Mexico is a vibrant and exciting country, rich in cultures, cuisine, ecological wonders, handicrafts, art and history. A lot of this diversity originates from its topography: crossing the whole country would mean hiking through vast deserts, journey up snow-capped volcanoes, scramble over Mayan ruins, wade along tropical jungle-fringed beaches, and walk the streets of various communities ranging from timeless villages to luxury resorts and modern metropolis.

A Crossroad of Ancient Civilizations

A crossroad of many of the geatest pre-columbian civilization, Mexico's population is as diverse as its landscape. Despite the considerable colonial legacy and rampant modernization, there are over 50 distinct indigenous peoples, who are direct descendants from Mexico's pre-Hispanic inhabitants. These cultures have retained their own languages and distinct ancient traditions, despite the modernization of Mexico. In some regions, especially along the southern border, it may even be difficult to find people speaking Spanish.

Mexico City

Mexico City is a huge metropolis spreading across more than 2000sq km.A quarter of the Mexican population lives there. Outsiders may call it Mexico City, but its inhabitants simply call it Mexico, as to blur the distinction between the country and its capital. Yet, this is a city of contrasts; a seething, cosmopolitan city with music, glamour and excitement but also a metropolis of poverty and overcrowding. Mexico City is a magnet for both visitors and Mexicans alike, boasting awesome colonial palaces, world-renowned museums, non-stop entertainment and countless plazas and colonias, each with its distinctive personality.

My favorite is the old suburbs of Coyoacán and San Ángel, a neighborhoud with a strong colonial accent and a vibrant artist community who once included Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. On weekends, Plaza Coyoacán is home to a colorful markets selling artcraft and exotic merchandise from all over the state.

For architecture-lovers, the downtown areas is a monument to baroque style. Yet, experts are always amazed by how indigenous influences are discernable is almost any facade. The grand plaza of Mexico City, the Zócalo, is one of the world's largest plazas, and once hosted the palace of Aztec emperors. After the conquest in 1521, Cortes destroyed the palace and used its stone to build a Cathedral on the same site, starting a trend that will be emulated many time throughout New Spain.

Night activities a varied and plentiful. Mexico City has nearly the population of California, and locals always welcome a good fiesta. Just don’t arrive too early at a party! In Mexico, the real fun never starts before midnight, and rarely ends before sunrise.

Want a break from Mexico City's around-the-clock buzz ? Just hop aboard one of countless long-distance buses for day-trips to some unbelievable site. Only 30 min away is the ruins of Teotihuacán, with its two enormous pyramids dedicated to the Sun and Moon. Built about 2,000 years ago, it was the largest pre-Hispanic city ever in Mexico and, at the height of its power, controlled most of Mexico. Beside the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, visitors to the site can see the Citadel with the Temple of Quetzalcoatl (the plumed serpent) and the Palace of Quetzalpapálotl (the plumed butterfly), all found in a mile-long stretch called the Calle de los Muertos (Avenue of the Dead).

Slightly further away, the quaint town of Tepoztlán has a lovely central plaza and an ornate Churrigueresque churche replete with dazzling mirrored altars. On a hill nearby, there is an Aztec shrine dedicated to the god of feasting and drinking where annually, on 8 September, a fete is held which features Aztec dancing and the performance of an Aztec play. In the town itself, in the third week of December, a different kind of performance takes place. The experiences of Mexican pilgrims en route to Bethlehem are enacted in pastorellas.

The hilltop ruins of Cacaxtla to view the vividly colored frescos of warriors in battle. Cuetzalán, known for its Sunday market with most of the street merchants still dressed in colorful huipiles and traditional dress. Cholula is a pre-Hispanic religious center with more than 400 shrines and temples. The largest pyramid in Mexico, the Pyramid of Tepanapa, is found in the Cholula area. Valle de Bravo is a 1869m-high resort town set amid forests of pine and oak, and perched over a blue-water lake. Ixtapan de la Sal is a picturesque village with excellent hot springs and spa facilities. The village of Acolman, 25 miles north of the capital on the road to Teotihuacán, is centred around the beautiful 16-century monastery of San Agustin Acolman. The building is now a museum containing religious paintings and artefacts.

