Mexico Tourism | Mexico Vacations
Hidden Beach, Marieta Islands, Mexico Tourism |
About Mexico:
Mexico Vacations |
Mexico has one of the world's largest economies, and is considered both a regional power and middle power. In addition, Mexico was the first Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD (since 1994), and considered an upper-middle income country by the World Bank. Mexico is considered a newly industrialized country and an emerging power. It has the thirteenth largest nominal GDP and the eleventh largest by purchasing power parity. The economy is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners, especially the United States. Mexico ranks sixth in the world and first in the Americas by number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites with 31,and in 2007 was the tenth most visited country in the world with 21.4 million international arrivals per year.
Geography of Mexico:
Mexico is located between latitudes 14° and 33°N, and longitudes 86° and 119°W in the southern portion of North America. Almost all of Mexico lies in the North American Plate, with small parts of the Baja California peninsula on the Pacific and Cocos Plates. Geophysically, some geographers include the territory east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (around 12% of the total) within Central America. Geopolitically, however, Mexico is entirely considered part of North America, along with Canada and the United States.
Mexico's total area is 1,972,550 km2 (761,606 sq mi), making it the world's 14th largest country by total area, and includes approximately 6,000 km2 (2,317 sq mi) of islands in the Pacific Ocean (including the remote Guadalupe Island and the Revillagigedo Islands), Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Gulf of California. From its farthest land points, Mexico is a little over 2,000 mi (3,219 km) in length.
On its north, Mexico shares a 3,141 km (1,952 mi) border with the United States. The meandering Río Bravo del Norte (known as the Rio Grande in the United States) defines the border from Ciudad Juárez east to the Gulf of Mexico. A series of natural and artificial markers delineate the United States-Mexican border west from Ciudad Juárez to the Pacific Ocean. On its south, Mexico shares an 871 km (541 mi) border with Guatemala and a 251 km (156 mi) border with Belize.
Mexico is crossed from north to south by two mountain ranges known as Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental, which are the extension of the Rocky Mountains from northern North America. From east to west at the center, the country is crossed by the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt also known as the Sierra Nevada. A fourth mountain range, the Sierra Madre del Sur, runs from Michoacán to Oaxaca.
As such, the majority of the Mexican central and northern territories are located at high altitudes, and the highest elevations are found at the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt: Pico de Orizaba (5,700 m, 18,701 ft), Popocatepetl (5,462 m, 17,920 ft) and Iztaccihuatl (5,286 m, 17,343 ft) and the Nevado de Toluca (4,577 m, 15,016 ft). Three major urban agglomerations are located in the valleys between these four elevations: Toluca, Greater Mexico City and Puebla.
Mexico Weather:
Mexican Food:
Mexican cuisine is known for its intense and varied flavors, colorful decoration, and variety of spices. Most of today's Mexican food is based on pre-Columbian traditions, including the Aztecs and Maya, combined with culinary trends introduced by Spanish colonists.
The conquistadores eventually combined their imported diet of rice, beef, pork, chicken, wine, garlic and onions with the native pre-Columbian food, including maize, tomato, vanilla, avocado, guava, papaya, pineapple, chili pepper, beans, squash, sweet potato, peanut, and turkey.
Mexican food varies by region, because of local climate and geography and ethnic differences among the indigenous inhabitants and because these different populations were influenced by the Spaniards in varying degrees. The north of Mexico is known for its beef, goat and ostrich production and meat dishes, in particular the well-known Arrachera cut.
Central Mexico's cuisine is largely made up of influences from the rest of the country, but also has its authentics, such as barbacoa, pozole, menudo, tamales, and carnitas.
Southeastern Mexico, on the other hand, is known for its spicy vegetable and chicken-based dishes. The cuisine of Southeastern Mexico also has quite a bit of Caribbean influence, given its geographical location. Veal is common in the Yucatan. Seafood is commonly prepared in the states that border the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico, the latter having a famous reputation for its fish dishes, in particular à la veracruzana.
In modern times, other cuisines of the world have become very popular in Mexico, thus adopting a Mexican fusion. For example, sushi in Mexico is often made with a variety of sauces based on mango or tamarind, and very often served with serrano-chili-blended soy sauce, or complemented with vinegar, habanero and chipotle peppers
The most internationally recognized dishes include chocolate, tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, burritos, tamales and mole among others. Regional dishes include mole poblano, chiles en nogada and chalupas from Puebla; cabrito and machaca from Monterrey, cochinita pibil from Yucatán, Tlayudas from Oaxaca, as well as barbacoa, chilaquiles, milanesas, and many others.
