On several occasions I have reported on the tall monoliths which stand guard over the town of Cuautla, Jalisco, located 100 kilometers due west of Lake Chapala. The word Cuautla means “the place where the eagles land,” and the overlooking mountain is called Las Águilas.
Many years ago, Miguel Mora – a determined citizen of Cuautla – was captivated by those curious standing rocks and succeeded in drawing the attention of the Mexican media and the scientific community. I don’t know whether the monoliths are the remnants of a new-world Stonehenge (as one magazine has suggested) or just another awe-inspiring work of nature, but it will always have a high place in my list of great places for hiking.
I was told that Las Aguilas had once been an ancient center for astrology and magic, and that on certain days of the year, the rays of the rising sun pass through two monoliths, lighting up a curiously shaped “marker stone.” I also heard that U.S. anthropologist and author Carlos Castaneda referred to this place as “a power center.”
An astronomer in Guadalajara told me that May 21 or 22, when the sun reaches its zenith over Las Aguilas, would be a good time to check the place out for anything unusual at sunrise. So I proposed to my wife that we should camp out at Las Águilas, get up early, and see what we could discover.
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