Tula, 60 miles north of Mexico City, is the former capital of the Toltec empire. Architectural highlights include the four basalt Atlantes. These five-metre tall figures originally supported the roof of the sanctuary on top of the Templo de Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli (Temple of the Morning Star), and depict Quetzalcoatl as the morning star, dressed as a heavily armed Toltec warrier.

And if you don't mind spending one night on the road, consider also the colonial cities of Puebla, the capital of the Mole. It is famous for its colonial architecture with glazed tiles (known as Talavera after a town in Spain), which cover most of the church domes and house walls, and for the skilled craftsmen who produce them. Tiles and other ceramics can be purchased in El Parián market and in the street leading to Plazuela de los Sapos. Highlights include the Cathedral (one of the oldest in Mexico), which has 14 chapels and is built of blue-grey stone. Its towers, at 69m (226ft), are the highest in Mexico. The building thus dominates the arcade-lined zócalo with its beautiful gardens and Fuente de San Miguel (Saint Michael Fountain), the patron saint of the city. On the opposite of the cathedral is the Palacio Municipal, which was remodelled in accordance with the Neo-Classical architectural guidelines issued under the Porfirian dictatorship. The Church of Santo Domingo is famous for its Capillo del Rosario (Rosary Chapel), a breathtaking masterpiece in goldleaf that was consecrated in 1690. Puebla's colonial heritage is also expressed in the architectural riches of its former monasteries and casonas (mansions), with their alfeñique ('wedding cake') ornamentation, wrought iron balconies and mosiacs.

Cuernavaca, 50 miles from Mexico City, is built around two large squares. On one stands the Palacio de Cortés (built in 1538), now a museum containing frescoes by Diego Rivera. The Cathedral dates from the 16th century. The town also contains the 18th-century Borda Gardens and the Indian market which sells huaraches (sandals) and leather goods. Articles made of straw are sold too. Xochicalco, 40km (25 miles) south of Cuernavaca, is one of the country's most interesting ceremonial centres, especially noted for its Building of the Plumed Serpent.

On the way to Acapulco, the old silver mining town of Taxco is famous for the art of its silversmiths. As well as numerous interesting, narrow and winding cobbled streets, the Church of Santa Prisca and San Sebastián is a jewel of Chirrigueresque architecture, with a reredos decorated with gold leaf and a wealth of statues and ornaments. Residences of the colonial period include the Casa Humboldt, Casa de Borda and Casa de Figueroa. A cable-car runs from Los Arcos, at the northern end of the town, to the summit of Monte Taxco. The view over the valley and surrounding mountains from the top are spectacular. The Cacahuamilpa Caves are to the north of Taxco.

Toluca, 41 miles from the capital, lies in a valley dominated by the snow-capped Nevado de Toluca, an extinct volcano (its two craters are known as the Sun and the Moon). As well as a fine market, the town has several interesting museums in its Cultural Centre, dedicated to archaeology, folk and modern art. Nearby are the Indian villages of Tenancingo, Metepec and Chiconcuac. About 5 miles north of Toluca is Calixtlahuaca, an Aztec site of archaeological interest where a circular pyramid is dedicated to the god of wind.

Colonial Mexico

This region noth of Mexico City is home to most of the colonial cities of the country. An arid, semi-desertic land when the Aztecs were once all-powerfuls, the region would probably have stayed that way if the Spaniards hadn't find plenty of silvers in its hills. Wealthy silver barons relocated from Spain and built magnificient cities throughout the areas, filled with opulent palaces and magnificent churches. It is now the most populous and wealthiest region of Mexico, whose main attractions are the architecture, the views, and some very good local cooking.

The most visited is the silver city of Guanajuato, also the cradle of mexican independance. This city has grand mansions and colorful houses nestled against steep slopes and along crooked, cobbled alleyways. Designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, the town preserves a colonial charm in places such as Hidalgo Street, an underground street, the Governor's Palace, the Juarez Theatre, the University, the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato and the Valenciana Church. The town also features several museums, including the Diego Rivera Museum.

