Taking a good jump at a Huasteca Potosina waterfall
San Luis Potosí
The Thrill of Deep Caves and Rushing Rivers
The Cave of the Swallows.
Spectacular caves, breathtaking mountain rivers and rafting opportunities for almost all ages, plus well-preserved historical relics, put a touch of adventure to your stay in the Huasteca Potosina. ca natives –they have their largest population in Aquismón. At sunset, on the road from Aquismón to Xilitla and nearby the small town of San Isidro Tampaxal, you’ll have your chance to discover something bigger than the Cave of the Swallows: the Cave of the Huahuas (means macaws) featuring a 260 ft. width mouth that takes you down to an abysm beyond the 1500 ft. White-collared swifts and green parakeets will sing for you in a concert as stunning as the one their relatives perform at the Cave of Swallows.
Behind every beauty there’s always some more beauty in the surprising State of San Luis Potosi. For instance, you won’t find swallows at the Cave of Swallows, just outside Aquismón. Instead, if you dare to wake up before down and stand nearby the mouth of the cave, you’ll feel your hearth galloping in awe when thousands and thousands and thousands of white-collared swifts and green parakeets leave the pit in a rush to start their feeding journey. The mixed flock goes out every day at down and gets back at sunset through a mouth up to 200 ft. wide that, as impressive as it is, is just what you see at first when you reach the top of the slope. When you look down, you won’t see the bottom. You can’t. You’ll need to descend on a free fall drop of almost 1100 feet to get to the floor; that, if you travel from the lowest side of the hole; from the highest point, it would be a 1200 feet fall. Right there, deep down, the cave is close to 1000 by 450 feet wide. In a broad sense, you could fit there about three football fields. When you look upward, think of this: from the floor to the top, you could fit the Chrysler Building and several other New York skyscrapers.
Climbers near de Tamul waterfall.
San Luis Potosi’s unmatched natural beauty has one of its many showcases in the Aquismón area. The state has plenty of rivers, creeks and ponds, but it’s in Aquismón where the Río Gallinas breaks on the 340 ft. Tamul waterfall to join the Santa María River and create the spectacular Tampaón River, which runs through a limestone canyon, surrounded by attractive and strange rock formations. The Tampaón (the Place Where the Hill Breaks Apart) is conside- red the most scenic river throughout Mexico. The Huasteca Potosina has plenty of waterfalls and rivers whose fast waters are a magnet for lovers of adventure, who come here for rappelling, kayaking, fishing and camping. You can have all of them between November and As much fascinating as the Cave of the Swallows is, there’s March, the best season to discover the region high plains. more than one cave in San Luis Potosí, and most of them are accessible to first time visitors, adventurers and ad- If you want waterfalls, the Huasteca offers you other places vanced speleologists alike. The Cave of the Huahuas is the such as Micos, Minas Viejas, El Meco and El Salto, all part of excursion circuits that start either from the state capital or second largest underground dome worlwide. from Ciudad Valles, the doorway to the Huasteca and the After your day at the Cave of the Swallows, and when you state’s second largest city. think you won’t find anything bigger, Aquismón will have The Huasteca Potosina have left traces of their civilization some other surprises waiting for you. in Tamtoc, a beautiful archaeological site of 330 acres with The Cave of Mantezulel is not match for the depths of the buildings dated as far back as “600 B.C. to 1500 A.C.” former, but it has a name that speaks for itself: it’s the Cave of the Light and the Sun, a shallow cavern split in a We all deserve a good break after this trip. At dusk, and just four-room gallery of nature-shaped figures that resemble 15 km from Ciudad Valles, on the road to Tampico, take your an eagle, a skull, a gorilla or a turtle, among other mes- time to discover the healing and beautifying secrets of the merizing forms. You need to get down there around noon Taninul hot spring pools. At the Huasteca Secreta hotel, a to appreciate the effects of the sun rays highlighting this great spa resort will be waiting to treat you as royalty. unique beauty. Going rafting through the Tampaón River
When you stop for lunch by Aquismón, enjoy the delicious bocoles, sopes and enchiladas Huastecas and the flavorful carnitas. You can’t skip dessert, with the traditional preparations made from a mix of scrapped ice, fresh fruits and an assortment of very sweet syrups, distinctive to the Huaste-
Aeromexico takes you to San Luis Potosi from Houston visit aeromexicovacations.com or call 1.800.934.4488.
To plan your unforgettable San Luis Potosí escape, go to www.visitasanluispotosi.com
LIVE IT TO BELIEVE IT v is itmexico.co m
www.visitasanluispotosi.com