Cerro de la Silla (Antenas)

Cerro de la Silla doesn't really need an introduction if you've spent any time in Monterrey — its saddle-shaped silhouette is the skyline here, visible from nearly everywhere in the city. The Antenas route up Pico Antena is the classic way up: a wide road-turned-trail starting from the Bosques de la Pastora neighborhood, climbing steadily and directly toward the antenna installations at the top with almost no flat ground to recover on along the way.

Heat and humidity were the real challenge of the day, more than the grade itself. The trail stayed exposed for long stretches, sun beating straight down on the concrete and rock underfoot, and every switchback came with a fresh reminder to keep drinking water. A coati working its way along the summit rocks provided a welcome distraction partway up — unbothered by hikers and clearly at home scrambling around the same boulders we were.

The payoff at the top was the kind that makes the climb worth every soaked layer: a full sea of clouds pooling below the summit, Monterrey's rooftops and the surrounding ranges appearing and disappearing as the fog drifted through. Plenty of time got spent up on the rocks trading photos, arms raised in the classic summit pose with nothing but clouds in the background.

The day wasn't quite done even after the descent — we headed back out that same evening to a rooftop terrace with a straight-on view of Cerro de la Silla itself, its unmistakable saddle shape lit up against the sky. A good way to close out the day: looking back at the exact spot we'd been standing on just hours before.