My favorite city is Morelia, ideally located halfway between Mexico City and Guadalajara. Its narrow downtown streets and quiet, comfortable neighborhoods form a welcoming community. Old stone plazas, decorative fountains, and churches located throughout the city are reminders of the region’s rich history. Musical performances, sporting events, museums, and art galleries give the city a lively array of cultural activities, mixing modern day Mexico with timeless traditions of the past.

Guadalajara is the second largest city of Mexico, and its colonial hertiage is so strong that some call it more Spanish than Spain. Yet, many uniquely Mexican traditions originate from Guadalajara, including mariachi music, tequila, the broad-rimmed sombrero hat, charreadas (rodeos), and the Mexican Hat Dance. This is a city of fine museums, galleries, historic buildings, nightlife, culture and world-class restaurants. Shopping at the nearby town of Tlaquepaque is a paradise of unique bargains with pottery, leather, ceramics and other works from many local artisans.

The beautiful colonial town of San Miguel de Allende was for a long time the most northerly Spanish settlement in Central Mexico. It is a city known for its vibrant fiestas, handicraft tradition, excellent cuisine and its huge mostly-US expatriate community.

A short bus-trip from both Guanajuato and San Miguel, the small historic town of Dolores Hidalgo is where the Mexican independence movement started in 1810, when its parish priest Miguel Hidalgo shouted its grito de independancia: Viva Mexico!, the cry of rebellion against the Spaniards when, with 80,000 armed supporters, he commenced the independence struggle. Today Hidalgo is Mexico's most revered hero.

Zacatecas was founded by the Spanish in 1546; at that time the nearby silver mines were among the richest in the country. Much of the revenue was sent to Spain, but enough remained to finance the fine cathedrals and palaces. The Convent of Guadalupe houses one of the largest art collections of the Americas and is also an important place for pilgrimages.

Surprisingly left out of the tourism beaten-track is the magnificent city of San Luis Potosi, 200 miles northeast of Guadalajara. Still the centre of a rich mining and agricultural area, San Luis is one of the wealthiest city of the region. Featured throughout the city are colourful, glazed tiles found on churches, plazas and streets. Good examples are the Church of San Francisco with its blue-and-white tiled dome and a suspended glass boat in the transept, and Carmen, at the Plaza Morelos, with a tiled dome and intricate façade, as well as the Church of San Miguelito in the old part of the city. Other sites include the Palacio de Gobierno (1770), housing paintings of former governors, and the colonial treasury, the Antigua Caja Real (1767).

Colima, the capital of the state of the same name, is located near Mexico's mid-Pacific coast. Founded in the 11th century, when it was known by the Aztec word 'Cajitlán', the city was captured in 1523 by Spanish conquistadors loyal to Cortés. One of its principal sights is the Cathedral whose twin towers were constructed out of volcanic stone quarried from the local Volcán de Colima National Park, one of whose peaks, the Volcán del Fuego de Colima, last erupted in 1991. Colima also hosts a festival, the 'Virgin of the Health' in late January and early February, where amateur toreadors can attempt to overpower a local bull in the 'Torre de Once' competition. The region is noted too for its striking juxtaposition of ancient sites with colonial mission towns, like the ancient ceremonial centre of Ranas from the Teotihuacán-Toltoec period. Located on a hill top, Toluquilla has remains of military fortifications which show the influences of the Huasteca culture. The second architectural tradition, that of strikingly beautiful Mexican Baroque churches, dates back to the life and work of the Franciscan friar, Fray Junipero Serra, who founded five missions in the 18th century at Jalpan, Concá, Tancoyol, Landa and Tilaco.

Querétaro is where the Emperor Maximilian was captured, tried and executed and where the present Mexican constitution was drawn up in 1917. A former San Franciscan monastery is now a local museum, whilst the San Agustin monastery has become the Federal Palace. The town has excellent hotels and restaurants. Aguascalientes has belonged to the Kingdom of Nueva Galicia since 1535. It was a stopping place for travellers on the silver route during the 18th century. Many of the Baroque buildings from this period still remain; the most interesting are the temples of Guadalupe, Encino, San Marcos, San Diego and San José de la Merced; also worth visiting are the government and municipal palaces, the House of Culture and Excedra, and the Ionian column marking the centre of Mexico.

