Xochimilco

Xochimilco: Mexico City’s Ancient Canal Network

Xochimilco sits in the southern part of Mexico City, about 28km from the historic centre, and is one of the few remaining places where you can see what the Aztec lake system looked like before the Spanish drained most of it. The chinampas — artificial islands built by the Aztecs for agriculture, created by layering aquatic vegetation and lake mud over frames of woven reeds — still exist here, and some are still farmed. The canals between them remain navigable.

The main experience is hiring a trajinera, one of the brightly painted flat-bottomed boats that seat 8–20 people. You pay a fixed rate by the hour (around 350–500 MXN per hour for the boat, not per person) and a boatman poles you through the canals. On weekends, the embarcadero (departure dock) is packed and the canals are full of boats. Other trajineras approach selling food, drinks, flowers, and marimba music, the last of which you can hire for a stretch. It’s chaotic, cheerful, and entirely unlike the rest of the city.

Weekday visits are calmer and allow you to actually explore the quieter channels rather than sitting in the equivalent of canal traffic.

What to Eat

Food boats pull alongside and sell tlacoyos (thick oval masa cakes filled with black beans or fava beans), tamales, roasted corn, and various antojitos. Quality is variable but the tlacoyos are usually good. Ignore the pushy vendors and wait until you see something that looks freshly made.

On land, the Mercado Xochimilco on the main plaza has a good food section with pozole, barbacoa, and local sweets. Prices are substantially lower than anything in the tourist-heavy parts of the city centre.

Isla de las Muñecas

About 3km into the main canal network is the Island of the Dolls — a small chinampas where the caretaker Don Julián Santana (deceased since 2001) hung hundreds of dolls from trees over decades, reportedly to appease the spirit of a girl who drowned nearby. The dolls have continued to accumulate since his death. It’s atmospheric in a way that works better in person than in photographs, and the backstory (whether you believe the haunting interpretation or not) is genuinely interesting. Get there by early afternoon before the boat crowds.

The Axolotl

Xochimilco is the last place on earth where the axolotl — a type of salamander that never fully metamorphoses, retaining its external gills throughout its life — lives in the wild, and it’s critically endangered. Conservation projects are underway in the quieter channels. You’re unlikely to see one on a regular canal tour, but the Laboratorio de Restauración Ecológica at UNAM has a programme you can visit.

Getting There

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