|
As a travel hub, it's hard to miss if you're visiting
the Pacific. It's the bustling state capital of the state of Nayarit.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Once the home of the Cora people, this city is now
the urban outpost of the Cora and the Huichol.
NATURAL WORLD
Tepic sits in a high altitude basin near a trio of
volcanoes: Sanganguey in the east, Tepetiltic to the south and San
Juan in the west.
CULTURAL WORLD
Plaza Principal is the heart of the city and one of the nicest
town plazas in the country. The large cathedral and Palacio Municipal
(city hall) are located here.
If you want to understand the indigenous and mestizo cultures here,
be sure to check out the Museo de Artes Populares, Hidalgo #60 Ote,
which has the best examples of regional crafts. Maps in the exhibition
rooms identify where various groups of Cora and Huichol Indians
live. The museum is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2
p.m. and from 2 to 7 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
The Regional Museum at Avenida #91 Norte has fine exhibitions.
CRAFTS
Many of the stores in the city sell Huichol crafts.
NEARBY
Fifty kilometers (31 miles) south of Tepic is the Laguna de Santa
Maria del Oro, a 3-kilometer-wide lagoon that is the crater of an
extinct volcano. This park is off the tourist trail, but the place
can be busy on weekends.
On the coast is the fishing town of San
Blas, just 69 kilometers (43 miles) from Tepic. While the town
is well-known for birding, it is also notorious for pesky sand flies.
State officials will try to convince you that a nearby "jungle trip"
to La Tovara is environmental tourism. Could be - if it weren't
for the noisy motorboats. While the freshwater spring is pleasant
for swimming, the noisy boat ride to the resort is awkward at best.
If they aren't scared by the noise or polluted by the petrol, you
might catch a glimpse of raccoons, iguanas, turtles, boat-billed
herons, egrets, and parrots. The boat ride leaves at the bridge
outside San Blas.
A more traditional destination is Mexcaltitán,
a small village laid out like a wheel. The town occupies an island
in the middle of a saltwater lagoon. Streets are underwater during
the rainy season, prompting the use of boats that ferry people around.
If you want to visit, you'll need to take a wooden boat (lancha)
from La Batanga, a small wharf outside the town of Santiago Ixcuintla,
60 kilometers (37 miles) northwest of Tepic. |
