Mexico’s beaches are
indeed pretty special,
says Alex Johnson,
but make sure you
pack your walking shoes
to get the most out of the
country’s pyramidal delights.

Mexican waves

When it comes to impressively developed ancient civilisations, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more impressive collection than Mexico’s: the Olmecs were the earliest around 1200BC, followed by the Zapotecs, then the Maya and the most famous of all, the Aztecs. And, despite the worst efforts of the 16th century Spanish conquistadores, these peoples have left us a host of spectacular monuments and artworks to savour.One way of getting to know the country’s ancient history is by staying at Na Bolom, a hotel with is also a kind of museum and research centre in San Cristobal, Chiapas. Each room is decorated with photographs and artefacts from a different local village in the area with strong Maya connections. There are also trips organised to important sites as well as a well stocked library focusing on Mexican history and a garden with medicinal plants (http://nabolom.org).

Mexico City

Visiting Mexico without visiting Mexico City is like a trip to England without spending time in London: it’s not absolutely essential, but it seems a pity to go all that way without enjoying what the vast city, the old Aztec capital, has to offer. Sadly, it falls into that category of destinations whereby if you believe everything written about them in the media then you’d never go within bargepole-touching distance. Of course you need to be careful, as you do in all big cities, but the worrying image is being addressed, not least by telecoms billionaire Carlos Slim (who earlier this year bought a large stake in The Independent newspaper) who has invested millions in redevelopment schemes in thecentre of the city.

Your top five must-sees are:

● the Zócalo, the city’s vast central square which is usually full of exotic stalls and entertainers, also borders onto the incredible 17th century Catedral Metropolitana and is right next to the Aztec pyramid on display at the Museo del Templo Mayor

● Frida Kahlo’s house-museum on Calle Londres in the suburb of Coyoacán is blue and beautiful with a lovely garden

● Mariachi: you can see them in many places but see them gathering in Plaza Garibaldi (not the nicest of areas to explore though – have a look and then get your taxi driver to keep going). Chapultepec Park, home to the Museo Nacional de Antropología (which focuses on the culture of Mexicos native peoples including a recreated Aztec ballgame court) and the Museo de Arte Moderno which holds works by famous modern artists such as Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera

● Teotihuacán – the huge ancient settlement, a short trip outside the city

While folk in Britain were largely still banging rocks together for fun, the ancient city of Teotihuacán was a thriving metropolis: at its peak it had a population between 150,000 and 250,000, was home to artisans making jewellery and pottery, and had no military fortifications. A short bus ride away from Mexico City it is one of the most remarkable sites in the world, with its huge Pyramids of the Sun (the third largest in the world at 70m high) and Moon. Once the capital city, the main ‘street’ is theAvenue of the Dead, an enormous thoroughfare along which were lined the palaces belonging to the city’s leaders. As well as the pyramids, you must visit the Quetzalcóatl Temple which has vivid carvings of serpents. Unlike Pompeii, Teotihuacán never disappeared from everyday use: it continued to be used for homes after its fall and was popular with the Aztecs as a pilgrimage location (they believed the sun was born here – it certainly can get very hot). It even amazed the Spanish conquistadores when they arrived. Like visiting Pompeii, it’s a full day visit so make sure you wear something to keep the sun off, decent shoes for climbing the pyramids and bring plenty of water.

Mexico City certainly has plenty of style and there are many great little cantinas, or bars, where you can enjoy a traditionally simple atmosphere and have a drink and something to eat (you must try mole poblano at some point in your stay, turkey covered with a spicy chocolatey sauce which is much more delicious than it sounds). One of the most popular is Saloon Tenampa, particularly good for mariachi music, at Plaza Garbialdi 12, but also try La Polar (Guillermo Prieto 129) which serves a famous version of birria, a stew of shredded lamb or goat in a spicy broth, served with tortillas, salsa and avocado.

World heritage

The three latest sites in Mexico to be added to the UNESCO World Heritage list – making a total now of 29 - are the city of San Miguel de Allende (fantastic colonial baroque architecture), the Jesus Nazareno de Atotonilco Sanctuary (18thcentury chapel with spectacular wall paintings) and the Monarca Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (56,000 hectares of forest, a key winter habitat for the Monarch butterfly).

