#MacabroTuristico: The Desert of the Lions

Contrary to what its name suggests, the Desert of the Lions is not a desert, and there are no lions. It is the first national park in Mexico, home to an abandoned convent in the middle of the forest.

The name comes from the large number of pumas found by the Spanish in the wooded area on the outskirts of Mexico City. Today there are no pumas left, and the urban sprawl looms ever closer.

In 1606, the Carmelite religious order chose the site to build a convent because it was a quiet, solitary, and peaceful place, surrounded by forest and at a considerable distance from the city, ideal for practicing meditation and spiritual retreat. The life of the monks who occupied the convent was probably simple but also harsh, given their vows of poverty, silence, and chastity. In addition to the vow of silence that forbade them from speaking to one another, they also had to walk barefoot over terrain full of rocks, snakes, scorpions, and low temperatures.

The convent was abandoned in 1810, partly due to the building's deterioration from constant humidity, and partly because the fighting of the war of independence from Spain was beginning to approach the edges of the forest. After being used by the army, it was declared a forest reserve in 1876 and became the first national park.

The convent was left abandoned and in ruins, although several urban legends claim the monks never left, and some people report seeing their ghostly presences or feeling that some supernatural entity is watching them.

Translated from the original article by Atlas Obscura: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/desert-of-the-lions-national-park-convent

Photo: internet