Huasteca Canyon Via Ferrata Zipline and Rapelling Adventure from Monterrey

After morning hotel pickup, travel west with your guides and arrive about an hour later at La Huasteca Canyon in Santa Catarina, part of Cumbres de Monterrey National Park. Alluring semi-deserts and towering rock formations form part of La Huasteca Canyon’s landscape spanning over 490 acres (200 hectares). The jagged limestone summits you see disappearing into a misty cloud cover — you’ll be flying across these peaks during your tour.

Receive a safety briefing, get fitted into equipment and listen to what lies ahead on the Via Ferrata. (There will be one guide for every 10 passengers.) The phrase via ferrata, or iron road, is generally used to refer to a passage on a mountain marked by a steel cable affixed to the rock at periodic points. The cable can be used to zipline, and often are found alongside iron rungs, ladders and suspension bridges to help climbers make their way through mountains. The Via Ferrata from Monterrey stretches as one of the longest such passages in North America.

Take a 30-minute hike of moderate difficulty to the base of Pico Independencia and start drinking water and consuming snacks (soda, crackers and a sandwich are provided) along the way. When you reach Independencia, climb the metal rungs affixed to the vertical wall and at the top, at a height of 980 feet (299 meters), enjoy jaw-dropping views of the moody but stunning panorama of the peaks of the Sierra Madre Oriental, streaked deserts and valleys. Then your guide clips you into the first zipline, and off you go, sailing clear across a yawning gap to a ledge on the other side.

From there, suspend all logic and common sense: cross hanging bridges and two ziplines reaching heights of up to 1,970 feet (600 meters) and lengths of more than 650 feet (198 meters), followed by rappelling from a height of 130 feet (40 meters). Your journey also includes two Tyrolean traverses, where the steel cable is laid out horizontally, meaning you’ll use a hand-over-hand technique to pull yourself along the cable instead of descending freely with the help of gravity. The longest Tyrolean you’ll cross is 984 feet (300 meters) long at a height of 2,297 feet (700 meters). In other words, earn serious bragging rights on the Via Ferrata.

Depending on your group, you’ll spend three to four hours in the park. Afterward, return to your minivan, unwind your adrenaline-fueled body with lunch at a local restaurant (own expense) and arrive back at your Monterrey hotel by early evening.