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BIOCULTURAL CORRIDOR
Diana Hernández
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CHAC
A constellation of natural sanctuaries and traditional pilgrimage routes are integrated into the landscape as cultural resonance of the Huichols.
The Mesoamerican societies we know today as the Huichol or Huixaritari (plural) represent one of the most resilient native cultures in the Americas. This resilience has been made possible by the rugged topography of their territories, their decentralized political organization, and their ability to adapt to historical contexts—including active participation in the history of Western Mexico. However, the main force behind their cultural continuity is their collective determination to uphold ancestral traditions. These traditions revolve around maintaining positive relationships with ancestors and deities who govern nature.
Approximately 35,000 Huichol people live in scattered rural settlements. Their core territory spans over 400,000 hectares in the southern Sierra Madre Occidental, where the states of Jalisco, Nayarit, Zacatecas, and Durango converge. They are part of a cultural continuum stretching from the Ute in Colorado and Utah, through the Hopi, Papago, and Pima in the southwestern United States, to the Tarahumara, Yaqui, Tepehuano, and Cora in northwestern Mexico.
Huichol, or Wixárika, is an oral language belonging to the Uto-Aztecan family. Although traditionally unwritten, a writing system has been gradually developed in recent decades.
Their political organization is complex, as pre-Hispanic hierarchies are interwoven with colonial and modern structures. The Mexican government recognizes three agrarian communities and several adjacent ejidos, which encompass five tribes or traditional governments: Tuapurie or Santa Catarina Cuexcomatitlán, Huautia or San Sebastián Teponahuastlán, Curuxi Manhue or Tuxpan de Bolaños, Tateiquié or San Andrés Coahmiata, Tsatsitsiare or Guadalupe Ocotán, and Uhueni Muyehue or Bancos de San Hipólito.
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CHAC
John Christian
The clans that make up each of the tribes are grouped in districts around the "tuquipa". These are ceremonial enclosures formed by a set of temples around a circular courtyard. The pre-Colombian trace of the tuquipa is an exceptional architectural legacy and they form the basis of the social swarm.
Agroforestry ceremonialism is the most prominent component of their spiritual life. Ritual cycles are associated with activities such as asking for rain, preparing the milpa (traditional cornfield), collecting numinous waters, gathering peyote, hunting deer, or ensuring a good harvest.
The educational role of these ritual cycles is fundamental to the historical continuity of the Huichol People, as they serve to recreate and transmit ancestral knowledge through songs, stories, and sophisticated rituals. This legacy, along with shamanic, religious, and medicinal knowledge, includes the diversified and sustainable use of the landscape—particularly the conservation of endemic cultivated species. In this way, the Huichol contribute to the preservation of global agrobiodiversity.
The Mesoamerican societies we know today as the Huichol or Wixaritari (plural) represent one of the most resilient native cultures in the Americas. This resilience has been made possible by the rugged topography of their territories, their decentralized political organization, and their ability to adapt to historical contexts—including active participation in the history of Western Mexico. However, the main force behind their cultural continuity is their collective determination to uphold ancestral traditions. These traditions revolve around maintaining positive relationships with ancestors and deities who govern nature.
Approximately 35,000 Huichol people live in scattered rural settlements. Their core territory spans over 400,000 hectares in the southern Sierra Madre Occidental, where the states of Jalisco, Nayarit, Zacatecas, and Durango converge. They are part of a cultural continuum stretching from the Ute in Colorado and Utah, through the Hopi, Papago, and Pima in the southwestern United States, to the Tarahumara, Yaqui, Tepehuano, and Cora in northwestern Mexico.
Huichol, or Wixárika, is an oral language belonging to the Uto-Aztecan family. Although traditionally unwritten, a writing system has been gradually developed in recent decades.
Their political organization is complex, as pre-Hispanic hierarchies are interwoven with colonial and modern structures. The Mexican government recognizes three agrarian communities and several adjacent ejidos, which encompass five tribes or traditional governments: Tuapurie or Santa Catarina Cuexcomatitlán, Huautia or San Sebastián Teponahuastlán, Curuxi Manhue or Tuxpan de Bolaños, Tateiquié or San Andrés Coahmiata, Tsatsitsiare or Guadalupe Ocotán, and Uhueni Muyehue or Bancos de San Hipólito.
