Ring in the New Year and enjoy a first class ride in Mexico! For twenty five years, your guides have been leading riders to the one of the most exhilarating places in Mexico, the Sierra Madre Mountains. This Ride is rated number one in National Geographic “Ten Best of Everything.” The views are spectacular, your meals are fresh traditional Mexican…even the guacamole is made from scratch and your horses are well suited to the diverse Mexican terrain that you will encounter.

ITINERARY:

Day 1: December 27 Transfer from the Mexico City or Toluca Airport to your hotel in the respective cities.

Day 2: December 28  At 8:00 AM, you will be transferred from your hotels to the Hacienda he hotel to Transfer from airport or pre-ride hotel to Marriott lobby meeting place. You will then be transferred to the Hacienda. After lunch, you will ride to Monte Alto.

Day 3: December 29  After a delicious Mexican breakfast, you will enjoy the scent of fresh pine needles and the faint smell of wood smoke rising from the local village in the warm dry Mexican air as you ride under sun glinted canopies of Motezuma pine and scrub oak to Los Saucos with quaint houses and crop fields nestled in a valley.
In the afternoon, you can choose to relax with a Marguerita next to the pool or experience the local culture with a visit to the picturesque 400 year old village of Valle de Bravo.

Day 4: December 30  Your horse ascends 10,000 feet through pungent pine and stoic oak forests to Rancho la Compania. This is one of the most beautiful ranches in the area and home to racing horses, fighting cocks and other wild animals.

Day 5: December 31 The ride will journey past El Peñón, a magnificent rock over 9,000 feet high and the fascinating El Nevado volcano. After lunch, the El Coloso flat rock arises under the horses’ feet. A drumming sound erupts from the hooves meeting the hollow ground. The Tres Reyes, three huge rocks each located on the top of a hill, emerge from the valley below. The ride finishes at Cerro Gordo.You and your fellow riders will “ring in the New Year” with traditional Mexican New Year’s Eve dinner and festivities served in a fine historical restaurant in Valle de Bravo

Day 6: January 1 Sleep until 9:00 AM when breakfast will be served. The ride will go to Atezcapan. In the afternoon, you will be taken for a breezy hay truck ride to the lake to enjoy a boat ride across the water. exhilarating canter along a wide trail will bring you to a narrow mountain path. The spectacular view of endless mountains unfolds before you as your ride to Atezcapan. After lunch of typical Mexican fare – tortas or tacos, sodas and hilled beer which has been carried by a mule- the ride will descend to a lake. A boat awaits to take you on a relaxing ride across the water.

Day 7: January 2 You will take the boat across the lake to return to the horses for a ride through the “hotland.” Lofty green trees have been replaced with mesquite shrubs and cactus. The trail runs along a cascading river to an ascending path. An opportunity for another canter will bring the ride to the cool shade of pine trees. The ride concludes at Ixtla.

Day 8: January 3 You will gallop across a wide meadow as you return to the Hacienda. Your delicious farewell dinner will be served in a fine historical restaurant in Valle de Bravo.

Day 9: January 4 Transfer to Mexico City Airport for arrival at noon.

Details:
Dates: December 28 – January 4
Airports: Mexico City International Airport or Toluca International Airport
Meeting Place: Hotel Marriott Reforma, Mexico City or Hotel Courtyard Marriot , Toluca Airport.
Riding days:
Group size: 1-12
Riding ability: Intermediate/Advanced
Saddles: English, Western, Mexican Charro
Horses: Quarter horses, Mexican Criollo, Trakheners
Non-riding activities: golf, sailing, kayaking, water skiing, mountain biking, tennis, paragliding, shopping
Hotel/s: *****Hacienda
Prices: $2,630 per person, double occupancy

Includes: transfer to and from airport, 7 nights lodging, all meals except 1 dinner, horse, tack, guide, lake boat trip
Not included: pre or post ride lodging in Mexico City or Toluca, New Year’s Eve dinner