I visited this tWHS in January 2022 as a convenient stopover between the Sierra Gorda missions WHS and the Otumba/Zempoala components of the Padre Tembleque WHS.

For starters, the whole area surrounding Las Pozas is quite shabby and also prone for tourist traps. There are several activities and places claiming to be the right place to visit to appreciate Las Pozas, and makeshift parking personnel ready to earn a quick buck to keep your vehicle safe. If you insist to drive further on, you can park your car for free at your own risk, but having a drink at one of the cafes/bars should be enough instead of paying the same 50 pesos for such a parking tourist trap. It is quite a drive to get there and the locals know this so just keep this tip in mind instead of paying for a fake service.

The surreal gardens of Edward James are open everyday except on Tuesdays and entrance is currently only allowed with a guided tour taking 1.5 hours (125 pesos + 25 pesos for the guide). It's best to book and pay for your tickets online in advance and you're requested to exchange your booking with an actual ticket some 15 minutes before the scheduled time. When we visited, we were the only visitors requesting an English guide, so apart from having a private tour we were also lucky to have a really motivated guide who showed us photos of Edward James on his tablet at each of the 12 locations used as stopping point for explanations. The site's surrealism lies in the interrelationship between the natural "Mexican jungle" and the mostly incomplete crumbling concrete structures. I usually prefer roaming about alone without a guide, but in such a place a guided tour is a must and surely an added value to try to grasp such a site.

Edward James was one of the most eccentric 20th century collectors of surrealist art. The British guy was filthy rich and in the 1940s he used to spend his days in Xilitla under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. He was also obsessed with Illuminati symbolism so he set out to create a fantastic home, which includes a unique sculptural space unlike any other in the world. This surrealistic place was inspired by James' dreams and subconscious. Edward James was described by Salvador Dali as "crazier than all the Surrealists put together" and he really designed a sculpture garden that defies any architectural style and allows a glimpse of something new, moving between fantasy and reality. During our guided visit I counted at least a dozen of other WHS, Edward James got his inspiration from, when creating or remodelling Las Pozas. 

Not being a concrete architecture enthusiast in general, I still was quite impressive be James' fantastic creation: columns with capitals that look like giant opium flowers, gothic arches, dramatic gates, pavilions with undetermined levels and spiral staircases that end abruptly in mid-air, as if they were an invitation to the horizon. In the past, Las Pozas was not only lush in flora but rich in fauna too living in the purposely built enclosures. Edward James paid some 5 million dollars to create Las Pozas' incomplete set of buildings and paid for them by selling his Surrealist art collection at an auction. The sheer contrast of James' living conditions in Las Pozas and back home at the West Dean House in West Sussex, UK is really incredible. He sponsored Salvador Dali in 1938 together with his collection of paintings and art objects, subsequently accepted as one of the finest collection of surrealist work in private hands. I was impressed by how glimpses of M.C. Escher's art defying gravity in Relativity and Waterfall is practically portrayed at some of the iconic stops along our guided visit at Las Pozas.

The WHS which came to mind during our visit bearing some sort of similarity with Las Pozas is Quinta da Regaleira, Sintra's esoteric component, but it doesn't really cover Surrealism as Las Pozas which can be argued to be a significant gap on the WH list. I think the site deserves inscription if only to monitor its much needed maintenance works before the whole place comes crumbling down, overcome by nature.