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Last updateFri, 05 Feb 2016 2pm

Balneario El Rincon: Crystal-clear pools, birds, butterflies, otters & a great place to camp

El Rincon translates as “the Nook.” It’s a natural spring located 420 meters southwest of the Guachimontones archaeological site and the source of the Teuchitlan River. In 1895, British archaeologist Adela Breton visited burial sites near here and made references to “ceremonial circles.” It is also here, in 1962, where the discovery of obsidian knives in the water eventually led researchers Phil and Acelia Weigand to the circular pyramids and evidence of the ancient West Mexican civilization of Teuchitlan.


Today El Rincon is a balneario or water park, a recreational area with several lakes and swimming pools. Inside, you can still see the original springs where warm water bubbles out of the ground into shallow pilas. If you look even closer, you may spot a little fish in the water around three or four inches long . This is Ameca splendens, the Butterfly Splitfin or Goodeid, a fish endemic to the Teuchitlan River, but now found all over the planet, thanks to fish fanciers who can’t resist its charms.

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