Nature & swimming holes
Petrified waterfalls, cenotes, canyons, biosphere reserves. Places where the main event is the landscape — with current access status, because these close more often than you think.
Southern Mexico
Agua Azul
Tiered turquoise cascades on the road between Palenque and the highlands
Worth itNatureHierve el Agua
Petrified waterfalls and cliff-edge mineral pools in the eastern valleys
Worth itNatureLagos de Montebello
Dozens of multicolored lakes in pine forest on the Guatemala border
If nearbyRuinsPalenque
Maya city swallowed by jungle, with Pakal's tomb underneath
Must-seeNatureSumidero Canyon
Kilometer-high canyon walls on a fast boat down the Grijalva
Worth itCityTuxtla Gutiérrez
Chiapas' hot lowland capital — mostly an arrival gateway
Skip unless…Yucatán Peninsula
Bacalar
Freshwater lagoon of many blues, five hours south of the Cancún crowds.
Worth itRuinsCalakmul
Giant Maya city deep in a biosphere jungle, down a 60 km dead-end road.
Worth itIslandCozumel
Cruise-ship island by day, world-class wall diving just offshore.
Worth itIslandHolbox
Car-free sandbar island, whale sharks in summer, sand streets and no ATMs.
Worth itNatureHomún
A cenote town south of Mérida where the swimming holes still feel local.
Worth itIslandIsla Mujeres
A golf-cart island 20 minutes off Cancún, calmest at Playa Norte.
Worth itNatureRío Lagartos
Flamingo lagoons and the pink salt flats of Las Coloradas on the north coast.
Worth itPacific Coast
Northern Mexico
Barrancas del Cobre
A canyon system deeper and bigger than the Grand Canyon, reached by rail
Must-seePuebloCreel
Rough-and-ready Rarámuri town and the main gateway into Copper Canyon
Worth itNatureCuatro Ciénegas
Turquoise desert pools full of life found nowhere else on Earth
Worth itNatureEl Cielo Biosphere Reserve
Cloud forest biosphere in a state most advisories say to skip
Skip unless…CityMonterrey
Glass towers wedged between jagged sierra, built on cabrito and hustle
Worth itPuebloParras de la Fuente
A wine oasis in the Coahuila desert, home to the Americas' oldest winery
Worth itBeachSan Carlos
Calm Sea of Cortez diving under the twin-peaked Tetakawi
Worth itGulf Coast
Catemaco
A volcanic lake, howler monkeys, and a witchcraft industry.
If nearbyPuebloCoatepec
The coffee town everyone means when they say Veracruz coffee.
Worth itCityVillahermosa
A hot, humid oil city guarding the Olmec colossal heads.
Skip unless…CityXalapa
Coffee, cloud forest, and Mexico's second-best archaeology museum.
Worth it