Not to miss

Santa Rosalía

Chihuahua-Pacífic Railway

Mexico's most scenic railway connects Los Mochis on the Pacific coast with Chihuahua in the country's arid inland. The route includes several stops in the fabled Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon) - actually a group of 20 canyons, and all up four times larger than the Grand Canyon.

The 655km (406mi) train line passes through 86 tunnels and over 39 bridges as it cuts through the Sierra Tarahumara's sheer canyons, hugging the sides of towering cliffs and offering dizzying glimpses of river beds far below. The views are stunning, particularly between Creel and Loreto.

Mexico City

Mexico City is the political, financial and cultural nerve center of Mexico, and to understand the country one should spend some time here. Perhaps more than any city on earth, it is at the intersection of the first and third worlds, with all the ills, thrills and surprises that suggests.

One moment the city is all latin beats, glamor and excitement; the next it's drabness, poverty, suffocating crowds and rancid smells. In spite of the negatives, Mexico City is a magnet for Mexicans and visitors alike. You certainly won't be bored in this complex, historic city.

Acapulco

Maybe it's the romantic history of spice ships and pirates; maybe it's the golden beaches, tropical jungles and lagoons; or perhaps it's the high-rise hotels, glittery nightlife and famous daredevil cliff-divers that have made Acapulco the first and foremost resort town in Mexico.

Once a hotbed of Hollywood stars and jet-setting playboys, Acapulco now basks in only slightly faded glory. New touristic life is being breathed into the city, in part by American university students who come to spend their spring break in a more welcoming and economical environment than Cancún.

Baja California

With Tijuana as its frontier post, Baja is the epitome of 'south of the border'. The peninsula is renowned for its long coastline of fine white beaches, peaceful bays and imposing cliffs, sharply contrasting with the harsh and undeveloped interior.

Guadalajara

If you're looking for the 'real' Mexico, this is the place to find it. Birthplace of tequila, mariachi music, sombreros, charreadas (rodeos) and the Mexican Hat Dance, cosmopolitan Guadalajara is the place to immerse yourself in Mexican culture.

Part of Guadalajara's appeal is that it has many of the attractions of Mexico City - a vibrant culture, fine museums and galleries, a lively nightlife and great food - but few of the capital's problems. It's modern, well-organized and unpolluted, with enough attractions to please every visitor.

Puerto Vallarta

Nestled between palm-covered mountains and an azure sea, Puerto Vallarta is seriously picturesque. Wander its cobblestone streets, admire its whitewashed houses, then relax on its gorgeous sandy beach - dolphins can be seen frolicking year-round, and humpback whales cruise by from December to March.

Puerto Vallarta has mutated from a sleepy seaside village into an international resort so quickly that some are quick to deride its spoilt charms. But it's simply impossible to hold a grudge against this sophisticated, friendly city with its lively beaches, bars, restaurants and galleries.

Canadian Embassy

The Consular Section of the Canadian Embassy provides assistance to Canadian citizens visiting or living in Mexico. This includes emergency services, as well as the usual passport and visa matters.

UK Embassy

Even if you don't have any passport or visa issues to take care of, it's almost worth your while as a British citizen to drop by this Embassy, if only to admire the grand colonial mansion it's located in, as well as its lush landscaped grounds.

Australian Embassy

Besides the usual consular services involving passports and visas, the Australian Embassy provides assistance in case of accidents, illness or other emergencies. It can also provide travel advice and useful lists of local doctors and lawyers.

Sedepac

This Mexican nongovernment organization runs summer volunteer workcamps for young people in rural indigenous or peasant communities.

Seasons of My Heart

This cooking school at a ranch in the Valle de Etla is run by American chef and Oaxacan food expert Susana Trilling. It offers classes in Mexican and Oaxacan cooking, from one-day group sessions (most Wednesdays) to long-weekend and week-long courses, plus culinary tours around Oaxaca state.

