Moon Phase Today Zapopan

Moon Phase Today Zapopan: Waning Crescent

On Sunday, October 4, 2026, the moon in Zapopan is a Waning Crescent with 34% illumination. Moon age: 23.7 days.

Illumination
34%
Moon Age
23.7d
Next Full Moon
Oct 25
Distance
--
☽ Moonrise
12:51 AM
↑ Highest
—
☾ Moonset
2:45 PM

Zapopan, Mexico-current-moon

☽ Best Places to View the Moon in Zapopan, Mexico

Zapopan sits at roughly 20.72°N at the northwestern edge of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area in Jalisco, Mexico, with around 1.6 million residents in the municipality — the most populous in the state. Traditionally founded in 1541 as Nuestra Señora de la Concepción de Tzapopan, the city sits at an elevation of over 1,500 metres in the temperate Guadalajara Valley. Between a pilgrimage basilica, a shared botanical park with its own Japanese garden, and forested nature reserves at the city's edges, Zapopan gives a genuinely varied set of places to watch the moon.

1

Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Zapopan

A sanctuary whose construction began in 1690, housing a small wooden image of the Virgin of Zapopan with a history reaching back to the 16th century. Every October 12, the icon is carried back to the basilica in La Romería, a procession of nearly 9 kilometres from Guadalajara's cathedral drawing more than two million participants — recognized by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2018.

2

Andador 20 de Noviembre & Arcos de Zapopan

A roughly 300-metre pedestrian street connecting the Arcos de Zapopan to the basilica, lined with shops, cafés, and restaurants. It's an easy, central option for an ordinary evening walk.

3

Bosque Los Colomos

A park spanning the border between Guadalajara and Zapopan, with lakes, streams, and running trails. Its most photographed corner is a Japanese garden tied to the sister-city relationship between Guadalajara and Kyoto, giving a quieter, more contemplative option than the city's plazas — check its current hours before an evening visit.

4

Bosque El Centinela

A forested park of about 118 hectares, sitting within a larger 254-hectare protected area that also encompasses the neighbouring Cañadas de San Isidro. It gives a genuine stretch of woodland within easy reach of the city, though access outside daylight hours should be checked in advance.

5

Bosque La Primavera

A much larger protected forest, covering roughly 36,000 hectares on the western edge of the Guadalajara metropolitan area. It offers a more remote, rural setting than the city's smaller urban parks — check current access conditions before planning an evening visit, since it sits further from the centre.

6

Plaza de las Américas Juan Pablo II

A plaza near the basilica named for the pope who visited Zapopan in 1979. It's a straightforward, open public space for an ordinary evening near the historic centre.

◉ Best Times for Moon Photography

🌕 Full Moon ±1 day — Bosque Los Colomos and Bosque El Centinela both give an open, tree-framed sightline away from the busiest streets
❄ Nov–May — Zapopan's dry season, with generally clearer, more comfortable evenings typical of the temperate Guadalajara Valley
🌙 Mar–May — increasingly warm evenings, with the rainy season approaching by the end of the period
☀ Jun–Oct — the rainy season, with afternoon and evening rain showers common across the region
🥶 Nights stay mild year-round thanks to the city's elevation, with freezing temperatures rare even in the cooler months

📷 Quick Photography Tips

🎯A tripod helps at open spots like Bosque El Centinela, more exposed than the streets of the historic centre
⛪The illuminated Basílica de Zapopan gives a striking, historic foreground for a moonrise shot near the city centre
🌳Los Colomos' Japanese garden offers a distinctive, tranquil composition unlike anywhere else in the city — check its current hours before an evening visit
🔋Humidity during the rainy season can affect lenses — carry a cloth and let gear acclimate before shooting
🕐 Timezone

Zapopan runs on Central Standard Time (UTC-6) year-round. Jalisco does not change clocks for daylight saving time.

