Tula calls itself the "oldest town in Tamaulipas". Founded in 1617, the town preserves its colonial heritage and visitors enjoy its cobblestone streets, historic churches, and its Huastec folklore. The town is one of Mexico's designated Pueblos Mágicos.
Understand
[edit]Up until the mid-19th century, Tula was the most important city in Tamaulipas. It became the state's first town when Spanish friar Juan Bautista de Mollinedo founded it in 1617, after almost a decade of exploring and mapping the territory. It was a site of insurrection during the War of Independence.
Get in
[edit]
Map of Ciudad Tula
The nearest commercial airport to Tula is in Ciudad Victoria, 145 km away.
By bus
[edit]Transpais operates hourly buses between Ciudad Victoria and Tula from 07:00 to 19:00. The 2-hour trip costs M$159. (Dogs are allowed on some buses.)
- 1 Terminal Tula, Carretera Nacional Tula-Victoria KM 38. Small bus station with restrooms and ticket sales. buses may also stop in el Centro at Damian Carmona 10
By car
[edit]Tula is 145 km south of Ciudad Victoria. It is a 2-hour drive on federal highway MEX-101.
Get around
[edit]See
[edit]
- 1 Plaza de Armas, Benito Juarez at Matamoros. The town's central plaza is beautifully maintained with lush gardens and towering palm trees centered around a beautiful traditional kiosk. There are paved walkways, benches, fountains, and signs describing local traditions and landmarks. Surrounding the plaza are the Palacio Municipal (town hall) and Parroquia San Antonio de Padua (the town's main church).
- 2 Parroquia de San Antonio de Padua, Benito Juarez 2. The parish was founded in the early-17th century by friar Juan Bautista Molleneda, though the current structure dates to the 19th century. It has a neoclassical altar and a high bell tower with an English clock. Notice the odd appearance of the number 4 on the clock.
- 3 Capilla del Rosario, Emiliano Zapata 5. Small, simple chapel built in 1905 in a neoclassical style.
- 4 Arroyo Loco, Melchor Ocampo 15. Built as a shopping area to attract tourists, with artificial canals, walkways, and modern spaces for restaurants and boutique shops, it is out-of-the-way, inauthentic, with empty canals during the dry season. As a result, most spaces are empty with few businesses and almost no tourists.
- Museo Tula Pueblo Magico.
- 5 Cuera Monumental, Gral Alberto Carrera Torres 40A, Charcos. One of the town's more unusual landmarks is a fiberglass sculpture of a leather vest called a cuero that is an emblematic craft of the town. The sculpture is at the top of a hill with stairs from the parking lot to the top of the hill.
Do
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- Tammapul (8 km southeast of Tula). Explore the ruins of this archaeological site that was a former Huastec city. Settled in the first century BC, the city reached its peak between 600 and 900 AD. Anthropologists believe it likely had connections to the Rio Verde civilization in San Luis Potosi (state). The site has three distinctive circular structures. The largest is a 12-m-high pyramid known as El Cuizillo, sometimes called the Tula Pyramid. It consists of three levels appearing as stacked rings.
Festivals
[edit]- Festejo del Señor del Amparo - May 3
- Festival of San Antonio Abad - June 13
Buy
[edit]- 1 Mercado de Tula, Cinco de Mayo 5. Daily 07:00 - 20:000. The town's traditional marketplace is a lively and diverse mercado with lots of local produce, regional prepared dishes (try the pepitorias), household items and Mexican artesanias including crafts from local Huastec indigenous communities.
Eat
[edit]- 1 Casa Carrera, Iguala 2, Centro, ☏ +52 832 326 1516. Comfortable traditional restaurant serving light casual fare (burgers, pizza, etc.) along with regional specialties of Northern Mexico and Tamaulipas, including several styles of cabrito, a couple styles of tampiquena, enchiladas tultecas, etc. M$200.
- 2 El Casino, Calle Benito Juárez 11, Centro. Cozy restaurant next to the Plaza de Armas, traditional 19th-century decor, serves traditional Mexican cuisine with several regional specialties of the local state, including some unusual aguas frescas such as garambullo. M$200.
- 3 Mariscos la Pesca, Dr. Millet No. 2, Centro, ☏ +52 832 326 0552. Daily 09:00 - 20:00. Traditional Mexican seafood restaurant specializing in shrimp dishes but with grilled meats including burgers and steaks. The aquas frescas are fresh with some interesting regional fruit flavors. The micheladas with shrimp are a house favorite. M$200.
Drink
[edit]Sleep
[edit]- 1 Casa de los Rombos, Matamoros 6, Centro, ☏ +52 832 326 2000. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 13:00. Clean, updated boutique hotel with just 7 rooms. Rooms are large with high ceilings, hot water, air conditioning and are spotlessly clean. Secure off-street parking is available. No restaurant on-site. M$1000.
- 2 Posada Rincon Huasteca, ☏ +52 442 447 5999. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Moderate hotel. Attractive traditional style, set around a central courtyard. Rooms are basic but clean and comfortable.
- 3 Hotel Quinta San Jorge, Reyes Pérez SN, El Jicote, ☏ +52 832 326 0699. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Moderate hotel with spacious rooms, some with air conditioning and some without. Off-street parking is available. No on-site restaurant. M$1000.
- 4 Meson de Mollenado, Morelos 1, Centro, ☏ +52 832 326 0045. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Moderate traditional hotel with comfortable rooms, off-street parking, and on-site restaurant.