The town of La Primavera is located 12 kilometers northwest of Guadalajara on the extension of Avenida Vallarta (Highway 15), the road heading for Tepic, Puerto Vallarta and Nogales. It takes only a few minutes to drive south through this pueblito, whereupon you come to a sort of forest. No, I don’t mean the woods, but rather a forest of huge, unsightly signs announcing all sorts of things to do and see, from balnearios (bathing areas) to ziplines.
The first time I drove down that road, many years ago, I paid no heed to those signs and steadily kept going south to what I considered the only natural attraction around: Rio Caliente, the celebrated hot river that literally boils its way into existence in a narrow canyon four kilometers south of La Primavera.
The other day I decided it was about time for me to investigate just what makes crowds of people want to spend the day here instead of along the banks of the famous hot river.
The first big sign you come to points you toward Cañon de las Flores, located 466 meters west of the road. This balneario has been in operation for at least 40 years, according to the gatekeeper. Inside you’ll find approximately seven swimming pools of various sizes, one of them fully equipped with big, gaudy tubes, water slides and toboggans. They have hot water, but it comes not from a river, but a well. Temperatures range from 30 degrees to “cool.”
There’s a lot of green lawn space around the pools for frolicking, picnicking or barbecuing. It does not have a restaurant. Also, Cañon de las Flores does not play music of any kind, I was told, but that does not stop some individuals from supplying their own, for one and all to hear.
“We’re open every single day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” said my informant, “and you’ll find it very quiet here on weekdays.” Adults pay 90 pesos (60 for seniors) and kids 50. Note that balnearios usually clean their pools at the beginning of the week.
Six hundred meters past the Cañon de las Flores turnoff, you come to a cobrador who charges you 25 pesos per vehicle for the privilege of entering land owned by the Primavera Ejido (agrarian cooperative). The attractions of the ejido area are lots of pine trees (thanks to a big reforesting project a few years ago), kiosks for picnicking, spaces for camping, toilets, the services of a small clinic and the protection of mounted police. Camping costs 50 pesos per person. If your group has over 30 members, you can camp in a more secluded, woody area 300 meters north of the road, with the benefit of large roofed structures for meetings or eating, toilets and showers.
Four hundred meters past the rising barrier is the turnoff for the zipline, which is located 500 meters west of the road in a beautiful wooded area dotted with great quantities of black obsidian and overlooking a steep drop. Even though I was there on a Sunday, this tirolesa was abandoned. “Don’t worry, it’ll be open for Holy Week,” I was later told.
Next comes the road to Las Tinajitas. A one-kilometer drive along this poorly maintained (but sort of paved) road brought me to the entrance, where 80 pesos is charged for adults, “but,” the friendly guard quickly added, “we give a 50-percent discount to senior citizens.”
Las Tinajitas – open every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. – also has seven pools, laid out in a haphazard fashion that seemed to me very Mexican. Because the water comes from a genuine hot river, all the pools are deliciously warm and the water is constantly moving through them. They have two simple water slides and a sort of jacuzzi. There’s also a natural steam bath, set into the hillside. This is about eight meters long but only one meter wide, which means everyone sits side by side with their knees raised, facing a remarkably uninteresting wall. I wonder if there’s another Turkish bath as strange as this one anywhere in the world!
Las Tinajitas has a small cool-water lake full of fish which people can catch to eat. On weekends there’s a seafood restaurant in operation. They also have bungalows for rent but I was unable to get inside to check them out.
Like Cañon de las Flores, this balneario plays no music, but visitors might have their own boomboxes. I was assured, however, that Las Tinajitas is dead quiet on weekdays. Once again, they drain and clean some of the pools the first half of the week.
All in all, I have no regrets about ignoring the two balnearios all these years, but I think the ejido zipline and large-group camping areas may lead to some good hiking trails and I aim to have a look. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a quiet place to go during Semana Santa, better look elsewhere!
How to get there
Drive west on Highway 15 for 12 kilometers and turn left (south) at the signposted entrance to the town of La Primavera. Take Javier Mina south four blocks and turn right onto Ignacio Allende. Follow Allende until it ends and turn left (south) onto Avenida del Bosque. Drive one kilometer to reach the first balneario turnoff (N20.71616 W103.56895) to Cañon de las Flores. The turnoff to the camping area is at N20.71125 W103.57102. The zipline turn is at N20.70930 W103.57263 and you’ll find the turnoff for Las Tinajitas at N20.70695 W103.57384.