El Rincon translates as “the Nook.” It’s a natural spring located 420 meters southwest of the Guachimontones archaeological site and the source of the Teuchitlan River. In 1895, British archaeologist Adela Breton visited burial sites near here and made references to “ceremonial circles.” It is also here, in 1962, where the discovery of obsidian knives in the water eventually led researchers Phil and Acelia Weigand to the circular pyramids and evidence of the ancient West Mexican civilization of Teuchitlan.
Today El Rincon is a balneario or water park, a recreational area with several lakes and swimming pools. Inside, you can still see the original springs where warm water bubbles out of the ground into shallow pilas. If you look even closer, you may spot a little fish in the water around three or four inches long . This is Ameca splendens, the Butterfly Splitfin or Goodeid, a fish endemic to the Teuchitlan River, but now found all over the planet, thanks to fish fanciers who can’t resist its charms.
Ameca splendens doesn’t lay eggs but gives live birth to its babies. It is also remarkable in that it loves to eat algae and will keep an aquarium free of it. The males are easy to spot because they have a bright yellow vertical stripe on their tail.
The owners of El Rincon are currently cooperating with two Mexican universities to create a refuge for Ameca splendens along with several other species which, unfortunately are classified as endangered here in their own natural environment.
Balneario El Rincon is a nice place to visit on a weekday when there are so few visitors that you may have the place entirely to yourself. The pools are cleaned daily and no chemicals are added to the water. Another attraction is their restaurant, which offers a variety of dishes, with special emphasis on seafood. In line with the tradition of most restaurants in the Teuchitlan area, their specialty is frog’s legs. They also have an area set aside for camping. “Spend a night here,” says the manager. “This place is simply magical at night and it’s also great for birdwatching, especially at 7 a.m., when the mist is rising from the warm springs.”
Curious about what sort of birds one might spot around these pools early in the morning, I asked Julio Alvarez, one of Jalisco’s top ornithologists, what he thought about El Rincón.
“I totally love this place,” he told me. “I love its crystal-clear pools, which can refresh me any day of the year. And in the natural landscape surrounding the place, you can see a great variety of fauna, from colorful birds to unusual species of endemic fish, not to mention the majestic river otters that live in these waters. As for birds, so far I have seen 90 different species there, such as the Violet Crowned Hummingbird, the White-Faced Ibis, Macgillivray’s Warbler and the playful Squirrel Cuckoo. I should also mention that El Rincon is a great place to spot all kinds of butterflies.”
The entrance fee is 50 pesos for adults and 35 for children. It’s open daily from nine to seven and discounts are available for groups. Call 384-100-0384 for information.
How to get there
El Rincon is located just northeast of the town of Teuchitlan. You can get there from Guadalajara by taking Mexican Highway 15 west (toward Nogales) for 25 kilometers and turning left onto highway 70 heading southwest towards Ameca. After 17 kilometers you’ll pass the large sugar refinery at Tala. One and a half kilometers later, turn right onto a road signposted “Ahualulco.” After 12.7 kilometers, you’ll come to the Teuchitlan gas station (N20.68099 W103.84801), where you turn right and drive into town. Immediately after the plaza, turn right and take the second left, heading north. After 690 meters you will come to a right turn onto a dirt road in good condition (at N20.68960 W103.84401). Turn right and drive 170 meters to the entrance (N20.68997 W103.84239) of the balneario. You’ll find the driving route from Guadalajara to Balneario El Rincon on Wikiloc.com under “Guachi 4 Rincon.” Driving time from Guadalajara is about one hour, from Lake Chapala maybe an hour and a half, tops.