| Ecotourism center Causas Verdes Las Nubes is about 12 kilometers
off the main highway along a decent dirt road from Los Lagos
de Montebello just before you get to Maravilla Tenejapa. They
are located on the Santo Domingo River near some spectacular
falls just before the river descends into a narrow and steep
canyon, dropping further into the valley below. To get there
take a turn-off for Jerusalén and Las Nubes and once
in Jerusalén keep an eye out for the right hand turn
in the village that takes you to Las Nubes.
The central area of Las Nubes has about 18 bungalows connected
by lighted wooden walkways that have bathrooms with hot water
and a couple of beds. There is a restaurant that offers some
basic meals at slightly inflated prices with no alcoholic beverages
available. There is a single bathhouse that is divided into
women's and men's sides with each side having about five toilets
and two showers. Two sinks outside the bathroom are for everyone.
There is also a roofed space with a couple of tables and no
walls and quite a few barbeque areas.
Also there are a number of higher end cabañas along a
half kilometer lit path toward a lookout over the canyon to
the valley below. Rumor has it that ex president Fox stayed
in one of these cabins in 2006. Finally the area has a very
nice suspension bridge that crosses the river below the waterfalls
and above the canyon. There are also a couple of towers for
a zip-line for those looking for something adventurous to do.
Las Nubes bills itself for eco tourism I suppose on the strength
of the thirty or so 60-watt solar panels that are mounted in
shady spots in the area. In addition each of the high end cabins
has two 75-watt panels equally poorly situated. The system has
not been working and they are on normal CFE power which also
had a blown transformer when we arrived. They claimed one of
the distribution centers of 15 panels, inverter and batteries
was still functional (though unused) but the other had a burned
out inverter they said from lightening. It was patently obvious
after seeing the paltry 12V 1200-watt inverter that the 3 refrigerators
they used in the kitchen finished it off - a mobile home model
inverter at that. In addition with each cabin using a minimum
of 120W along with the other buildings, a pump, and the previously
mentioned refrigerators it was poorly designed. Especially if
you have panels separated into shady spots and have them charging
industrial batteries rather than solar deep cycle batteries
on #10 cable.
I talked with them a bit about the solar aspects of the system.
They said the Secretary of Tourism had a proposal in place to
upgrade the electric system. I pointed out that first of all
it was cheaper to use CFE power than spend the capital on excessively
priced solar systems since they already had a transformer at
their back door. However - perhaps a redesign using the existing
solar might be economically viable - though he said they were
buying all new equipment. I was quick to offer to take the old
panels off their hands. I did also mention that with a huge
volume, large head of river water 50 meters from them they had
a far better alternative. Though not as sexy as panels, using
water turbines would be far more efficient.
Aside from the non-functional solar system there was nothing
eco about the property. It failed most of the points mentioned
in the article Turismo
Alternativo en Chiapas by Ignacio March. The smell of insecticide
was strong when wandering around. They were mostly isolated
from the village bringing in no obvious spin-off business like
guiding or boat trips or other alternative restaurant or room
stay to counter the 500 and up pesos nightly they were offering.
Perhaps there are a few jobs for the villagers and they seemed
tolerant of the large number of cars kicking up dust as they
bypassed the village for the eco-center.
The place was entirely overwhelmed by the influx of 200 plus
visitors for the three-day weekend. Most stayed in tents on
the ground and shared the two sinks, five toilets and two showers
per gender. The food was standard fare created from cans rather
than buying local produce from villagers. There were no educational
discussions, boards, or pamphlets about the local environment
or maps with signposts discussing the flora and fauna. There
was an abandoned sauna.
If you ignored these faults it is a pretty place. The falls
are spectacular. The trail over the suspension bridge leads
to other walking areas where you can view birds or go by path
to other villages (though they've a sign dissuading you to do
that). We did spot some toucans among the other birds in the
area. Fortunately we brought a tent and food and managed quite
well without having to go broke on their prices. The rooms were
all booked up anyway - jammed with people sharing a small room
to offset the large price. The other positive aspect was that
it was jammed with middle income Mexicans - most with their
own food and tents - cooking up a storm on the barbeques - with
lots of children underfoot and knocking soccer balls around.
Looking at the register 98% were from Tuxtla Gutierrez, Comitán,
Trinitaria, and San Cristóbal de las Casas. As an eco resort
it wasn't - as a Mexican picnic spot it worked - much like the
Cascadas Chiflón.
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