The clans that make up each of the traditional governments are organized into districts centered around the tuquipa. These are ceremonial complexes consisting of a group of temples arranged around a circular courtyard. The pre-Hispanic layout of the tuquipa is an exceptional architectural legacy and forms the foundation of the Huichol social structure.
Agro-silvicultural ceremonialism is the most prominent component of their spiritual life. Ritual cycles are associated with activities such as asking for rain, preparing the milpa (traditional cornfield), collecting sacred waters, gathering peyote, hunting deer, or ensuring a good harvest.
The educational role of these ritual cycles is fundamental to the historical continuity of the Wixárika People, as they serve to recreate and transmit ancestral knowledge through songs, stories, and sophisticated rituals. This legacy, along with shamanic, religious, and medicinal knowledge, includes the diversified and sustainable use of the landscape—particularly the conservation of endemic cultivated species. In this way, the Huichol contribute to the preservation of global agrobiodiversity.
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"Sacred natural sites may be the oldest method of habitat protection. Their conservation is essential for both culture and biodiversity."
The Huichol cultural geography extends beyond their communal lands to include sacred sites, which they reach by following ancestral pilgrimage routes. Notably, much of this geography is shared with the Cora and Tepehuano peoples.
Huichol culture depends on the integrity of the natural sanctuaries they visit during their pilgrimages, which are located in all directions: to the north, in the Tepehuano lands within the same Sierra Madre Occidental; to the west, toward the wetlands and coast of Nayarit; and to the south, where the lakes of central Jalisco are found. Some elders even remember a route to the Valley of Mexico.
Along these routes, deities and ancestors are honored at sacred natural sites such as rivers, springs, forests, mountains, and caves. The deities manifest in certain animals like the deer, wolf, and golden eagle; in plants such as maize and amaranth; or in natural phenomena like clouds and wind.
In certain places, clusters of sacred sites form sacred landscapes, such as Huiricuta, Xurahue Muyeca (Sierra de Cardos in Zacatecas), and the Sierra de los Huicholes itself.
Tribal wisdom, which seeks a deep identification of people with natural phenomena, has managed to survive in a utilitarian environment, of accelerated change and degradation.
John Christian
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CHAC
Route to Huiricuta
The eastern route, leading to Huiricuta, stands out due to its prominence in ritual cycles, the frequency of its use, and the number of participants. It spans approximately 450 km in an east-northeast direction. The route begins in the heart of Huichol territory, crosses the states of Jalisco, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, and ends in the Huiricuta region, near the historic town of Real de Catorce.
In addition to honoring and visiting dozens of deities and sacred sites, one of the main purposes of the route is the gathering of various plants—most notably peyote, an entheogenic cactus endemic to the Chihuahuan Desert. For millennia, numerous Indigenous cultures have used this sacred cactus for medicinal purposes or to communicate with deities and ancestors.
john lilly
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CHAC
Pre-Hispanic Trade Routes
The current Huichol pilgrimage routes are the most representative living remnant of the ancient trade routes that connected and culturally enriched the peoples of the Americas for millennia.
Whether for commercial, political, military, religious, or exploratory purposes, these exchanges influenced the development and complexity of cultures. In the Americas, they enabled continental integration processes in multiple directions over thousands of years. Regions as distant as northern Chile and western Mexico were in contact as early as 1500 BCE.
As exchange systems became more structured, symbolic codes of information emerged, giving rise to ceremonial exchange. The most highly valued exotic goods played a key role in both trade and warfare.
Minerals such as turquoise, obsidian, silver, and copper; animal and plant by-products like mollusk shells, feathers, maize, chili peppers, or cacao; entheogenic plants such as peyote or tobacco; and even human beings—such as slaves or concubines—were all exchanged.
