Mexico

Photo: San Cristobal Cathedral in Chiapas

Late-afternoon sun lights up San Cristobal Cathedral in Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state.

Photograph by Louis Grandadam/Getty Images

Bits of ancient stone tools and campfires show that humans have lived in Mexico for many thousands of years. • But visitors to this beautiful powerhouse nation wedged between the Caribbean and the Pacific will find evidence mostly of the Maya and of the Aztec, whose rule ended in the 16th century when Hernán Cortés and his army arrived. • Mexico's cities and resorts—Guadalajara, Monterrey, Campeche, Cancún—offer a dizzying variety of brilliant hues. • They're complemented by the country's natural splendors: world-class beaches, shimmering mangrove swamps and forests, sprawling nature preserves. • A welcoming land of many wonders.

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