The hook
A green corner of San Luis Potosí where mineral-rich rivers run an unreal turquoise and fall over limestone in terraces, curtains, and a 105-metre plunge, plus a surrealist's concrete jungle folly hidden in the cloud forest.
01Why it's worth it
The Huasteca is Mexico's water country. Calcium carbonate turns the rivers a saturated blue-green, and they drop constantly: Tamul, the tallest fall in the region, reached by paddling upriver; the wide terraced curtains of Tamasopo and Micos, where you can jump the tiers; the sapphire-clear Puente de Dios and Cascadas de Minas Viejas. Set into the cloud forest at Xilitla is Las Pozas, the surrealist garden Edward James spent decades building, staircases climbing to nothing, concrete flowers, doors into jungle, one of the strangest and most delightful places in the Americas. There are river caves, rafting, and Huastec villages between. It rewards a car, a few days, and the rainy season when the water is full, and it stays notably less foreign-touristed than the coasts.
02How to experience it
Base in Ciudad Valles or Xilitla and drive the sights over three or four days: a boat up to Tamul, the terraces at Tamasopo and Micos, Puente de Dios, and Las Pozas early before tour groups. Go in or just after the rains for maximum flow, wear shoes you can swim in, and take weekdays if you can, Mexican holidays fill the swimming spots.
From the locals
Mexicans name it first when asked what their own country undervalues, "toda la Huasteca Potosina… está super infravalorada" — and then a local supplies the honest counterweight, which is its own kind of recommendation: "me crié en la Huasteca, está bien valorada. Ni infra ni supra. Más turismo la echaría a perder, menos también. Está en un buen punto." More tourism would ruin it; less would too; it's at a good point.