On the highway between Angangueo, Michoacan and Palo Amarillo, Mexico, you will find the Michoacan-Mexico state line (19.66181, -100.2652). Just two hundred yards past the state line, you will find the entrance to the sanctuary (19.6607, -100.2664) a dirt/gravel road on the north side of the highway with a two point access. Once you arrive at the entrance, drive one and a quarter miles to where the circle turn around is, this is the parking area (19.671, -100.2781).

The Sierra Chincua sanctuary sits at the heart of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. Between November and March, milliones of Monarch butterflies arrive from the north, from both the USA and Canada to winter in these oyamel forests. Although it has changed much since I was there, the sanctuary now features a modern, eco-friendly visitor center with restaurants, crafts shops and outdoor activities for an unforgettable day in nature. This sanctuary is the second most visited in Michoacan after El Rosario.

A local guide will take you on the visit to the sanctuary. From the visitor center to the butterfly colonies there is a trail, which is steep at some points. The hike up can take between 45 minutes to an hour. You may go up on horseback as well.

Once up the the oyamel woods, your guide will take you to the butterfly colonies, where you will have about half and hour to enjoy this awesome natural event without disturbing the butterflies. It is very important that you respect the limits of the observation area marked to protect the butterflies. Also, follow the direction of the guide.

This journey to the Transcontinental Volcanic Mountains, which in fact are where the butterfly sanctuaries are located, begins in the rain and even though I can see mountains in all directions, most are covered with fog and clouds

Despite the fact that they are a bit pricey I decide to take the toll roads because as I have been told, the toll roads are the best roads. Still, even on these roads, there are places that could use some major work.

The official name of this park is Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca-Sierra Chincoa. I awake at seven and get out to check the temperature. Nicolas walks up and I ask him for the baño and he takes me into the park bunk house. Afterwards, he asks me if I will go to see the Monarca and I tell him yes. I drive to the gate, he charges me thirty pesos and says It is a one kilometer to the parking.

We then begin to walk through the wide entrance area past the corrals and uphill along the horse path. In about a hundred meters we veer to the left up and through a pasture until we come upon a path for hikers. I comment that this is better than the wide horse trail by using the Spanish word for walk, caminar, with muy bien and then use the Spanish word for horse, caballo, with no muy bien. He agrees and begins to say something in Spanish that I do not understand and I tell him so in Spanish. We come upon some great viewpoints where I take several photos.

The long trip up onto the mountain takes some time and along the way, my guide explains many things to me about the forest here in the transcontinental volcanic mountains.

Finally, we come to a sign warning us to be quite, because the butterflies are hibernating. Soon after, I see a lot of the monarchs which have fallen to the ground.

As we walk carefully though the butterfly drop zone, there are many butterflies that are on lower leaves. All along, I keep looking upward at the numerous colonies of monarch butterflies about a hundred feet above us on the upper branches of the trees. During the journey, and after viewing the Monarchs in the hibernation location, we climb behind and above the hibernation area and the guide tells me that once, even all of these trees were filled with the butterflies.

I am having a hard time catching my breath because I suspect we are at or over eleven thousand feet. After viewing the butterflies, we then begin down on a different path, with entirely different views of the valleys below us.