Teocelo

Teocelo is a little town of some 11,000 residents in the central mountains of Veracruz. About 18 kilometers south of the capital at Xalapa, it's an important part of the tourist corridor between the Magical Towns of Coatepec and Xico. By the time some visitors get here, the enchantment and mystery can seem all too much. The beloved Texolo waterfall, just a few minutes north of the town center, is rather casually enough to soothe even jaded visitors into a thoughtful calm. There are a good half dozen other waterfalls in the immediate area. 

The town is an important stop on the Veracruz coffee route, and of such concentrated and immense beauty one may wonder why it is not even more famous than it is. Fear not, the academics and intellectuals from Xalapa have long sought vacations and relaxation here among the colorful porticos, and beneath the swaying branches. Many small country inns and hotels welcome guests back especially in the rolling hills the north of town.

The name comes from the Nahuatl meaning simply Tiger God  in reference to the ancient deities represented in countless stone sculptures. Such discoveries seem to have delighted even their Nahua explorers generations before the arrival of the Spanish to the area.  The Municipal Palace dates from 1921, and the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption brings to a head the Porfirian architectural legacy of the town. Visitors come to tour and even stay at the many coffee plantations. Local cuisine centers around tamales, black mole, and artisan bread. Gasparitos cake and izote flower palmitos are served with, obviously, coffee. Many will claim it is, hands down, the best coffee to come from all of Veracruz.

But Teocelo is also part of the greater Xalapa metropolitan area. That means that combis and similar transport, including larger buses, regularly make the trip. It's easy to get here, and almost too easy to want to stay.