Oaxaca & Southern Mexico

Stretching along the border with Guatemala, this is the poorest region of Mexico, yet possibly the richest in tradition and folklore.

Oaxaca City, the largest town, had a long pre-hispanic history whose pre-Hispanic, colonial and indigenous roots are vividly expressed through its architecture, craft traditions, Zapotec and Mixtec archaeological sites, gastronomy and festivals - the Noche de Rábanos (Night of the Radishes) and the Guelaguetza in particular reflect age-old traditions. Then arrived the Conquistadors who laid out narrow streets and lovely colonial stone buildings on par with the best gems of the colonial area. I have yet to see someone not gasping of amazement when stepping in the Santo Domingo church for the first time. With its colorful marketplaces, strong handicraft tradition and countless festivities, Oaxaca City is a place to ramble and enjoy.

Many of the villages surrounding Oaxaca have weekly markets where food and craft products can be bought, of which the following are the most notable: Tlaxiaco (blankets); Tlacolula (rugs and ceramics); Miahuatlán (mescal, leather goods and bread); Santa Ana del Valle (a general market), Etla (flowers, cheese and meat); Ejutla (embroidered clothes, mescal); Ocotlán (pottery, flowers and textiles). Villages where the actual manufacture of local crafts can be seen include the barro negro brillante (black, shiny pottery) of San Bartolo Coyotepec and the beautiful woven rugs stained with natural dyes at Teotitlán del Valle.

Only a few miles away, Monte Albán was a sacred city in prehistoric times and the religious center of the Zapotec culture, which flourished 2000 years ago. remarkable Central Plaza, the Ball Court and many of the tombs are open to the public. It is an amazing complex situated on a levelled mountain top.

Mitla, 30 miles from Oaxaca, features numerous Mixtec remains, including the Hall of Columns and the Column of Life which visitors are invited to grasp if they wish to determine how long they will live. Also in the village is the Frisel Museum. Other key archaeological sites are to be found at Yagul, Lambityeco and Dainzú.

Oaxaca's pacific coast is in my view the most superb that side of country. The littoral from Huatulco to Puerto Escondido is dotted with picture-perfect tropical beaches. Puerto Escondido is also recognized as one of the top-10 destinations for surfing.

Hierve El Agua, where mineral springs run into icy-cold bathing pools cut from rock atop a cliff. From the cliff, visitors can view expansive panoramas of the mountainous countryside. The surrounding cliffs are encrusted with petrified minerals, which give the appearance of huge frozen waterfalls and provides one of the most unusual bathing experiences.

More east, Tuxtla Gutiérrez is the capital of Chiapas and the home of Mexico's marimba music. It is a good base from which to explore the nearby villages where life has changed little since pre-Hispanic times. A short drive away is the impressive Sumidero Canyon.

All those images of romantic Mayan ruins wrapped in mysterious morning mist come true at the jungle city of Palenque. Surrounded by dense emerald vegetation, Palenque's setting is superb and its Mayan architecture and decoration are exquisite. Bonampak, hidden from the outside world by the jungle until 1946, is famous for the finest Mayan murals ever discovered, depicting ancient Mayan ceremonies. Evidence from pottery fragments indicates that the site was first occupied more than 1500 years ago, flourishing from 600 to 700 AD when many plazas and buildings were constructed. Only a handful of the almost 500 extant buildings have been excavated.

Pacific Mexico

With a longer coastline than the US, an extroardinary ecological diversity and its southern location, it is no wonder that Mexico's litoral is dotted with prestigious resorts.

On the pacific side, Acapulco is still the largest and best-known, thanks to its seven gorgeous beaches overshadowed by towering luxury hotels. Yet, tourists often overlook the old part of town, home to nearly 1 million people, which has a long and illustrious history. Indigenous tribes had settles in the area 2000 years before the Spaniards arrived. Under Spanish rule, Acapulco was granted a monopoly in trading with Asia, and quickly became a major port. After Mexico's independence, trade ties with Spain were severed and the city declined as a port, remaining relatively isolated until a road to Mexico City was built in 1927, turning the city into a world-renown tourism destination overnight.