Day of the Dead

The Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on November 1 and 2 all over the country but the celebrations are particularly distinctive at Ocotepec, Pátzcuaro (near Mexico City) and Oaxaca. Family members gather and pray as they remember dead relatives and take part in activities such as constructing private altars in homage to the dead, making special food (such as skulls out of sugar) and visiting graves  where they leave gifts and decorate the area with yellow marigolds or toys for children.The tradition is thought to be a very, very old one stretching back thousands of years with a connection to an Aztec ceremony too. Usually, dead children are honoured on November 1 and adults on November 2 and the belief is that on these days it is possible for the souls of the deceased to visit their living relatives. If you do visit the historic city of Oaxaca there are two atmospheric old places to stay: Camino Real, right in the middle of the old town, a former convent with nearly 100 rooms and gorgeous gardens (www.caminoreal.com); and Casa Oaxaca, built in a colonial style with huge amounts of modern art on show inside, with just half a dozen cosy rooms, a temazcal (outside sauna shed) and meals cooked by top chef Alejandro Ruiz, who also runs the nearby Casa Oaxaca

Adventure

If you are after a more adventurous kind of experience in Mexico, then there are plenty of activities to keep your body as active as your mind: while thecapital is hardly an advertisement for a healthy environment, the country has a gorgeous countryside with around 50 national parks as well as opportunities for waterbased activities: surfing, for example, on the country’s Pacific coast is very popular, in particular at Sayulita which has excellent conditions for beginners and intermediate standard surfers. The other advantage is that you’ll certainly find yourself off the well beaten tourist track if you decide to head away from the beaches and pyramids.

Elsewhere in this issue we look at rock climbing in India but Mexico also has some great climbs such as the outcrop El Potrero Chico near Monterrey, popular not least because of its many possible routes which come with permanent anchors bashed into the limestone rock. Mexico is also a fantastic place to try your hand at sport fishing -Cabo San Lucas has been nicknamed (and righly so) the 'marlin capital of the world and there are thousands of swordfish and sailfish caught here under sustainable conditions every year. Although you’ll have to throw these big boys back if you catch one, if you hook a tuna then it’s yours. Even if you’re not at all interested in fishing or have never had a go, this is a hugely enjoyable thing to do, a world away from the nearbybuiltup resort areas.

Another must-see, or rather must-ride, is the Copper Canyon railway (Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico) which runs from Chihuahua to the coast with spectacular canyon views along one of the world’s hugest canyon systems. It’s also a great place if you like mountain biking: Creel is the town to aim for which has an annual national cycling festival in July and lots of rocky and forested tracks for all levels.

And of course Mexico is a perfect place for hiking. In the state of Oaxaca, the Sierra Norte covers nearly 7,000 square miles with vast valleys, tropical coastline and extremely high mountain forests. Even though it’s becoming a more popular region for tourist visitors, it is pretty remote though so it’s the kind of place you ideally need to explore with a guide, but it has a lot to offer including rare birds, flying squirrels and native communities.Among hiking specialists operating Mexico tours are Ramblers Worldwide Holidays (www.ramblersholidays.co.uk) who have an 18 day tour taking in many of the major attractions in the country including the Mayan jungle temples at Palenque and Oaxaca. Palenque is particularly special, not least because it is right in the middle of jungle, and was at its height around 650AD. Intriguingly, much more remains to be excavated at the site which bodes well for future discoveries. Because of its jungle location, the earlier in the day you can visit the morecomfortable you will be.

Ecological holidays

Oaxaca certainly has plenty to offer, such as Los Pueblos Mancomunados, a group of mountain communities close-ish to Oaxaca city, inhabited by a population of farmers and water bottlers descended from the original Zapotecs mentioned above. They have had the bright idea of building simple, but comfortable, wooden cabins for travellers to stay in plus good value activities such as guided hiking, cycling or horseriding (as well as steam baths). More details at Tierraventura (www.tierraventura.com).

While Mexico has something of a reputation in the USA as a location for wild times, the truth is that while you certainly can live it up, the country is also ideal for families. One place which is really well set up for children is Xcaret (www.xcaret.com), a recreated Maya civilisation archaeological site and ecological park and resort all rolled into one, south of Playa del Carmen in the Riviera Maya not far from Cancún. As well as looking after the area’s wildlife and plants, there’s an underground river, a butterfly valley and entertainments in the evenings, a kind of upmarket Mexican heritage Butlins. And if this whets the appetites of the little ones to see more, take them to nearby Chichen Itza, a city with hundreds of stone buildings and a huge palace temple pyramid: at the Spring and Autumn Equinox the sun casts a shadow down the steps which looks like a snake slithering to the the carved stone snakes head on the ground below, an amazing piece of architectural trickery.