Mexico Attractions:
Acapulco:
Acapulco |
The city is best known as one of Mexico’s oldest and most well-known beach resorts, which came into prominence by the 1950s as a getaway for Hollywood stars and millionaires. Acapulco is still famous for its nightlife and still attracts many vacationers, although most are now from Mexico itself. The resort area is divided into two: The north end of the bay is the "traditional" area, where the famous in the mid 20th century vacationed and the south end is dominated by newer luxury high rise hotels.
The name "Acapulco" comes from Nahuatl language Aca-pol-co, and means "where were destroyed or washed away the reeds". The "de Juárez" was added to the official name in 1885 to honor Benito Juárez, the former president of Mexico. The seal for the city shows broken reeds or cane.
Cozumel:
Cozumel |
It is also a stop for Caribbean cruises by cruise lines Carnival, Celebrity, Crystal, Disney, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess, Pullmantur and Royal Caribbean.
Los Cabos:
Los Cabos is a municipality located at the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, in the state of Baja California Sur. It encompasses the towns of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo (the municipal seat), as well as the Resort Corridor that lies between the two. The area's economy, like many resort areas in Mexico, was based on fishing but is now geared towards tourism, though sport fishing and golf are the area's main attractions. Also tourists can enjoy watching whales. Whales visit the area in winter due to the warm waters.
Los Cabos |
The annual average temperature is 78 °F (26 °C). From October to April the temperature is between 78 °F (26 °C) and 82 °F (28 °C) during the day and between 57 °F (14 °C) and 62 °F (17 °C) at night. The rest of the year temperatures may go over 100 °F (38 °C) during the day and between 70 °F (21 °C) and 85 °F (29 °C) at night. Los Cabos is said to have over 300–350 sunny days per year, with a rainfall rate of less than 10 inches (25 cm), which mostly comes during the hurricane season from August to October.
El Arco, commonly called "the Arch", is a real reference point in Los Cabos and is only reachable by boat. Just south of the Arch is Land's End, a rock that juts over the water. This is the last instance of land in Cabo marking the end of Baja California and the beginning of continuous open waters southward.
Palenque:
Palenque |
Palenque is a medium-sized site, much smaller than such huge sites as Tikal or Copán, but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-relief carvings that the Mayas produced. Much of the history of Palenque has been reconstructed from reading the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the many monuments; historians now have a long sequence of the ruling dynasty of Palenque in the 5th century and extensive knowledge of the city-state's rivalry with other states such as Calakmul and Toniná. The most famous ruler of Palenque was Pacal the Great whose tomb has been found and excavated in the Temple of the Inscriptions.
By 2005, the discovered area covered up to 2.5 km² (1 sq mi), but it is estimated that less than 10% of the total area of the city is explored, leaving more than a thousand structures still covered by jungle.
Copper Canyon:
Copper Canyon |
There are many other ways to explore Copper Canyon such as hiking, biking, driving or horseback riding. The most popular way is by train, as the Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico or ChePe, runs along the main canyon called Canyon Urique, between Chihuahua and Los Mochis, on the Gulf of California.
Tulum:
Tulum |
The Tulum archaeological site is relatively compact compared with many other Maya sites in the vicinity, and is one of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites. Its proximity to the modern tourism developments along the Mexican Caribbean coastline and its short distance from Cancún and the surrounding "Riviera Maya" has make it a popular Maya tourist site in the Yucatan. Daily tour buses bring a constant stream of visitors to the site. The Tulum ruins are the third most-visited archaeological site in Mexico, after Teotihuacan and Chichen Itza. It is popular for the picturesque view of the Caribbean and a location just 128 km (80 mi) south of the popular beach resort of Cancún.
Chichen Itza:
Chichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya civilization. The archaeological site is located in the municipality of Tinum, in the Mexican state of Yucatán.
Chichen Itza |
Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities and it was likely to have been one of the mythical great cities, or Tollans, referred to in later Mesoamerican literature. The city may have had the most diverse population in the Maya world, a factor that could have contributed to the variety of architectural styles at the site.
The ruins of Chichen Itza are federal property, and the site’s stewardship is maintained by Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History). The land under the monuments had been privately-owned until 29 March 2010, when it was purchased by the state of Yucatán.
Chichen Itza is one of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico; an estimated 1.2 million tourists visit the ruins every year.
Teotihuacan:
Teotihuacan |
The city is thought to have been established around 100 BC and continued to be built until about 250 AD. The city may have lasted until sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries AD. At its zenith, perhaps in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas, with a population of perhaps 125,000 or more, placing it among the largest cities of the world in this period. Teotihuacan began as a new religious center in the Mexican Highland around the first century AD. This city came to be the largest and most populated center in the New World. Teotihuacan was even home to multi-floor apartment compounds built to accommodate this large population. The civilization and cultural complex associated with the site is also referred to as Teotihuacan or Teotihuacano.