Museo Nacional de Antropología

The 12 ground-floor salas (halls) of the outstanding National Museum of Anthropology are dedicated to pre-Hispanic Mexico, offering more than most people can absorb in a single visit. The best approach is to concentrate on regions you plan to visit or have visited, with a quick look at other eye-catching exhibits (or even a return visit the next day). Upstairs sections cover similar territory to the exhibits below.

Cuarenta Casas

The existence of cliff dwellings at Cuarenta Casas (Forty Houses) was known to the Spaniards as early as the 16th century. Despite the name of this site, only about a dozen adobe apartments are carved into the west cliffside of a dramatic canyon at La Cueva de las Ventanas (Cave of the Windows). This is the only cave accessible to the public.

Last occupied in the 13th century, Cuarenta Casas is believed to have been an outlying settlement of Paquimé, and perhaps a garrison for defense of commercial routes to the Pacific coast. Though the site is not as well preserved as the dwellings at Casas Grandes, its natural setting and the hike required to get there make it a worthy outdoor excursion.

Popocatépetl & Iztaccíhuatl

Mexico's second and third highest mountains, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, form the eastern rim of the Valle de México. While craterless Iztaccíhuatl is dormant, Popocatépetl in recent years has spouted plumes of gas and ash, supposedly even signalling the arrival of the new Pope. Iztaccíhuatl remains open to climbers and is perhaps all the more fetching because of its neighbor's unpredictable outbursts.

Paquimé Ruins

These ruins give Casas Grandes (Big Houses) its name. The crumbling adobe remnants are from what was the major trading settlement in northern Mexico between AD 900 and 1340. Partially excavated and restored, the networks of eroded walls now resemble roofless mazes. The passageways are chained off to protect the walls from damage.

Your admission fee also covers entrance to the adjoining Museo de las Culturas del Norte.

Teotihuacán

This fabulous archaeological zone lies in a mountain-ringed offshoot of the Valle de México. Site of the huge Pirámides del Sol y de la Luna (Pyramids of the Sun and Moon), Teotihuacán was Mexico's biggest ancient city and the capital of what was probably the country's largest pre-Hispanic empire. A day here can be awesome - don't let the hawkers get you down. Bring a hat, water and your walking shoes.

The site's main drag is the famous Avenue of the Dead, a monumental thoroughfare lined with the former palaces of Teotihuacán's elite. To its south is the pyramid-bedecked La Ciudadela, believed to have been the residence of the city's supreme ruler. Enclosed within the citadel's walls is the Quetzalcóatl Temple, with its striking serpent carvings.

Heading north, you pass the world's third-largest pyramid: the awe-inspiring, 70m (230ft), 248-stepped Pyramid of the Sun. The avenue terminates at the Pyramid of the Moon, flanked by the 12 temple platforms of the Plaza de la Luna. Nearby are the beautifully frescoed Palace of the Quetzal Butterfly, the Jaguar Palace and the Temple of the Plumed Conch Shells. Teotihuacán's most famous mural, the Paradise of Tláloc, is in the Tepantitla Palace, northeast of the Pyramid of the Sun. There's a museum to help make sense of it all.

Calakmul

Mayanists consider Calakmul, which means 'Adjacent Mounds', to be a site of vital archaeological significance, as it was once the seat of a nearly unrivalled superpower. It was even further-reaching in size - and often influence - than Tikal in Guatemala. Lying within the vast, untrammeled Reserva de la Biósfera Calakmul on the Yucatán Peninsula, the ruins are surrounded by rain forest, best viewed from the top of one of the several pyramids.

Cascada de Basaseachi

The dramatic 246m (806ft) Cascada de Basaseachi is the highest waterfall in Mexico, and is especially spectacular in the rainy season - it's worth the bumpy three-hour drive and every footstep of the five-hour hike there and back. If that sounds too daunting, the views of the falls from up on the rim aren't so bad either.

Sierra de San Francisco

Sierra de San Francisco is the gateway to some spectacular pre-Hispanic rock art and as such has been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site. At Cueva Pintada, Cochimí painters and their predecessors decorated high rock overhangs with vivid red and black representations of human figures, bighorn sheep, pumas and more abstract designs. Hire a guide in San Ignacio.