Tree of Tule

The Tree of Tule dominates the atrium of the church of Santa María del Tule with a trunk so wide it measures nearly one hundred forty feet in circumference. This Montezuma cypress, or ahuehuete, holds the record for the stoutest tree trunk in the world. It takes about thirty people holding hands to encircle its base, where the gnarled bark forms shapes that locals identify as lions, crocodiles, and deer.