Acapulco Botanical Garden, home of Guerrero's biodiversity

The port of Acapulco always surprises every tourist, national or international, who arrives in its paradisiacal ecosystem. Beaches, cliffs, landscapes, restaurants, and bars. It also has one of the most diverse ecosystems when it comes to plants and animals. It is a deciduous forest with species like the "cazahuete," "pochote," and even pines and oaks.

And in these times where we are living in a worrying climate and environmental situation, it is necessary to take action so that the health of planet Earth does not continue to deteriorate further due to human actions that have progressively damaged the world for more than 100 years.

The Esther Pliego de Salinas Botanical Garden (or Acapulco Botanical Garden) is one of the largest botanical houses in the state of Guerrero, with a flora population of 1,200 species and more than 3,000 specimens under its care, including 105 families of plants.

The main attraction of this point of interest is the exploration, observation, and learning of the thousands of plants that are under the protection of the Esther Botanical Garden because during your visit you can learn about the importance of caring for the environment and how to help propagate the planting of these species.

One of the main objectives of this ecological project, which was born on March 2, 2002, is the propagation, conservation, and cultivation of endemic, threatened, and endangered plants. The growing urban footprint in Acapulco is inevitable as the population continues to grow, and therefore, ecological sites are taken to develop.

With the help of thousands of volunteers, visitors are taught the great importance of learning about the species that are located in Acapulco and other places, to know how to preserve them and how to properly care for them for a better environment.

Attractions of the Acapulco Botanical Garden

The Acapulco Botanical Garden began as a small nature trail created by the 32 members of the First Garden Club of Acapulco (founded by Esther Pliego de Salinas and Mara Garza de Dávila), and they opened it to the public on the occasion of the club's tenth-anniversary celebration.

Year after year, species continued to arrive at the trail and, sometime later, they reached an agreement with Loyola del Pacifico University, which donated six hectares of their land for the expansion of the Botanical Garden.

There are multiple activities for visitors, from cooling off with the large natural waterfalls of granite rocks 2 meters high (and being able to take an enviable photo for your social networks); to elevated bridges that cross the entire Botanical Garden; and you can see from a different perspective the port of Acapulco. The elevated bridges have elevators so that everyone can enjoy the scenery.

Also, ponds and bodies of water to observe the aquatic fauna species; a terrace to rest and meditate among the majesty and serenity of the trees; witness cultural and artistic events in the small amphitheater with a capacity of 120 people; and a stainless iron polar sundial designed by Hugo Salinas Price.

Visit Esther's Botanical Garden this coming September 16th holiday weekend, or on your next visit, located at Av. Heroico Colegio Militar, s/n, Fracc. Cumbres de Llano Largo, C.P. 39820. General admission is 70 pesos, but if you are a teacher or student, your ticket will cost you only 30 pesos, and if you want a tourist tour, it has a value of 500 pesos.