A few hours North of Acapulco is the small resort of Zihuatanejo, now a famous spot for sport fishing. In spite of the recent influx of tourism, the city somehow managed to retain its original fisherman village charm. A few miles north is the modern resort of Ixtapa, and then Island Ixtapa, a must-see eco-tourism gem.

Mazatlán is Mexico's principal Pacific Coast fishing port. It is also famous for its beaches. El Faro, at the south end of the city, is the second-highest lighthouse in the world and offers a magnificent 360-degree view of the city and coast.

Puerto Vallarta is the main town in the Bahia de Banderos, the largest natural bay in Mexico, with its hundred miles of coastline dotted by sandy beaches boasting world-class facilities for watersports. The only way to visit Yelapa, a Polynesian-style village, is to journey in a dugout canoe from Puerto Vallarta.

Yucatan Peninsula

This entire peninsula was once the kingdom of the Maya, and the ruins of many of its once-magnificient cities can still be visited.

Chichén Itzá is the most famous and best restored of the Yucatán Peninsula's Mayan sites. El Castillo, or Kukulkán's Pyramid, is its most famous pyramid, and a masterpiece of Toltec-Mayan architecture. AS impressive is the "Red Tiger with Jade Eyes," snaking columns of the Temple of the Warriors, and a ball court in perfect condition.

Mérida is the capital of the state of Yucatán, and is a charming city of narrow streets, colonial buildings and shady parks. It is the center of Mayan culture in Yucatán.

Tulum, the Toltec "City of the Dawn" is majestically situated on a palm-lined beach on the Caribbean. Originally a fortress, Tulum was abandoned almost 75 after the Spanish Conquest. Today, it is flooded with visitors from nearby Cancún, who marvel at El Castillo, Tulum's largest building, with a serpent motif similar to the one of Chichén Itzá.

Chetumal used to be one of the few Mayan port. The town was finally settled in 1898 and was destroyed by Hurricane Janet in 1955. A new town was then rebuilt, on a grand scale with wide boulevards. Chetumal is also the gateway to Belize, with many jungle areas for hiking, mountain biking, kayaking and other adventure sports. One can also find eco-resorts specializing in soft adventure programs. It is even possible to explore the nocturnal life of the crocodile from a kayak on a jungle lagoon and then to return to the shore and have your group treated to a lavish dinner with a chef, bartender, waiters, tables, chairs and elegant service in the middle of the jungle.

The Caribbean Coast

Cancún was built in the 1970s by the Mexican government as an investment in the tourism business. The new world-class resort was built on a desert sand spit offshore from the little fishing village of Puerto Juarez in the Yucatán Peninsula. Dozens of mammoth hotels march along the island's shore. The dazzling white sand of Cancún's beaches is light in weight and cool underfoot, even in the blazing sun, thanks to its microscopic plankton fossils called disco-aster (a tiny star-shaped creature). The sand combined with the crystalline azure waters of the Caribbean makes the beaches pure delight.

Cozumel floats in the midst of the Caribbean's crystalline waters south of Cancún. It is the largest island in Mexico. A serie of documentaries by Jacques Cousteau assured its reputation among divers from all over the world, although its beaches are not suitable for swimming.

Isla Mujeres (Island of Women) has a reputation as a backpackers' Cancún: a place to escape the mega-resort's buzz for the laid-back life of a tropical isle.

Baja California

This 700 miles long peninsula extends from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas. The enclosed gulf is rich in marine life and offers excellent opportunities for experienced divers and anglers. Baja's Pacific lagoons are an important breeding ground for whales, particularly the gray whale, which is often referred to as the 'Mexican Gray' whale. The interior is mountainous desert, for the most part waterless and inhabited by only the hardiest plants and animals.

Tijuana, the world's most-visited border town offers many cultural activities. Reserva de la Biosfera El Vizcaíno which includes major gray whale breeding sites and pre-Hispanic rock art in the dissected plateau of the Sierra de San Francisco. Loreto, the first capital of the Californias, is notable for two restored missions. It is also a great area for water and mountain recreational activities.

