Tehuacan de la Sierra

Tehuacán, from which the name Tehuacan de la Sierra is derived, is a Nahua word meaning “place of the gods.” Tehuacán is in the state of Puebla and is one of the 121 municipalities that make up this stunning region. Historically, Tehuacán was one of the strategic points of the Spanish conquest, a place where Spanish soldiers met and rested to set up camp and plan their next steps to conquer Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire.

Tehuacán is also a valley rich in ecosystems and history. The oldest fossils of corn, a crop that allowed people to settle and Mesoamerican cultures to flourish, were discovered here. At that time, the valley was covered with pine forests, and with the settlement of the Spaniards and the grazing livestock they brought with them, it became an almost desert-like area. Today, it hosts one of the largest and most important cactus reserves in the country due to its semi-arid mountainous regions and a cloud forest that receives rain throughout the year. The alternation of climate, topography, and vegetation between mountains and valleys is unique and impressive. Therefore, coee, sugar cane, corn, avocado, blackberries, peaches, and bananas are grown in the region due to the availability of water every month. It also has many natural, tourist, and mines; here is located the Mineralogy Museum with more than 10 thousand minerals, fossils, and meteorites, among other attractions.