🌐 Other Locations

For the moon phase in any other city worldwide, visit our Dynamic Moon Phase Calculator for instant lunar data tailored to wherever you are.

Enjoy the moon over Zapopan — a valley city with a centuries-old pilgrimage basilica and a Japanese garden both within easy reach of downtown.

The moon phase today in Zapopan, Mexico is shown in detail above — complete with exact illumination percentage, moonrise/set times, and the best viewpoints to see it. For the moon phase today in any other city or location worldwide, visit our Dynamic Moon Phase Calculator on the home page.

◐ While Actually There

Zapopan's identity is built around devotion as much as geography. The Basílica has held its small wooden Virgin since the 16th century, and every October the city becomes the endpoint of La Romería, a nearly 9-kilometre procession that draws more than two million participants and is recognized by UNESCO as part of the world's intangible cultural heritage. Outside of that one enormous night, the basilica and its plaza make a quieter, still atmospheric stop for an ordinary evening.

The city's green spaces tell a different, more binational story. Bosque Los Colomos straddles the line between Zapopan and Guadalajara, and its Japanese garden exists specifically because of a sister-city relationship with Kyoto — a small, deliberate piece of another country's landscape tradition planted in the middle of Jalisco. Bosque El Centinela and the much larger Bosque La Primavera give the city a genuine forested edge that most fast-growing metropolitan areas its size have long since paved over.

None of it requires much beyond checking Los Colomos' opening hours if you want to see the Japanese garden specifically, and confirming access conditions before an evening trip out to either forest reserve. The basilica, the andador, and the plaza are all straightforward for an ordinary evening without much advance planning.

"Zapopan keeps a 16th-century Virgin at its centre and a piece of Kyoto at its edge — two very different kinds of devotion, both still part of an ordinary evening here."

✓ Your Zapopan Moon Chase Checklist

Before You Go

  • Check the moonrise time and phase on this page for each night of your stay
  • Check current opening hours for Bosque Los Colomos' Japanese garden if you want to combine it with your evening
  • Check the October 12 pilgrimage dates if you want to see or avoid La Romería's crowds
  • Check current access conditions at Bosque El Centinela and Bosque La Primavera before an evening visit
  • Check the forecast for rain showers if visiting between June and October

What to Bring

  • A light layer for evenings — generally mild year-round given the city's elevation, though cooler-season nights can turn crisp
  • A tripod, useful at open spots like Bosque El Centinela
  • Comfortable shoes for walking the Andador 20 de Noviembre and the trails at Los Colomos
  • A light rain layer during the June-to-October rainy season
  • Spare camera batteries and a lens cloth for humid evenings

On the Night

  • Arrive 20–30 minutes before moonrise at open spots like Bosque El Centinela or the Plaza de las Américas
  • Shoot RAW and bracket exposures, especially where the illuminated basilica mixes with moonlight
  • Keep to marked trails and lit paths at Los Colomos and El Centinela after dark
  • Confirm current transport options if visiting Bosque La Primavera in the evening, since it sits further from the city centre
  • Watch for sudden evening rain during the wetter months
Bosque Los Colomos' Japanese garden and the city's forest reserves keep their own posted access hours — check current times before planning an evening around any single feature.
The moon over Zapopan shares the sky with a centuries-old pilgrimage basilica, a Japanese garden built on a sister-city friendship, and forested reserves holding their ground at the edge of a fast-growing metropolitan area. Use the phase calendar on this page, check park and garden hours before you go, and take the walk down the Andador if you have the time.

? Zapopan Moon Phase — Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the moon phase today in Zapopan?

The moon phase today in Zapopan is a Waning Crescent with 34% illumination. The next full moon is in 22 days, on Oct 25. Moonrise is at 12:51 AM and moonset at 2:45 PM.

