I’m used to getting a puzzled expression after I inform individuals I dwell in Guanajuato, Mexico. Half the time, mentioning that I’m an hour and a half from San Miguel de Allende doesn’t assist both. So I’d enterprise a guess that perhaps 2 out of 100 individuals I’d run throughout outdoors of Mexico know something about San Luis Potosi, one state as much as the north. However this is likely one of the greatest locations for thrills due to all of the Huastaca adventures on provide.
Like many states in Mexico, it’s an enigma to foreigners, some dot on the map that doesn’t ring a bell of their thoughts, the place there’s no body of reference. It’s inland, removed from the seashore paradise resorts. In the event you’re into journey journey although, the jap a part of the state is a spot that may blow your thoughts.
I’ve been a journey author after which editor for nicely over 20 years, so regardless of my greatest efforts, I’ve gotten a bit jaded. Locations billed as “spectacular” and “considered one of a form” normally aren’t, and with everybody posting all the things they do on-line in actual time, it’s laborious to discover a place you haven’t seen 100 occasions earlier than you even get there.
The Huasteca area of San Luis Potosi is a unique story although. The area is known as after the Huastec indigenous group that prolonged over what’s now seven states throughout the Mesoamerican interval. Now it’s largely outlined as an space in elements of Queretaro, Guanajuato, and San Luis Potosi. The latter has many of the journey choices, with Ciudad Valles serving as the bottom for journey excursions.
Water Adventures Close to Ciudad Valles
After I toured the world, we began out with a bang. On the primary day, we did this white water rafting journey on the Tampaon River with Huaxteca.com Adventures. I’m in that picture (inexperienced shirt), main us into the rapids whereas our skilled information navigated the currents.
Yeah okay, you’ll be able to go white water rafting in loads of locations and scenes like that aren’t unusual. The expertise is noteworthy right here although for quite a few causes.
The canyon surroundings was spectacular and if we hadn’t been there throughout wet season, the water would have been a greenish blue like this place the place we went rappelling down a cliff later that very same day:
That was simply the warm-up although, as a result of the following day we went waterfall leaping. Identical to it sounds, that meant leaping from the highest of the waterfall into the churning water beneath. Then you definately swim to the highest of the following one and do it once more.
It seems scarier than it truly is for the reason that churning water beneath means you’ll at all times have a comfortable touchdown once you hit. You begin with a small waterfall, float for a bit, then they get progressively increased. The final one was 18 meters, or round 50 ft. I felt like an motion film star.
You’ve got a helmet and a life jacket on the entire time and are inspired to put on good water footwear with an actual tread. The guides who have been with us on all these actions have been well-trained {and professional}. And sure, a few of them communicate English nicely, which isn’t at all times a given within the inside, however they have been fluent.
That wasn’t sufficient although, so we visited one other place the place when you’re staying on the attractive Huasteca Secreta Resort (with a wonderful restaurant), you are able to do a loopy expertise that’s like nothing else I’ve ever felt. There’s an enormous, monster, churning waterfall coming down between two cliffs. You go downstream a bit, don the life jacket and helmet, and bounce within the clear blue water. The entire space is sort of a big eddy, so that you really drift to the waterfall as an alternative of away from it once you go in from the shore on the lodge facet.
If you’re virtually as much as the purpose the place it could pummel you underneath a ton of water, you do just a few mountaineering strikes and stand up out of the water. Then you definately swim throughout the present till it picks you up going the opposite route. Spherical journey and also you’re again the place you began, right here:
After which we went scuba diving in a lake…
All that was over three days, in a really small a part of one state.
Different Huasteca Adventures in San Luis Potosi
If in case you have extra time, you are able to do greater than we managed throughout that go to. I used to be within the space one other time and visited the unimaginable Edward James surrealist sculpture park within the magic city of Xilitla.
It’s really some of the weird and fascinating websites I’ve been to in North America, with fanciful big concrete sculptures in a lush jungle, one man’s costly interest that he invested thousands and thousands of {dollars} in over time whereas he hob-nobbed with Dali and Magritte.
You may get there from Ciudad de Valles, however the extra fascinating route is to drive up by way of the mountains of the Sierra Gorda Biosphere of Queretaro. You can even cease off at historic Spanish missions, go on hikes within the biosphere, or hit some Queretaro wineries on the best way.
The opposite massive attraction is the Sotano de las Golondrinas. Which means the “Cave of Swallows” however the large flocks of birds that go away within the morning and return at nightfall are actually swifts and inexperienced parakeets. It’s not removed from Xilitla so you’ll be able to mix the 2 actions.
Make some plans when you’ll be in central Mexico and take a look at some Huasteca adventures which are action-packed and distinctive.
