Xochimilco

Xochimilco: The Aztec Canal System That Survived the Drainage of the Lake

When the Spanish arrived at Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital sat on an island in a lake. The city was connected to the mainland by causeways and the lake was criss-crossed by canals with chinampas – artificial islands built from layered aquatic vegetation and lake mud over woven reed frames – used for intensive agriculture. Over the following centuries, the Spanish and their successors drained most of the lake to reduce flooding and create more land. The lake is now Mexico City. Xochimilco, in the city’s southern reaches 28 kilometres from the historic centre, is the last place where the original system persists: the chinampas are still there, the canals between them remain navigable, and some are still farmed.

The main experience is hiring a trajinera, a brightly painted flat-bottomed boat that seats 8 to 20 people. The rate is fixed by the hour (around 350 to 500 MXN per boat, not per person) and a boatman poles you through the canals. On weekends, the embarcadero is busy and the canals fill with boats; other trajineras pull alongside selling food, drinks, flowers, and marimba music, the last of which you can hire for a stretch. It’s cheerful and chaotic in proportions that vary with how much you want it to be either. Weekday visits are calmer and open the quieter channels to actual exploration.

What to Eat

Food boats pull alongside offering tlacoyos (thick oval masa cakes filled with black beans or fava beans), tamales, roasted corn, and various antojitos. The tlacoyos are usually good; wait until you see something that looks freshly made rather than buying from the first boat that insists. On land, the Mercado Xochimilco on the main plaza has a food section with pozole, barbacoa, and local sweets at prices substantially below anything in the city centre.

Isla de las Muñecas

About 3 kilometres into the main canal network sits the Island of the Dolls: a small chinampa where the caretaker Don Julian Santana, who died in 2001, spent decades hanging dolls from trees, reportedly to appease the spirit of a girl who drowned nearby. The dolls have continued to accumulate since his death. It works better in person than in photographs, partly because the density of the installation is more confronting at close range, partly because the backstory – whether you take the haunting interpretation or the folk-art interpretation – is genuinely interesting. Arrive by early afternoon before the boat traffic increases.

The Axolotl

Xochimilco is the last place on Earth where the axolotl, a salamander species that never fully metamorphoses and retains external gills throughout its life, survives in the wild. The population is critically endangered due to habitat loss and introduced fish species. Conservation projects are underway in the quieter channels. You are unlikely to see one on a regular canal tour. The Laboratorio de Restauracion Ecologica at UNAM has a programme you can visit if the conservation work specifically interests you.

Getting There

Take the metro to Tasqueña (Line 2), then the Tren Ligero light rail to Xochimilco. The whole journey from the centre takes about an hour and costs almost nothing. Taxis and Uber work but are slower and significantly more expensive. The main embarcadero at Fernando Celada is a short walk from the Tren Ligero terminus.