Quiet in the colony, the sanctuary rules in Mexico's monarch forests
The monarch sanctuaries are working forests where millions of butterflies may be trying to get through the winter, and the rules at the gate exist for them. Most are simple, and guides tend to repeat them on the trail. Below, what visitors are usually asked to do and why, followed by a few ways to take good pictures within the limits.
Why the rules exist
The monarchs that reach Mexico live for months, not weeks, and they get through the winter largely on the fat they stored on the way south. The cool forest at about 3,000 m (around 10,000 ft) lets them slow down and save it.
Every time a cluster is disturbed and the butterflies take off without need, they burn a little of that reserve. Multiply that by thousands of visitors over a winter and the cost adds up, which is why the sanctuaries keep people at a distance.
Our guide to the migration explains the long flight and why the oyamel firs suit the butterflies. The rules below follow from that biology.
Stay on the path and behind the ropes
The trails at the sanctuaries are marked, and near the colony a rope or a line of posts usually shows how close you may go. Guides ask visitors to stay behind it, even when the best photo seems to be a few steps further in.
Leaving the path tramples the forest floor and can bring people right under trees heavy with clusters. It also loosens soil on slopes that already wear down under heavy foot traffic.
The colony shifts within the forest from week to week, so the roped area moves too. Our sanctuary comparison covers how the trails differ at each site.
Keep your voice low
Near the colony, guides usually ask groups to talk softly or not at all. Noise matters less to the butterflies than to the people around you, but a quiet crowd moves more slowly and stays further back.
Many visitors find the silence is the point. On a still day you can hear the faint rustle of thousands of wings when a cluster warms up and lifts off.
Parents with young children can find this part hard. Our questions about monarch tours with kids include a few ways to keep them calm near the trees.
Hands off, and watch your feet
Do not touch or pick up the butterflies, and do not shake branches to make them fly. Their wings are covered in fine scales that rub off easily.
If a monarch lands on you, which happens, let it rest and leave in its own time. Brushing it off can hurt it; standing still costs you nothing.
On cold mornings many butterflies rest on the ground or on low plants until the sun warms them. Look down before every step near the colony, and never sit on the forest floor without checking first.
No flash and no drones
Flash photography is usually not allowed near the colony. The burst of light can disturb resting butterflies, and with hundreds of cameras on a busy day that adds up fast.
Drones are generally banned in the sanctuaries. The noise and downdraft near the trees would scatter the clusters, and a crash in the colony would be hard to explain to anyone.
Litter and the local guides
Smoking is not allowed on the trails, which run through dry forest for much of the winter. Take every bit of litter back down with you, including fruit peel and tissues.
Much of the forest belongs to local communities, the ejidos, and local guides from those communities often walk with groups from the entrance. They know where the colony has moved and when to turn back, so follow their lead.
The entrance fees and the food stalls by the gate are part of how those communities earn a living from protecting the trees. Our cost guide lists which tours include the fee and which leave it to you.
Photographing monarchs without flash
Wait for the sun. From about midday on warm days the butterflies open their wings and fly, and the light through the firs gives you color without any flash at all.
Raise the ISO a little in the shade and use a fast shutter speed for butterflies in flight. A phone's burst mode helps catch the moment a cluster lifts off.
For the clusters, a short zoom from behind the rope works better than leaning in. Our page on the fullest weeks of the season explains how the hour and the weather change what you see.
Dust can coat your lens on dry trails, so carry a cloth. The guide to what to wear and bring covers the rest of the bag.
Tours that give you time at the colony
Rules about pace are easier to keep when nobody is rushing you. Paseos Turisticos' small-group day from Mexico City, from ~$250, allows about 5 hours for the Sierra Chincua visit, with the entrance and a Michoacán lunch included.
It holds 4.8 from 60+ reviews on Viator, the most reviewed monarch tour on either site. The catch is a 12-hour day with about 3–3.5 hours each way, and the booking is non-refundable and cannot be changed.
Time to walk slowly and watch quietly
Paseos Turisticos' small-group day to Sierra Chincua from Mexico City, with a local guide and about five hours for the sanctuary visit.
At the other end, Michoacán Mágico Tours' day from Morelia, from ~$108, plans only about 20 minutes at the El Rosario colony after an hour's climb. The catch is that short stay, so the temptation to push closer for a photo is stronger; the entrance and food are extra too.
Whichever tour you pick, the climb comes first. Our guide to the walk at altitude explains how to arrive at the colony with breath to spare.