Northeast Mexico Overview

At first glance, Northeast Mexico seems like nothing but desert country: hot, dry, and dotted with cacti. Norteño music pumps from every speaker, and residents devour cabrito (roasted goat) with their famous beers—Bohemia, Corona, Carta Blanca, and Sol. But beneath the dusty surface of cowboy culture, the Northeast holds gems undiscovered by most tourists. Silver veins once made the country rich, leaving fabulous colonial architecture, and forest and coastal lagoons hold diverse natural riches. The towns and cities of the Northeast, home to parched white missions and wide streets, exude a sense of calm fostered by small-town hospitality and an authentic rural lifestyle.

Vaquero culture still lives on in Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, and Coahuila. These border states have plenty of American-owned factories and big cities, especially along the Texas border, but the drunken daytrippers detract only slightly from the rich history of music, food, and agriculture of the borderlands. The capital of el norte is Monterrey, Mexico’s third largest city. The view from Monterrey’s central plaza, packed with skyscrapers, colonial churches, and mountains, is a synthesis of modernity and tradition that embodies today’s noreste. Natural beauty hides just outside city limits, with spectacular, cliff-faced peaks drawing climbers to the central region; farther east, cloud forests and mangroves hold some of Mexico’s greatest biodiversity.

The coast of Tamaulipas offers a taste of the Gulf, with beaches ranging from busy Tampico, where you can munch on fresh seafood, to tiny La Pesca, where the waves and the fishes will be your only company. Several native endangered species make their home in La Reserva Biosfera El Cielo, a majestic cloud forest.

Many of the riches in el norte lie in the state of San Luis Potosí, with strong indigenous traditions and natural beauty of desert-to-jungle extremes. The town of Real de Catorce, a favorite stop for peyote-hungry backpackers, is largely untouched by modernity. Burros track through the town, and visitors enjoy mountaintop panoramas. Xilitla offers caves, waterfalls, rivers, wild parrots, semi-tropical rainforests, and surrealist ruins. The capital city of San Luis Potosí is a jewel—a playground of regional culture, Baroque architecture, and colonial appeal.