Travel Trend: Mock Illegal Border Crossing

Tourism with a Cultural Twist

Ever wonder what it's like to be an illegal border crosser? Mexico's Parque EcoAlberto offers tourists the chance to find out with caminata nocturna - a staged adventure that simulates illegally crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States.

The Parque EcoAlberto is a 3,000 acre eco-park owned by the Hñahñu Indians in Hidalgo, Mexico. It does not border the United States but is in central Mexico, about 700 miles south of the actual crossing. 

The park opened in 2004 with funding from the Mexican government and created the caminata nocturna - nighttime hike - in July of the same year. It costs 200 pesos (about $18 USD) to become "illegal" for about four hours.

Groups are led by Hñahñu tour guides, many who have crossed the real border several times. Of the 2,200 locals only 700 reside in Mexico and 1,500 scrape through a life of labor in Nevada as construction or farm workers.

It is not a reality that evokes pride here, instead the Hñahñu recognize the loss of family, language, community and connection to place that marks the life of an illegal immigrant.

The tourist caminata takes the traveler over deserts, hills and riverbeds to give a taste of the arduous journey that illegal border crossers endure. The Hñahñu view the guided caminata nocturna as an homage to the dangerous path that real-life border crossers have carved across the desert. It is meant as a consciousness-raising experience.

Of the 3,000 tourists that have taken the caminata nocturna, most have been Mexican. In addition to an experienced guide, the groups are joined by other Hñahñus who play the role of illegal border crossers. Each takes on a character explaining their motivation for the journey. Some talk of finding work up north, others carry children and speak of their search for family member who have already made the journey to the "other side."