For years I’ve been searching for the perfect mirador from which to view the city of Guadalajara. To my great vergüenza (shame), it never occurred to me to check out the most obvious choice, the highest point in the city, which happens to be Cerro del Cuatro, an extinct scoria volcano 1,870 meters above sea level, located in the municipality of Tlaquepaque. Somehow, I had always imagined this hill smothered with small houses and alleyways: not exactly the great outdoors. Then along came Franky Alvarez.
“John, we are going to plant trees on top of Cerro del Cuatro. We’re inviting TV star María Belén to be madrina of the project and I want you to be the padrino.”
So, this is the story of how I ended up becoming godfather to 250 trees.
Franky is a downhill bike rider. Downhill mountain biking, it seems, is a sport in which you catapult yourself down dangerously steep slopes at breakneck speeds on sturdy bicycles especially built to withstand merciless punishment. On top of that, downhillers seem to love rough trails full of rocks and ruts ... and, of course, there happens to be just such a treacherous route running down one side of Cerro del Cuatro. Looking for places like this is how Franky and friends discovered that a huge tract of land on top of this old volcano was never “developed” and is actually quite beautiful. It also happens to offer the best possible view of the ever expanding city.
Although every last tree here must have been cut down centuries ago, the place is nevertheless green, covered with bushes, wildflowers and grass. “All this place needs is some tall shade trees,” the downhillers said, “and it would become a wonderful city park.” You can appreciate the size of this potential park when you look at a street guide to Guadalajara. It’s that big empty space on the south side of the city, where there appears to be absolutely nothing.
Franky began to organize, got Tlaquepaque to donate the trees and on August 9, a crowd of about 50 people showed up on top of the Cerro with shovels and began digging holes. They planted fresnos (ash), rosa morada (Tabebuia rosea), mezquite (mesquite) and cedro rojo (red cedar) and as soon as the last tree went into the last hole, Mother Nature cooperated with a drenching rain and my 250 godchildren got off to a great start in their new home high above the city. Who knows? Someday Cerro del Cuatro might actually become Guadalajara’s answer to Central Park in Manhatten and Griffeth Park in Los Angeles.
Whatever the case, even if you don’t enjoy breaking your bones speeding down impossibly steep slopes, you really won’t know Guadalajara until you’ve seen it spread around you from the peak of Cerro del Cuatro.
How to get there
Cerro del Cuatro is located on the south end of town just two kilometers north of the Periférico, but you can only get to the place from the north. A relatively good access point (easy to find in your Guía Roji) is the corner of Jesús Reyes Heroles and Antonio Castro (N20 36.834, W103 21.286). From here, head south on Castro which will become Paseo Cerro del Cuatro. It’s a three-kilometer drive up to the antennas and there are too many twists and turns to describe here.
Really, the easiest way to reach this place is by following the route I have uploaded to Wikiloc.com under the name “Patria to Cerro4.” Wikiloc will allow you to see the exact route on Google Earth, which route you can also download to the Wikiloc app in your smartphone or iPad. You’ll find plenty of parking space near the antennas at the very top (N20 36.092, W103 21.766). Enjoy the view!