Mexico

In need of some winter sun? With a Native American heritage and a distinct Spanish flavour, Mexico is vibrant, colourful, unique, and the perfect place to escape the British weather at this time of year. Its varied terrain ranges from cactus-studded deserts to white sandy beaches and blue waters, tropical rainforest and jungle-clad hills to steep rocky canyons and narrow gorges, and from snow-capped volcano peaks to huge, bustling cities. The extraordinary history of the country is visible in the ancient Mayan temples strewn across the jungles, the ruins of Aztec civilisations, rural indigenous villages, Spanish colonial cities, silver mining towns, and traditional Mexican ports.

Mexico’s people are warm and friendly, much of the countryside remains unspoilt by development, and its cities boast a unique blend of architecture. Mexican Buildings display a striking combination of colonial and pagan architecture, blending together Art Nouveau, Baroque, Art Deco and Native American design in churches and public structures. The country’s culture displays a similar blend of the traditional and modern, where pagan meets Christian in a series of festivals, or fiestas, throughout the year.

Besides a combination of unique culture and fascinating cities, Mexico also boasts several hundred miles of picturesque coastline extending down through both the Pacific and the Caribbean, which has branded the country as an extremely popular beach resort destination. Beach resort cities such as Acapulco, Cancun and those of the Baja California peninsula are celebrated vacation havens. The countryside enclosing these summer retreats is also rich in archaeological treasures with pyramids, ruins of ancient cities and great stone carvings of ancient gods standing as testament to a country once ruled by the Aztecs and Mayans.