Pueblos Magicos: Tula, Tamaulipas is One of Mexico’s Magical Villages

Pueblos Magicos: Tula, Tamaulipas is One of Mexico’s Magical Villages

Tula, founded in 1617 by a Franciscan friar named Juan Bautista Mollinedo, is the oldest community in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Tula experienced the peak of its economic development at the beginnings of the 19th century, thanks to its location on the commercial route between Tampico and San Luis Potosi and for its production of ixtle, a fiber derived from the agave plant.  It was the state’s largest city for a long time, but its economic development was stalled once it was not included in Mexico’s railroad system. 

Nowadays Tula is well known for its picturesque 19th century architecture, historical monuments, artisanal culture, and most of all for its production of hand made leather clothing “cuera tamauilpeca”.  Part of its charm lies in its many ex-haciendas, like Los Charcos which is famous for its exterior arches and eclectic interior design that demonstrates its path through various periods. 

Other points of interest within its municipality include: the Cuizillo, a pre-Hispanic pyramid considered to be the only one of its kind and the largest in Tamaulipas; Los Ahogados, a deposit flooded with marine fossil remains; the Nahola caves where researchers have found traces of what they believe were the first settlements in Tamaulipas; and the Laguna, which acts as an entertainment area for people from the region.  

The Pueblos Magicos program identifies towns that reflect “the culture of Mexico” through attributes like architecture, traditions, customs, music, gastronomy, festivities and handcrafts. There are currently 52 destinations throughout Mexico that have earned the Pueblos Magicos classification.