Acapulco is perhaps one of the best known cities outside Mexico City itself and well worth a visit. It has had a rather rollercoaster recent history, 100 years ago pretty much off the tourist map, then picked up by the great and the good of Hollywood as a holiday playground (Errol Flynn threw great parties here, Elizabeth Taylor got married in the city, Elvis Presley made a film all about it), it then gradually deteriorated. But now the splendour is returning thanks to an investment scheme on the scale of the capital’s. One of its attractions are the fabulous beaches which are marvellous for peoplewatching, but the other main draw is the Quebrada where divers leap 40m off a cliff face into a 3m deep pool in the sea below.  The dives are held half a dozen times a day, mainly in the evenings and are absolutelyspectacular. There are some excellent clips on YouTube of the action such as www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7UnlxQZ6Ek. Although tourists tend to stay away from the old town (Acapulco Viejo), , this is a good spot to see what city life is really like, slow, relaxed and rather pretty.

Finally, if you have any Spanish at all, do try and use it (and if you don’t, then learn a few words). Mexican Spanish is a little different from that spoken in Spain and countries  in South America, but if they can see you are trying to avoid English, you’ll get a warmer reception (as well as giving the hawkers at Teotihuacán a laugh) and enjoythe trip much more. Hasta luego!

Top Tips

While you will want to see some of the country’s architectural and artistic heritage, let’s be honest, you will also be keen to hit the lovely beaches at some point. For a really relaxed time (why else would it be so popular with surfers?), it’s hard to beat Troncones which is starting also to become popular with artists such as Damien Hirst. Isla Mujeres, near Cancún, is also pretty laidback, with beautiful sand and surroundings, and a good spot to take a fishing trip with one of the many boats in the local harbour to deserted islands. However, if you fancy some white sand and turquoise water then it’s the Riviera Maya for you (www.rivieramaya.com) where highlights include:

● the ‘natural aquarium’ of Xel- Ha where the sea mixes with freshwater from springs and underground rivers to produce a unique ecosystem ideal for snorkelling

● Tulum, where you can swim in the Caribbean then explore the country’s only archaeological site by the sea: there is even a small beach next to the main temple

● The Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with a remarkable native flora and fauna. where divers leap 40m off a cliff face into a 3m deep pool in the sea below. The dives are held half a dozen times a day, mainly in the evenings and are absolutely spectacular.

Your MEXICO facts

When to Go

Mexico can get very humid and hot (as well as very full with tourists) between May and September and it’s very cold inland from December to February so October to April is usually the best time for a visit. Everything gets booked out fast the weekend before Easter (Semana Santa).

GettingThere

Among airlines flying to major Mexican airports – Mexico and Cancun particularly - are British Airways (www.ba.com),Aeroméxico (www.aeromexico.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.co.uk). You can also drive down or go by bus from the USA via Texas, Guatemala or Belize although unless you’re really keen, driving around Mexico is not a barrel of laughs. Alternatively, you can cruise to Mexico: more information at www.cruising2mexico.com

Getting Around

Mexico is bigger than you may think so if you’re planning to cover large distances, consider a short flight. Buses are very popular and usually comfortable, even over long distances, though local ones can be a little, well, ‘bumpy’. Sometimes small vans shuttle between smaller towns: they leave when they’re full. Ferries run between mainland Mexico and the islands of Isla Mujeres mentioned above and Baja California.Apart from Copper Canyon, getting around by train has not been at all easy since privatisation in the 1990s.Taxis are easy to hail though it’s easier if you have a bit of Spanish – if the meter isn’t working, make sure everybody understands how much the trip is going to cost before setting off. Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey all have underground train networks and the capital’s is certainly worth using.

What to eat

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, La Fonda el Refugio (Calle Liverpool 166) in the popular Zona Rosa of Mexico City, serves good honest Mexican cuisine with no fuss, including mole poblano (turkey in spicy chocolate  sauce – just to emphasise again, it’s much, much nicer than it sounds). For a  real taste of Mexican food in London rather than weird Tex-Mex glop, head for Wahaca (www.wahaca.co.uk) which has two branches in Covent Garden and White City and a funky atmosphere.

This article  originally appeared in the Winter 08 edition of The Travel & Leisure Magazine. Photographs: Riviera Mayo Mexico by Bethany King. Zocalo by Steve Cadman. Teotihuacan Pyramids by Laura Rush. Mexican architecture by Daniel Ronan. Cabo San Lucas by Steve Cadman. Oxaca by Ulises Estrada.

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Click here to visit the Mexico Tourist Board

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