Visitors Are Flocking to Central Mexico to Bask in the Glow of Thousands of Fireflies Julianne McShane - The Week
go to original July 17, 2017

Visit the forests of central Mexico at twilight during the summer months, and you'll be in for quite the show (Guillermo Garcia)

It doesn't last long, but the seasonal spectacle of thousands of fireflies frenetically glowing against the encroaching darkness will linger in one's mind long after their light fades.

June to August is mating season for lightning bugs, which seek out wooded, humid areas in Mexico and other temperate regions. But for locals in Piedra Canteada, a rural woodland two hours from Mexico City, this natural light show has become a major tourism draw, turning around local conservation efforts, and breathing life back into the once-struggling economy.

Piedra Canteada is a rural camp cooperative, owned and run by 42 local families, in the Nanacamilpa village in Tlaxcala, the country's smallest state.

Typically, co-ops like these survive by selling logs from their trees. But humid and dry weather can easily — and unexpectedly — halt operations in the logging industry, leaving workers without a steady stream of income.

In 1990, the co-op attempted to create a more reliable revenue stream by charging campers to use parts of its sprawling 1,500 acres of land. And in the decades that followed, as their logging business faltered, that small bit of tourism did indeed prove reliable.

In 2011, the residents had an idea: Perhaps the annual firefly show could also entice paying customers. Central Mexico's firefly tourism industry was born.

Today, Piedra Canteada's firefly business is booming. The co-op welcomes 50,000 tourists annually, with many visitors traveling from Mexico City for the weekend. Its cabins and camp spaces sell out weeks before the summer even starts.

Visitors can stay on the campgrounds or in cabins, dine at the site's restaurants, or explore the grounds during the day. Each night, for about $10 per person, tourists can take an hour-long guided walk through the forest's fog of luminescent insects.

Signs inside Piedra Canteada list rules to help protect the firefly habitat and mating process (AP/Rebecca Blackwell)

Read the rest and see photos at The Week

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