Sierra Gorda

Declared in 1997 after years of pioneering community management led by the civil organisation Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda, it is reckoned the biosphere reserve with the greatest diversity of vegetation types in Mexico — from semi-desert to rainforest and cloud forest — thanks to its steep altitudinal gradient. Within its boundaries stand the Franciscan Missions of the Sierra Gorda, built in the 18th century by Fray Junípero Serra before he founded the celebrated missions of California, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a cultural property in its own right, separate from the nature reserve.