The Huichol territory in the Sierra Madre offered limited access to precious goods. Nevertheless, the Huichol and their ancestors were active participants in regional trade systems and conflicts. Their geographic position allowed them to take part in commerce between the coastal plains and their seaports, and the main overland routes. These inland routes—such as the turquoise route or the maize and bean diffusion route—wove the connections between Mesoamerica and northern Mexico (or the Southwestern United States).
"Sacred natural sites may be the oldest method of habitat protection. Their conservation is essential for both culture and biodiversity."
The Wixárika cultural geography extends beyond their communal lands to include sacred sites, which they reach by following ancestral pilgrimage routes. Notably, much of this geography is shared with the Cora and Tepehuano peoples.
Wixárika culture depends on the integrity of the natural sanctuaries they visit during their pilgrimages, which are located in all directions: to the north, in the Tepehuano lands within the same Sierra Madre Occidental; to the west, toward the wetlands and coast of Nayarit; and to the south, where the lakes of central Jalisco are found. Some elders even remember a route to the Valley of Mexico.
Along these routes, deities and ancestors are honored at sacred natural sites such as rivers, springs, forests, mountains, and caves. The deities manifest in certain animals like the deer, wolf, and golden eagle; in plants such as maize and amaranth; or in natural phenomena like clouds and wind.
In certain places, clusters of sacred sites form sacred landscapes, such as Huiricuta, Xurahue Muyeca (Sierra de Cardos in Zacatecas), and the Sierra de los Huicholes itself.
The Indigenous ritual perception of time—which seeks a deep identification between people and natural phenomena—has managed to survive in a utilitarian world of accelerated change and environmental degradation.
Route to Huiricuta
The eastern route, leading to Huiricuta, stands out due to its prominence in ritual cycles, the frequency of its use, and the number of participants. It spans approximately 450 km in an east-northeast direction. The route begins in the heart of Huichol territory, crosses the states of Jalisco, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, and ends in the Huiricuta region, near the historic town of Real de Catorce.
In addition to honoring and visiting dozens of deities and sacred sites, one of the main purposes of the route is the gathering of various plants—most notably peyote, an entheogenic cactus endemic to the Chihuahuan Desert. For millennia, numerous Indigenous cultures have used this sacred cactus for medicinal purposes or to communicate with deities and ancestors.
Pre-Hispanic Trade Routes
The current Huichol pilgrimage routes are the most representative living remnant of the ancient trade routes that connected and culturally enriched the peoples of the Americas for millennia.
Whether for commercial, political, military, religious, or exploratory purposes, these exchanges influenced the development and complexity of cultures. In the Americas, they enabled continental integration processes in multiple directions over thousands of years. Regions as distant as northern Chile and western Mexico were in contact as early as 1500 BCE.
As exchange systems became more structured, symbolic codes of information emerged, giving rise to ceremonial exchange. The most highly valued exotic goods played a key role in both trade and warfare:
Minerals such as turquoise, obsidian, silver, and copper; animal and plant by-products like mollusk shells, feathers, maize, chili peppers, or cacao; entheogenic plants such as peyote or tobacco; and even human beings—such as slaves or concubines—were all exchanged.
The Huichol territory in the Sierra Madre offered limited access to precious goods. Nevertheless, the Wixaritari and their ancestors were active participants in regional trade systems and conflicts. Their geographic position allowed them to take part in commerce between the coastal plains and their seaports, and the main overland routes. These inland routes—such as the turquoise route or the maize and bean diffusion route—wove the connections between Mesoamerica and northern Mexico (or the Southwestern United States).
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The biocultural corridor crosses the southern portion of three ecoregions of global importance due to their contribution to biodiversity. It includes ecologically unique areas that are recognized as priority conservation priority areas for conservation in Mexico.
The corridor provides other essential environmental services, such as mitigating the effects of climate change, including "cold spots" or areas with high carbon sequestration, as well as priority regions for the water cycle.
The Gulf of California
The Gulf of California encompasses marine, coastal, and terrestrial ecosystems with high biological productivity. Marine mammals alone represent 35% of the world’s species.
