La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve

La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve is a protected coastal wetland area in Chiapas, in southern Mexico. It is a series of inland lagoons connected by inland waterways and includes the tallest mangroves in North America, stretching to a height of over 35 meters.

The protected area covers almost 145,000 hectares along 140 km of Pacific coastline.

Official information about visiting the reserve is available via the CONANP web site.

Background information about the site's ecological importance is available from UNESCO.

The reserve was designated a wetland of international importance and added to the list of Ramsar sites in 1996. In 2006, it was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The land is managed for the federal government by CONANP (Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas).

The reserve is rich in species diversity with several important plant habitats and numerous animals, including more than 5 dozen kinds of reptile and amphibian, 300 bird species, and 100 mammal species (including 68 species of bat) and Mexico's northernmost colony of spider monkeys.

Besides spider monkeys, mammals include several jungle cats including the reclusive jaguar.

Crocodiles and caimans float around the lagoons and channels. Turtles are very common in the reserve as some of the Pacific beaches are used as nesting areas and the incoming rivers (there are 11 of them) are home to several species of freshwater turtle. Iguanas and basilisks can be found throughout the region as can a variety of both venomous and non-venomous snakes.

The mangrove swamps cover more than 1/5 of the reserve and include five species of mangroveː mangla colorado, black mangrove, red mangrove, buttonwood mangrove, and white mangrove.

The reserve is known for having Mexico's only Guiana chestnut (Pachira aquatica) forest. It grows in the reserve on a kind of "floating island" of built-up organic matter. The trees display beautiful wispy flowers and produces nuts that are eaten by some people, but the plant is most often sold to garden shops, where it is also called the "money tree".

The nearest airport with commercial flights is in Tapachula.

From Tapachula, take a taxi or bus northwest of the city via federal highway MEX-200 towards the town of Acapetahua, which is about 80 km from Tapachula. The reserve actually begins just 30 km outside Tapachula and covers all of the wetlands that lie between highway MEX-200 and the Pacific Ocean, but there are few public access points. Tour guides hired in Tapachula often know backcountry access points or can take you into the wetlands in small boats called pangas. Tour guides can also be hired in Acapetahua.

CONANP charges visitors a daily entrance fee of M$125.

Because of the environmentally sensitive nature of the reserve, campgrounds and backcountry camping are not generally permitted. Local indigenous communities operate some rustic lodging camps where visitors can find rooms, meals, and guide services.

Rustic lodages are available in El Castaño, La Palma, and Barra de Zacapulco.

• Tapachula