Valle de Bravo

Valle de Bravo is a lively lakeside town in Mexico State, Mexico, about 150 km west of Mexico City. Set on the shores of Lake Avándaro, it is a popular weekend retreat with marinas, sailing clubs, exciting adventure activities like paragliding, and beautiful natural resources, including one of Mexico's famous monarch butterfly sanctuaries.

Understand
Valle de Bravo has a population of just over 61,000 (2020) but the villages of the surrounding municipality (county) bring the regional population up to about 200,000. The town's name acknowledges its respect for Nicolas Bravo, a general during the Mexican War of Independence and a politician and vice-president of Mexico during the tumultous post-independence era.

The city was known in the 20th century for having hosted the world-famous Circuito Avandaro auto racing event, which in 1971, got hijacked by the Festival de Rock y Ruedas, a rock music festival whose massive crowds made it impossible to conduct an auto race. The Festival de Rock y Ruedes is often compared to the Woodstock festival in the United States, complete with rain and logistical problems. Xxact estimates of its crowds are impossible to know, but estimates range as high as 500,000 youthful music fans inundating the small lakeside town.

History
Valle de Bravo was originally settled by the Matlatzinca indigenous people, who were conquered by the Aztec in the 1470s. The first Spanish conquerors arrived in 1530. Dominicans, Augustinians and Franciscan all had a hand in evangelizing the indigenous populations and establishing churches in town and in nearby villages throughout the municipality (county).

During the Mexican War of Independence, royalist troops occupied the city and cracked down on sympathizers of the independence movement.

The lake was formed by a dam built between 1938 and 1947. Built to generate hydroelectric power, it is today a popular recreational area drawing up to a million visitors annually to the town. Tourism is the town's largest economic activity.

By bus
From Mexico City, take the metro line 1 to Observatorio, which is the city's western bus terminal. Multiple companies run an hourly service to Valle for M$100. From Toluca, the second-class Toluca-Valle de Bravo buses run hourly, though the trip takes almost twice as long as driving or taxi.

From Toluca airport, you can take a taxi direct to Valle (a bit over an hour), or rent a car and drive yourself.

By car
From downtown Toluca, take highway MEX 55 to the north side of Toluca, then turn west on to the Carraterra Valle de Bravo - Toluca, which you will stay on for about 60 km until you reach Valle de Bravo.

Get around
Taxis are one of the only ways of transportation in Valle de Bravo. Fares range from M$20 to M$150 for destinations in town, more to get to parks or outlying villages. There are also water taxis that take you across the lake.

Do
Valle de Bravo has a huge range of activities and providers of all sorts of sporting equipment, lessons, and activities. The lake is the hub of water activities though backcountry treks in the nearby hills are a good way for landlubbers to experience the region.



Water sports
Many visitors come to Valle de Bravo to sail, kayak, water ski or stand-up paddleboard on the lake.





Paragliding
There are two spots in Valle de Bravo that are used for paragliding (parapente) and hang gliding: El Penon is the main site and is located several kilometers south of town while La Torre is close to town but is mostly used for demo tandem launches. Tandem demo flights are offered by several local paragliding clubs, though the course to get certified to pilot your own paraglider or hang-glider takes at least a week.

Buy
"Tianguis"(in Valle it is held on Mondays, from 7 or 8 in the morning, til late in the afternoon) is like an outdoor flea market, with many different booths. A lot of the clothing and shoes being sold are used items that have been brought back from trips to the U.S. to sell. There are various booths that sell C.D.s and DVDs, at very low prices but decent quality. There are many booths that sell fresh foods, such as fruits and vegetables, fresh meat, and tortillas. This is also a great place to grab a bite to eat. There are a lot of different booths where you can sit down and eat, but plan on getting there early to get a table. And don't worry about getting wet because all the booths are covered with tents. It is really a great place to go in Valle, you can find almost anything. From the guy who does a very good job cleaning and fixing jewelry for a really low price to the best "carnitas" you will ever have. The people in Valle are very nice! Downtown Valle is very, very beautiful.



Sweet
In Valle there are tons of different ice cream shops, that have a very wide variety of different flavors. Also there are ice cream carts in the town square. In the author's opinion the best kind to try is mamey (a type of fruit, that tastes like a mix of cantaloupe and almonds. The actual fruit is about the size of a mango, but is dark brown in color when ripe.) Tip: If you buy a "mamey" that is not quite ripe, wrap it in newspaper and let it sit a day or two. (Also, U.S customs will not allow this fruit to be brought into the United States even if you remove the pit).

Drink
There are plenty of nightclubs in Valle de Bravo that are geared towards tourists and weekend locals.

Sleep
There is a wide variety of lodging available in Valle de Bravo with a huge number of smaller posadas rented through web sites like airbnb. Marinas, golf courses and spas frequently have rooms available.



Go next

 * Monarch butterfly reserves in Michoacan
 * Metepec
 * Toluca