page_title: Cuajimalpa
section_title: Landmarks
hierarchical_section_title: Cuajimalpa / Landmarks
caption_attribution_description: English: View of main garden and eastern side of chapel of the Convent of Desierto de los Leones. In Desierto de los Leones National Park, in western México, D. F..
context_page_description: Cuajimalpa de Morelos is one of the 16 boroughs of Mexico City. It is located on the west side of the city in the Sierra de las Cruces mountains which separate Mexico City from the State of Mexico. The borough is named after the former rural town of Cuajimalpa, which has since been absorbed by urban sprawl. The borough is home to the Desierto de los Leones National Park, the first declared in Mexico as well as the second largest annual passion play in Mexico City.
context_section_description: The major attraction of the borough is the Desierto de los Leones, which is home to a former monastery and retreat. In 1606, the Carmelites constructed a hermitage and monastery high up in the mountains of the Sierra de las Cruces. The name literally means “Desert of the Lions.” “Desert” is what Carmelites called remote retreats. The “lions” are from the surname of two brothers over which the monks had a dispute over the land. It remained an isolated retreat until 1814. Then the site became a hospital administered by the Company of Jesus . Today the buildings of the former monastery are home to three museums, one dedicated to the site, one to the bicentennial of Mexico's Independence and one to the Mexican Revolution . The site is surrounded by the Desierto de los Leones National Park, the first such declared in Mexico in 1917 by Venustiano Carranza. The park extends over 1,500 hectares with mountain peaks and canyons forested with pine and holm oak. Services of the park include the Peteretes Ecological Center and an area with restaurants selling local specialties. The Desierto receives over 300,000 visitors per year with the busiest times being Holy Week and December.
  The Rancho los Laureles Ecotourism Park is also in the borough. It has camping and areas for bonfires and picnics. It also has areas for mountain biking, paintball and a petting zoo with deer.
caption: Chapel of the former monastery
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