Cabo San Lucas is where the land ends, where the sun shines 350 days a year, where gallons of margaritas are poured on bronzed tourists at countless hotel's pools, where migrating whales spout in the Gulf of California while fishermen boats return laden with fishes. Yet, tourism infrastructure, from time share to towering hotels, may have swamped and overstretched what was once a intimate fishing community.

La Paz is the capital of Baja California Sur, and for centuries the center of commerce and culture in the relatively untamed desert regions of southern Baja California. Nowaday, spring breakers barely stop there on their way to Cabo San Lucas, but La Paz is still a place where grizzled sailors swap stories over bowls of fresh fish stew and cheap tequila. A good sportfishing port, La Paz may become a hot eco-tourism spot thanks to its several large desert islands, home to crystal-clear coves, providing unique and fertile breeding grounds for marine life. The coves and reefs harbor stories, mysteries and generations of sunken ships.

Northern Mexico

This region includes the great Desierto Sonorense (Sonora Desert), and the Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon). The eastern part of this large area has a geography unlike any other area in Mexico. Its deserts are impressive for their stark, rugged beauty and sheer expanse. Most of the population is gathered in several large cities and on the coasts; parts of the plateau are used for agriculture, but much of the north bears little trace of human habitation.

Alamos, a town with protected Spanish colonial architecture. Excursions into the Sierra Madre and the remarkable Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon) railroad trip start there and through Chihuahua on their way from Ojinaga on the Rio Grande to the Gulf of California. It is an engineering miracle in itself and also provides a good way of seeing the canyons, mesas and bare peaks of the Sierra Madre Occidental. The view at the Barranca del Cobre, where the Urique River has cut a 1840m-deep (6136ft) chasm through the mountains, rivals the Grand Canyon. The journey lasts about 13 hours.

Chihuahua, capital of Mexico's largest state, is an important industrial and commercial centre. There are many edifices dating from the colonial era in a dusty Western setting that evokes images of the days long gone, including the 18th-century Cathedral, the Government Palace, the City Hall and Quinta Luz, which is the Villa Museum (containing Pancho Villa memorabilia). There is a monument to the División del Norte de Doroteo Arango (Pancho Villa in the unfamiliar guise of his real name). In the same state of Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez has a commercial and cultural centre with modern buildings based on traditional styles of architecture. The handicrafts section includes sarapes (blankets) and glassware.

People from Mexico City - including me! - readily say that Monterrey is the ugliest city in the country. Yet, Monterrey is Mexico's industrial powerhouse, standing beneath the highest peaks of the Sierra Madre Oriental in a setting of great beauty. It is the third largest city in Mexico, with a fascinating mixture of old and new, industry and style, tradition and efficiency.

Tijuana claims to be 'the world's most visited city', receiving more than 20 million visitors every year, many of them day-trippers from California. If not for San Diego just a few miles away across the border, it would probably be the less visited city in the country.

Gulf Coast

This is an area with a fascinating pre-history although only one major archeological site remains in this area, El Tajìn, near Papantla. Mexico's ancestral culture started in this area with the Olmecs in 1200 BC. Surrounded by jungle, the ruins have been extensively reconstructed, although more than any other site in Mexico, it retains a mystical feel. The site was first occupied about 100 AD and the existing ruins date from 600-700 AD, its peak as a town and ceremonial center.

The town of Jalapa and its superb Museum of Anthropology, complete with seven huge Olmec heads of sculpted basalt and scores of other interesting artifacts. Catemaco, a quiet town that gently slopes down to beautiful Lake Catemaco. It is known for its brujos (shamans) and their annual convention held on Cerro Mono Blanco (White Monkey Hill) on the first Friday in March.

The tropical port of Veracruz is the most appealing of the coastal cities of the region, with a festive atmosphere and one of the country's most riotous carnavales. It is also a paradize for seafood-lovers. Veracruz was Mexico's main gateway to the outside world from the day Cortés landed until the advent of the airplane. There has been significant reconstruction of San Juan de ulua Fortress, which is an interesting location. The state of Veracruz is an area filled with great adventure possibilities, such as sea kayaking, white water rafting, rappelling, and hiking. Most of the adventure companies are very well organized with rigorous safety standards, modern radio equipment and friendly, experienced staff.