscles, regulates the nervous system, stimulates respiration and is excellent for losing weight.
We suggest bringing a flashlight for when you go from the temazal to the reception.
The van has a capacity for 14 people and is easily identifiable by the logo of El Charco del Ingenio.
Information: Tels 1548838, 1544715, and charcodelingeniocomunicacion@gmail.com
Some of visitors use taxis for transportation to the Botanical Garden. However, some may have doubts about how to return to town. We remind all our visitors and users that El Charco has an agreement with radio taxis company of San Miguel for safe transfer from El Charco to the center or other parts of the city. Just ask for a taxi at the reception Garden. The fee for the return trip is 60 pesos-a little more than one-way fare to Charco from the center, which should not be more than 60 pesos. We recommend you and the driver agree on the fare before boarding the taxi.
Throughout its existence, El Charco has published several books and pamphlets in Spanish and English, on flora and natural resources of the reserve and the region of San Miguel de Allende. To these, other publications by researchers and scientific institutions on related subjects have been added. All are issues of great interest and quality, and are on sale at the Gift Shop.
Click on the book for more information about it.
NEW VEGAN OPTIONS! Discover our new menu, which now includes delicious and nutritious vegan dishes.
Coffee from the south
BRING YOUR THERMOS OR WATER BOTTLE, which can be filled for free from the wáter fountain near the reception/café.
El Charco del Ingenio is plastic bottle free zone, and, for obvious reasons, they are not sold on site since they become garbage, rarely recycled, representing an unnecesary expense for the user and a benefit for the corporations that exploit groundwater.