Catemaco Lake

How to get there

By bus from Veracruz, changing buses at San Andrés Tuxtla; by car from Veracruz (about 155km/96mi) or Minatitlán (about 120km/75mi), both via the MEX 180.

Surrounded by mountains of volcanic origin, Laguna de Catemaco lies just off the Veracruz-Coatzacoalcos road (MEX 180), some 10km/6mi south-east of San Andrés Tuxtla and roughly 35km/22mi from the Gulf coast. One of Mexico's most beautiful lakes, it is 16km/10mi long with an area of 130sq.km/50sq.mi. There are two islands, Ténapi and Agaltepec.

Scenery

Insulated from the hot and humid coastal lowlands of the Gulf by the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Catemaco enjoys a pleasantly equable climate. Together with its European-style landscape, this once prompted Alexander von Humboldt to call the area "the Switzerland of Veracruz" (Suíza Veracruzana). The extinct San Martín volcano, visible in the near distance, is, at 1850 m (6071 ft), the highest peak. Catemaco is blessed by Mexican standards with an abundance of water, evidenced by the flow of the Río Cuetzalapa and the Eyipantla waterfall, setting of many a jungle film (41 m (135 ft) high; 8km/5mi) south of San Andrés Tuxtla). On the volcanic slopes of San Martín east of Acayucan, Popoluca Indian villages can still be found, home to tribes such as the Mecayapan and Soteapan whose languages are distinct from those of the Náhuatl family.