Its islands and shorelines are important bird nesting areas and, together with the Pacific slope of the Baja California Peninsula, form a transcontinental migratory corridor. On the coastal plain of this ecoregion lie the Marismas Nacionales—brackish wetlands that contain one of the best-preserved mangrove systems along the Pacific coast of the Americas.
Humberto Fernández
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CHAC
Western Sierra Madre
Western Sierra Madre features a wide range of climates that give rise to remarkable ecological diversity. Its complex topography and dramatic altitudinal range (from 600 to 3,200 meters above sea level) support the coexistence of a broad array of vegetation types, including tropical dry and semi-deciduous forests, thorn forests, shrublands, grasslands, gallery forests, and pine–oak forests. All of these ecosystems are rich in endemic species and serve as refuges for unique flora and fauna.
Humberto Fernández
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CHAC
Desierto Chihuahuense
The Chihuahuan Desert is one of the three most biologically rich desert regions on the planet, covering nearly a quarter of Mexico’s territory. It is home to over 3,000 plant species, including 350 species of cacti. Flanked by the Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental, it is largely cut off from oceanic moisture. The desert is composed of alluvial plains, endorheic basins, and scattered mountain ranges known as “vegetation islands.” These islands are covered with coniferous forests, and where they meet the surrounding desert scrublands, they form unique habitats.
Leonardo Fernández
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CHAC
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Protected Areas and Priority Areas for Conservation
Throughout the territories crossed by the corridor, there are well-preserved areas with unique habitats and endemic or relict species. Several of these zones have been included under various categories of “priority areas for conservation” or have been officially designated as protected areas.
These areas have been identified or established by national institutions (such as CONABIO, SEMARNAT–CONANP) and international organizations (such as WWF, UNESCO and IUCN). Notably, the Route to Huiricuta has been inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The following chart presents priority conservation areas and the protected areas located along the Huichol Biocultural Corridor:
PROTECTED NATURAL AREAS
PRIORITY TERRESTRIAL REGIONS
PRIORITY HYDROLOGICAL REGIONS
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas
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Cuenca Alimentadora del Distrito Nacional de Riego No. 043
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Cerro de La Bufa
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Decreto Federal de Sitios Sagrados y Rutas de Peregrinación
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Parque Ecológico del Bicentenario
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Parque Estatal Ruta Huichola en Zacatecas
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Reserva Natural y Cultural de Huiricuta
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Sitio de Patrimonio Cultural Huichol en San Blas
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Cuenca del Río Jesús María
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Marismas Nacionales
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Pastizales Gipsófilos de Matehuala
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Tokio
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Sierra de los Huicholes
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Camacho – Gruñidora
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Río Baluarte - Marismas Nacionales
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San Blas - La Tovara
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Venado- Moctezuma
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Selvas Nayaritas
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El Carricito
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Marismas Nacionales
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Monte Escobedo
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Sierra de Catorce
Key Biodiversity Area (KBA)
Ramsar Site
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In indigenous knowledge systems, humans belong to the Earth and not the other way around. The landscape is a mirror of the cosmos and contains the historic memory of the people who conceive it. Pilgrimage traditions still survive and ancestral routes set the guidelines to revive and study the codices inscribed in the landscape, working as "itinerant universities".
In the Americas, and especially in Mexico, these pilgrimages take place across vast territories that provide essential environmental services, thus forming biocultural corridors. These corridors offer a privileged framework to strengthen social capital and sustainable development rooted in deep cultural heritage. The most evident example is found in the cultural geography of the Huichol people.
The Huichol routes are ancestral itineraries with extraordinary ritual significance that have withstood adversity. Today, they are the most representative living remnants of the vast network of exchange routes that enriched the social and cultural fabric of the Americas for millennia.
The most important regions of the Huichol geography are located in a 600 kilometer Corridor (400 miles) in North-Central Mexico. It extends northeast from the Nayarit Coast in the Pacific Ocean to Huiricuta, north of the state of San Luis Potosí. This Corridor runs through three ecoregions of high planetary relevance due to their contribution to biodiversity.
