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Discover Dilao
Dilao sculpture park is a first hand experience: you are free to walk at your own pace, touch the sculptures and fountains that are within reach, take a rest on a stone bench and start again refreshed. There are over eighty pieces in permanent exhibition; here we introduce a few that you should not miss:
Citrus spiral
The word “paradise” is originally from classic Persian and means simply “walled garden.” A garden that leaves outside the sands of the desert and ingeniously manages the precious water. In Dilao, the citrus spiral, with a Persian Fountain at its center is a homage to the prodigies of irrigation of this ancient culture and their orchards, where visitors could walk on raised pathways among the tops of the trees and reach for fruit or enjoy the perfume of the flowers.
The Pavillion
At the northwest end of Dilao stands the Pavilion, a roofed platform created by sculptor Eduardo Olbés to frame the view of the park and the mountain. The floor is made of exquisite Mexican onix, expertly bookmatched; eight chicozapote tree-trunks support the high futuristic roof, designed by the architect Jorge Mercado. Two central hollow columns made of Italian stone route rainwater to our irrigation deposit. Chicozapotes are cultivated for their sap, the main ingredient in chewing gum and more recently used as an organic adhesive.
Around the Pavilion you can see sculptures and fountains in a formal arrangement of plants from the desert. This is a privileged vantage point to look at the park and the landscape as a whole, watch the birds and the changing light as the sun comes down.
The Pavilion at Dilao is a place of rest and contemplation. Its proportions have a direct effect on perception: the commanding view seems to amplify the senses and relax the mind.
Las Nubes cafe and bar offers an original selection of food and beverages to enjoy on the pavilion and on the grounds around it. The Pavilion can become a stage, classroom or forum depending on our planned activities, and has ample room for up to 150 people.
Celebrity Cactus
Halfway across the elevated side of Dilao, a magnificent specimen of Ferocactus pilosus, or barrel cactus stands in the center of a white marble plaza with a bench and a stone screen. The cactus is over a hundred years old and was acquired with its proper license. It is set on a deep bed of volcanic substrate and protected from excess water by the marble floor. The plaza is a dream-like scene that recalls the surrealist paintings of Georgio de Chirico.
The Secret Garden
You might miss it on your first visit, it is a well hidden secret! The secluded garden is by the main access on the lower side of Dilao, inside a hedge of jazmin and cisus. Inside, a surprisingly luminous and intimate space with a black jade fountain and a white cloud bench welcome the visitor.
Fuentes Babur
Estas fuentes toman su nombre del fundador de la dinastía Mogol en la India, cuyos descendientes construyeron famosos palacios en los que mostraron preferencia por las piedras rojas y blancas o la combinación de ellas. Babur vivió solo 47 años, pero llevó un diario desde los 9 años. que se conserva hasta hoy, el Babur Nama. Además de ser un tremendo guerrero, Babur era fanático de los jardines y las fuentes. Las dos fuentes Babur en Dilao aluden a la influencia de esta tradición exquisita.
Chalchitepetl
The emblematic silhouette of Cerro del Tesoro can be distinguished when approaching Tepoztlán from the highway that comes from Mexico City, and the mountain guards the entrance to the town with the figure that resembles a castle or a fort. Known as Treasure Mountain in Tepoztlán, the Nahuatl name of Chalchitépetl translates as "hill of the precious stone / green or jade stone" or, metaphorically, "hill where the gods are worshipped", since it is known that the sculptures of the pre-Hispanic deities used to be inlaid with jadeite and other green stones. The affinity with Dilao regarding the exaltation of the stone as a precious material is a synchronicity that we celebrate.
The hills of Tepoztlán, which belong to the Chichinautzin Nature Preserve are made up of andesites and basalts, igneous or volcanic rocks that began to be deposited 20,000 years ago. Later, they were transformed by tectonic movements that broke and separated the rocks and, on this, lava from other volcanoes once again fell. Wind and water have also eroded the stones and changed their shape.