Although it is a subject of debate whether Teotihuacan was the center of a state empire, its influence throughout Mesoamerica is well documented; evidence of Teotihuacano presence can be seen at numerous sites in Veracruz and the Maya region. The Aztecs may have been influenced by this city. The ethnicity of the inhabitants of Teotihuacan is also a subject of debate. Possible candidates are the Nahua, Otomi or Totonac ethnic groups. Scholars have also suggested that Teotihuacan was a multiethnic state.
The city and the archaeological site are located in what is now the San Juan Teotihuacán municipality in the State of México, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of Mexico City. The site covers a total surface area of 83 square kilometres (32 sq mi) and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. It is the most visited archaeological site in Mexico.
Cancún:
Cancún |
The Nichupté Lagoon is on the opposite side of the island from the Caribbean Sea, which is used for boating excursions and jet-ski jungle tours. Cancún is also the gateway to the Riviera Maya and the Yucatán interior, which has numerous archaeological sites, such as Chichen Itza, Cobá and Tulum as well as the many cenotes such as Dos Ojos and Ik Kil. English Sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor has created a monumental underwater art museum in the National Marine Park of Cancún.
Zócalo:
Zócalo |
It has been a gathering place for Mexicans since Aztec times, having been the site of Mexica ceremonies, the swearing in of viceroys, royal proclamations, military parades, Independence ceremonies and modern religious events such as the festivals of Holy Week and Corpus Christi. It has received foreign heads of state and is the main venue for both national celebration and national protest.
Guanajuato:
Guanajuato |
The origin and growth of the city resulted from the discovery of mines in the mountains surrounding it. The mines were so rich that the city was one of the most influential during the colonial period. One of the mines, La Valenciana, accounted for two-thirds of the world’s silver production at the height of its production.
The city is home to the Mummy Museum, which contains naturally mummified bodies that were found in the municipal cemetery between the mid 19th and 20th centuries. It is also home to the Festival Internacional Cervantino, which invites artists and performers from all over the world as well as Mexico. The city was also the site of the first battle of the Mexican War of Independence between insurgent and royalist troops at the Alhóndiga de Granaditas. The city was named a World Heritage Site in 1988.
Monte Albán:
Monte Albán |
The partially excavated civic-ceremonial center of the Monte Albán site is situated atop an artificially-leveled ridge, which with an elevation of about 1,940 m (6,400 ft) above mean sea level rises some 400 m (1,300 ft) from the valley floor, in an easily defensible location. In addition to the aforementioned monumental core, the site is characterized by several hundred artificial terraces, and a dozen clusters of mounded architecture covering the entire ridgeline and surrounding flanks (Blanton 1978). The archaeological ruins on the nearby Atzompa and El Gallo hills to the north are traditionally considered to be an integral part of the ancient city as well.
Monte Albán1 |
The etymology of the site's present-day name is unclear, and tentative suggestions regarding its origin range from a presumed corruption of a native Zapotec name such as “Danibaan” (Sacred Hill) to a colonial-era reference to a Spanish soldier by the name Montalbán or to the Alban Hills of Italy. The ancient Zapotec name of the city is not known, as abandonment occurred centuries before the writing of the earliest available ethnohistorical sources.
Xochimilco:
Xochimilco |
Cascada de Texolo |
Cascada de Texolo:
Cascada de Texolo is a waterfall of eastern Mexico. It is located 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) south of the town of Xico, in the state of Veracruz, and approximately 19 kilometres (12 miles) from Xalapa city.
The waterfall is roughly 60–80 feet (18–24 m) high. There is a bridge over the gorge connecting the dense woodland together. On the other side there are two smaller waterfalls that can be seen from some of the footpaths in the area.
The falls and the surrounding area have been used in several movies, including Romancing The Stone and Clear And Present Danger. In Romancing The Stone, the jewel is hidden in a cave behind a waterfall and Texolo Waterfall was used for that scene.
La Bufadora:
La Bufadora |
La Bufadora is the one of the largest blowholes in North America, often shooting upwards more than 30 metres (100 ft) above sea level. The exhibit hall roof top is approximately 24 metres (80 ft) above sea level and the blowhole frequently sprays above it.
La Quebrada Cliff Divers:
La Quebrada Cliff Divers |
Although cliff diving at La Quebrada had taken place for many years, it was not until 1934 that the La Quebrada Cliff Divers was formed. One of the more famous Cliff Divers was Raoul Garcia. Swiss bigband leader, playboy, club owner and hotelier Teddy Stauffer (1909 - 1991), the man who is credited with turning Acapulco into a world class resort,(and for some time managed the El Mirador Hotel at La Quebrada) actually turned the boys, who were diving from the cliffs there, into stars, some ten years later. He is remembered as "Mr. Acapulco" to this day.