Q. Where is the best place to view the moon in Zapopan?

The Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Zapopan and its plaza, linked by the Andador 20 de Noviembre to the Arcos de Zapopan, are the easiest central spots, with the illuminated basilica as a historic foreground. Bosque Los Colomos, a park with lakes and a Japanese garden on the border with Guadalajara, and Bosque El Centinela, a forested park of about 118 hectares, offer open, tree-framed sightlines. Bosque La Primavera, a protected forest of roughly 36,000 hectares on the western edge of the metropolitan area, is a more remote option. Plaza de las Américas Juan Pablo II near the basilica is a straightforward open space for an ordinary evening.

Q. Where does the moon rise and set in Zapopan, and how high does it climb?

At about 20.7°N, Zapopan's moonrise and moonset points stay close to east and west, swinging from roughly east-northeast to east-southeast for rising and west-northwest to west-southwest for setting, a narrower swing than in Europe. Because the moon's declination can exceed the city's latitude, a winter full moon passes within roughly 2° to 8° of the zenith, crossing slightly north of directly overhead, while a summer full moon peaks in the south at roughly 45° above the horizon. A moon that high is hard to frame with a landmark, so rising and setting moons are the best choice for compositions with the basilica. Bosque La Primavera lies on the western edge of the metropolitan area, the direction of moonset. Check the azimuth for your date and exact spot.

Q. Is light pollution a problem for moon observing in Zapopan?

The moon is bright enough to observe and photograph from almost anywhere in Zapopan, so light pollution rarely limits the lunar disc itself. It does wash out earthshine on a thin crescent and any faint sky detail. Zapopan is part of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, and the basilica area, the andador and the city's plazas all carry substantial artificial lighting, so it is a light-polluted site rather than a dark-sky one. The forest reserves on the metropolitan edge may have less local lighting, but check access conditions before planning an evening there.

Q. What camera settings and phases work best for moon photography in Zapopan?

For a full moon, start with Looney 11 (f/11, ISO 100, 1/100 s) and refine using your histogram, since it is a baseline rather than a guarantee. The moon is much brighter than the lit basilica and plazas, so shoot RAW and bracket or blend exposures to keep both crater detail and the foreground. A waxing gibbous is useful for blue hour while the foreground is still lit, and a full moon rises around sunset in the east. A 200–400 mm lens helps isolate a rising moon against the basilica or distant treeline, with a tripod for bracketing and manual focus on the moon using magnified live view.

Q. How do the rainy season and humidity affect moon viewing in Zapopan?

Zapopan has a dry season from November to May, with generally clearer and more comfortable evenings, and a rainy season from June to October, when afternoon and evening showers are common across the region. Humidity in the rainy season can leave condensation on lenses, so carry a cloth and let gear acclimate before shooting, and watch for sudden evening rain. The city sits at over 1,500 metres in the Guadalajara Valley, and nights stay mild year-round, with freezing temperatures rare. Check local forecasts for cloud and rain before heading out, especially between June and October.

Q. What time zone are Zapopan's moonrise and moonset times shown in?

Zapopan runs on Central Standard Time, UTC-6, year-round, because Jalisco does not change clocks for daylight saving time. Moonrise and moonset times therefore stay on the same local clock throughout the year, but the offset from U.S. and Canadian cities changes when they switch clocks, so double-check your device's time zone if you are coordinating with someone farther north.

Q. Can I shoot the moon at Zapopan's viewpoints after dark?

Access varies by site. Bosque Los Colomos and its Japanese garden keep posted opening hours, so check current times before an evening visit. Bosque El Centinela should have its access outside daylight hours checked in advance, and Bosque La Primavera sits further from the centre, so check current access conditions and transport before planning an evening there. Keep to marked trails and lit paths in the forest parks after dark. The Andador 20 de Noviembre, the basilica plaza and Plaza de las Américas are open urban spaces, though October 12 brings La Romería and very large crowds.

Q. Does this page work for cities besides Zapopan?

This page is set up specifically for Zapopan, Mexico. For the moon phase in any other city or location worldwide, use the Dynamic Moon Phase Calculator on the moonphase.today home page.