Above photos: Mountain vistas filled with the migrating Monarch Butterflies, Michoacan

The state of Michoacan is a tropical and semi-humid region ideal for agriculture. The state contains both hundreds of miles of Pacific coastline as well as coniferous forests. Among its most spectacular sites is the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, where the orange and black butterflies of North America spend each winter.

Each fall one of the most spectacular migrations in the world takes place as millions of monarch butterflies fly south from forests in Canada and the United States to winter in this sanctuary in central Mexico. To protect them, the Mexican government has established five preserves with the largest and most accessible located near the town of Angangueo. Visitors to the sanctuary, Santuario de Mariposas El Rosario, are rewarded with mountain vistas filled by the fluttering of these magnificent butterflies. The best time to visit is between February and March with visitor traffic lighter during mid-week than on the weekends.

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