What You Need to Know:
In the municipality of Huamantla, Tlaxcala, there is a massive garden featuring floral figures made entirely from dahlias that opens to the public every summer.
Do you love flowers? Imagine a place less than three hours from Mexico City where you can walk through 1.5 hectares of dahlias arranged into monumental floral designs while enjoying the cool summer air. That is exactly what the Dahlia Garden offers. It will open to the public on July 20 in Huamantla, Tlaxcala, the Magic Town famous for its living floral carpets and colorful streets.
From Tlaxcala to the World: The Monumental Dahlia Garden
The dahlia is Mexico’s National Flower, officially declared as such in 1963. During pre-Hispanic times, it was known as acocoxochitl (“hollow water flower”). Besides decorating temples and homes, the Mexica people consumed its petals and tuber-like roots, extracted dyes from its natural pigments, and valued its medicinal properties.
From Tlaxcala to the World: The Monumental Dahlia Garden
This flower is native to Mexico’s temperate forests. It thrives in cool climates and mountainous regions, and the municipality of Huamantla, Tlaxcala, is recognized as one of the country’s leading producers. Dahlias bloom primarily from July through October, and this year visitors will once again be able to admire their beauty in this garden dedicated to their cultivation.
A Garden Dedicated to Dahlias in Tlaxcala
The Dahlia Garden opens its doors every year as part of the agrotourism and sanctuary garden project Dalias Caridad, an initiative created by local growers more than twenty-five years ago as an offering to the Virgin of Charity during the Huamantla Fair. Today, it remains one of the community’s cherished traditions.
The project of opening the garden to the public through guided tours became fully established between 2021 and 2023, featuring monumental artistic designs created with thousands of dahlias. The first design was “The Kite,” and this year visitors will be able to admire a colorful Quetzalcóatl that is expected to look especially spectacular from above.
This flower field will be open to visitors from July 20 through mid-September, so plan your trip to experience this colorful display that perfectly combines art and floriculture. Walking along its paths is truly a unique experience.
The Dahlias of Huamantla
This important town in Tlaxcala, also known as “Heroic Huamantla” because of the historic battles fought within its territory, is also recognized as a Magic Town. Every year, its residents prepare the celebration dedicated to the Virgin of Charity by creating floral carpets and artistic rugs made from sawdust, seeds, colored sand, and flowers—primarily dahlias—that stretch for approximately 8 kilometers through the town’s streets.
To create these masterpieces, hundreds of artisans and entire families spend days crafting intricate designs that visitors admire before they disappear beneath the footsteps of the religious procession. This centuries-old celebration blends pre-Hispanic and Spanish traditions and reaches its peak every August 14 during the festival known as “The Night Nobody Sleeps.”
Together with other local celebrations, such as the Day of the Dead festivities featuring impressive monumental altars, and the Dahlia Garden itself, these events give Huamantla a vibrant character that leaves a lasting impression on visitors. This Magic Town is the cultural and agricultural heart of the dahlia, an endemic Mexican flower and a source of national pride.
Visit the Dahlia Garden
This beautiful garden, known for its breathtaking landscapes, is located on the outskirts of Huamantla along Highway 136, about 15 minutes from the town center.
Advance reservations are required to visit.
The garden will be open Monday through Sunday from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., from July 20 through mid-September.
Admission costs 150 pesos for adults and 50 pesos for children.
Source: sopitas