Cabo San Lucas:
Cabo San Lucas |
Cabo San Lucas has the largest marlin tournament in the world.
In the winter, pods of whales can be observed in the area. They bear their calves in the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez after completing their six-thousand-mile migration from Alaska and Siberia.
Mazatlán:
Mazatlán |
Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning "place of deer". The city was founded in 1531 by an army of Spaniards and Indian settlers. By the mid-19th century a large group of immigrants had arrived from Germany. These new citizens developed Mazatlán into a thriving commercial seaport, importing equipment for the nearby gold and silver mines. It served as the capital of Sinaloa from 1859 to 1873. The German settlers also influenced the local music, banda, which is an alteration of Bavarian folk music. The settlers also established the Pacifico Brewery on March 14, 1900.
With a population of 438,434 (city) and 489,987 (municipality) as of the 2010 census, Mazatlán is the second-largest city in the state. It is also a popular tourist destination, with its beaches lined with resort hotels. A car ferry plies its trade across the Gulf of California from Mazatlán to La Paz, Baja California Sur. The municipality has a land area of 3,068.48 km² (1,184.75 sq mi) and includes smaller outlying communities such as Villa Unión, La Noria, El Quelite, El Habal and many other small villages. Mazatlán is served by Gral. Rafael Buelna International Airport.
Playa del Carmen:
Playa del Carmen |
Playa del Carmen, or just "Playa", has undergone rapid development over the past two years with many new luxury residential condominium buildings, restaurants, boutiques and entertainment venues. Currently there are plans to develop six luxury boutique hotels, several internationally recognized chain restaurants including PF Changs, Hard Rock Cafe, Ruth's Chris and the Cheesecake Factory as well as a small upmarket shopping plaza offering designer boutiques, a small cinema, luxury condominiums and the first international House of Blues entertainment venue. Avenida Quinta is slated to become a cultural and economic stronghold for the Yucatan peninsula with the development of civic venues and up-market retail. Several luxury brands are currently developing retail locations, those under construction or already open including Louis Vuitton, Carolina Herrera, Paul & Shark, Hugo Boss and Christian Dior. El Palacio de Hierro has also begun construction of a luxury department store at the corner of Avenida Quinta and Constituyentes.
Puerto Vallarta:
Puerto Vallarta |
The city is located at 20°40'N 105°16'W. The municipality has an area of 502.19 square miles (1,300.7 km2). To the North it borders the SW part of the state of Nayarit. To the east it borders the municipality of Mascota and San Sebastián del Oeste, and to the South it borders the municipalities of Talpa de Allende and Cabo Corriente.
Facts About Mexico:
Population : 107,029,000
Capital : Mexico City; 19,013,000
Language : Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other indigenous languages
Religion : Roman Catholic, Protestant
Currency : Mexican Peso
Life Expectancy : 75
GDP per Capita : U.S. $8,900
Literacy Percent : 92
National Holiday : Independence Day, September 16
Government : Federal Republic
Time Zone : GMT/UTC
Electricity : 127V 60HzHz
Country Dialing Code : 52
Major Industries : Food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism
Mexico Hotels:
- The St. Regis Mexico City
- Four Seasons Mexico City
Mexico Hotels
- Rosewood Mayakoba
- Banyan Tree Mayakoba
- Royal Hideaway Playacar
- Fairmont Mayakoba
- The Grand Mayan Riviera Maya
- Ritz-Carlton Cancun
- Banyan Tree Cabo Marques
- Hotel Palacio Borghese
- Camino Real Oaxaca
- Playa Fiesta BeachClub & Hotel
- Casa Velas Boutique Hotel
- La Mansion del Sol
- Villa Ganz
- Luz En Yucatan
- Casa Lecanda Boutique Hotel
Mexico Resorts:
- Maroma Resort & Spa, Riviera Maya
Mexico Resorts
- Grand Solmar Land's End Resort & Spa, Los Cabos
- Omni Puerto Aventuras Hotel Beach Resort, Cancún
- Ceiba del Mar Beach Resort & Spa, Riviera Maya
- Grand Velas All Suites & Spa Resort, Nuevo Vallarta
- Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach Resort & Spa, Cabo San Lucas
- Le Méridien Cancun Resort & Spa
- St. Regis Punta Mita Resort
- Le Blanc Spa Resort
- InterContinental Presidente Los Cabos Resort
- Cabo Azul Resort and Spa
- JW Marriott Cancun Resort
- The Westin Resort and Spa Los Cabos
- The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort
- InterContinental Presidente Cancun Resort
- El Careyes Beach Resort