Mexico's First Public Cable Car Soars Over Mexico City

Colourful cable cars Irmante (Atlas Obscura User)

In Ecatepec de Morelos, Mexico City’s roughest and most populated suburb, most residents travel to work in the inner city. Navigating the notoriously congested traffic on the main road through the favela-like neighborhood takes at least an hour. But now there’s another option. Today, nearly 30,000 commuters every day soar above the rooftops of the one of the busiest areas of Mexico.

In 2016 Mexico launched its first public cable car service, the Mexicable, a suspended urban gondola. As you swiftly drift in one of the Mexicable’s colorful cabins (which can hold around 10 people each) a 3-mile journey through the ropeway’s seven stations can take as little 17 minutes and costs just 6 pesos, around 30 cents.

This novelty has also brought more security to the crime-riddled community. The colorful houses dotting the metropolitan area are now covered in fascinating street art created by famous local and international artists thanks to the Mexicable project. Many of the murals are painted on the rooftops, enlivening the already exciting omnipresent view passengers get from the cable car.

The government’s investment of more than 1,500 million pesos into the public infrastructure project also contributes to the constant battle with pollution in large cities, as the gondola line uses solar energy to operate. This is the first cable car in Mexico to serve as public transportation and follows the example of other heavily populated Latin American cities like Medellin and Rio de Janeiro.

Please be aware that Ecatepec is not located in Mexico City but in a municipality near to. Ecatepec is known for being not only dangerous even for locals, but specially for women since it has one of the highest femicide rates in the country.

Know Before You Go

Take the free Mexicable bus from the outside of Indios Verdes metro station—this will leave you right in front of station 1. Open hours from Mondays to Saturdays are 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sundays 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. Purchase an electronic card from one of the windows inside the cable car stations which can be used by any amount of people at the same time as it uses the touch and enter system.

Walking up the valley from the top station you'll quickly find yourself in quiet nature (stock up on a bottle of water from one of the shops along the way). A moderately strenuous walk brings you up to Pico del tres Padres. It's covered in antennas, so not great in terms of views. But if you continue west thru the forest you'll end up getting great views, and you can descend into the next valley and take the other cable line down to Indios Verdes from there.

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