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Puerto Vallarta and its
natural wonders |
Tired of seeing the same animal and plant species in your town? Do you suffer when you visit the local zoo and see the sad animals and get depressed when you see their sad faces? Then no doubt you are a nature lover. You constantly go astray in the gardens and parks of your town and enjoy any contact with life and nature, whether an insect, animal or a colorful or unusual plant.
Jalisco is lucky to include the Sierra Madre Occidental, a chain of majestic mountains and hills, a beautiful green line that protects natural treasures unknown to man, mainly because there are so few human settlements in it. It’s also a refuge to a wide variety of tropical flora and fauna.
The area around Puerto Vallarta, in the Sierra Madre, is the richest plant and animal region in North America. Imagine having the joy of being able to admire vegetation that is so abundant and diverse at the same time, something not many people can enjoy within the whole continent. To admire crystal clear rivers and waterfalls that adorn the landscape and invite animals to quench their thirst, refresh or feed in them.
In this jungle and forest area you can find more than 300 species of colorful orchids of many shapes and and sizes. Brazilwood or Pau-Brasil (Palo de Brasil) in sized you'll never see in a city, chiltle trees, and bougainvillea, tampicirán, wood trees such as the cedar and walnut, huge Amapa, Primavera and Parotas trees. The latter is used by the inhabitants of Quimixto, Mismaloya, Yelapa and some other areas to make furniture and fishing boats out of one piece of wood. Scattered through the jungle are fruit trees from which you can obtain coconuts, mangoes, guavas and avocados.
As mentioned, not only is there a rich vegetation, the same geographical area is home to over 400 species of migratory land and sea birds such as the yellow wing chief, black face magpie, White-fronted Amazon and Lilac-crowned Amazon, tropical kingbird, Great Kiskadee, Blue-footed Booby, among others, all with beautiful bright colored feather costumes that will draw your attention.
Among these colorful creatures you will also find an incredible number of butterflies that contrast beautifully with the green backdrop of the jungle foliage.
Among the local mammals, besides the majestic and mysterious jaguar, you can also find pumas, white-tailed deer, armadillos, badgers, raccoons, coatis, jaguarundi (Herpailurus yaguarondi), ocelots, Margay (Long Tailed Spotted Cat), skunks, coyotes and rabbits. If the day is right, you’ll find monkeys fooling around in the high branches.
Reptiles are very characteristic of Puerto Vallarta, the best known is the green iguana, an icon in this tourist destination, which you can find prancing around golf courses or over the tree branches, but you can also find spiny-tailed iguanas, turtles, Mexican Beaded Lizards, that are in danger of extinction.
Do not forget the area’s marine diversity, where you can admire sailfish, dolphins and humpback whales, something you quite unusual all in one place. Giant manta rays, turtles and many species of colorful fish enrich the marine fauna.
Of course, the climate of the region plays an essential role in this biodiverse, during the summer months, rains wash and feed every one of the creatures that inhabit it.
Puerto Vallarta is much more than beach sand and sun, don’t miss the opportunity to discover the adventure the local jungle has in store for you.
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