Located between the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Mexican highlands, the Puebla State of Mexico is on the route from Veracruz to Mexico City. There are a number of national parks highlighting the natural beauty of the area, i.e., Izta-Popo Zoquiapan, La Malinche and Pico de Orizaba National Parks. The best known of these is Izta-Popo where bio-diversity is carefully protected including the volcano Popocatepetal and the adjoining forests; even so, there are some available hiking trails and horse paths accessing small caves where pre-Hispanic natives performed religious ceremonies and history can be revisited.

A number of crafts are sourced out of Puebla. Pottery workshops abound throughout the state: Talavera pottery, an Arab design brought to Mexico by the Spanish in the mid to late 16th century, is prevalent throughout the state with workshops in the capital city and other communities. Unfortunately, it is expensive often appealing to collectors who can turn a profit from it. Another type of pottery, less expensive and more useful, is the black clay from Acatalan de Osorio used to make plates and cups. Finally, in the small town of Izucar de Matamoros there are sculptures of early biblical figures crafted and sold to tourists and sometimes distributed worldwide. Textiles and embroidery designs dating to times prior to Spanish invaders are produced by Hueyapan. Lastly, the tourist should visit Amozoc where silver smithing from the 16th century is exhibited as knives and swords among others.

Other than learning about the local crafts, most visitors to Puebla will want to follow one or all of the twelve tourist routes dedicated by the state. The city of Puebla has seven and the state has the remaining five. In the city, routes visit cathedrals, the library, a museum and several important local residences as well as the theatre district. All promote familiarity with local history and cultural events. The state routes generally provide access to above mentioned national parks and wildlife viewing areas.

By some standards, the most interesting activity offered in Puebla is eating. Everything from spicy mole verde, cemitas and chalupas has their genesis in this region of Mexico. One of the best and most widely known mole or sauces is mole poblano, named for the city and the pepper of the same designation. Poblano chiles are now exported all over the world. With a medium heat index this is Mexico’s preferred chile. It is a dark green, fat chile with enough interior space to make it perfect for stuffing, enter its most perfect North American result, the chile relleno. It appears that there is much to gastronomically appreciate from the state of Puebla.