Tlacotalpan is a town in the Mexican state of Veracruz that was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998 due to its architecture and colonial-era layout. The town was established in 1550 on an island in the Papaloapan River (which has since become part of the mainland). Up until the 20th century, Tlacotalpan was an important port and one of few interior river ports in Latin America. However, with the construction of the railroad, Tlacotalpan’s importance faded. Starting in the latter 20th century, efforts to conserve the town’s Spanish/Caribbean architecture and layout began, culminating in World Heritage status. Today, its main economic support is fishing and tourism.
We drove several hours out of our way to see this sleepy little town. While we enjoyed the quietness, walking along the river, and the beautiful buildings we had trouble finding much different than some of the other towns that were World Heritage Sites due to Spanish colonial architecture. I would advice people to check Tlacotalpan out if you are in the area, but don’t go out of your way. Instead visit Campche and San Christobal to see the Spanish colonial influence because we loved those towns way more.
Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to my channel and hit the BELL icon on YouTube, because I am putting together travel videos about our entire road trip through Mexico and Tlacotalpan will be featured in the third Mexican travel video we are calling Colonial & Nature. It will have lots of info plus be lots of fun as you watch Lily and I interact around Mexico!!!!
In the mean time you can click the link to watch the first week in Mexico called Beaches & Islands, which features from Cancun to Playa del Carmen. Make sure you FOLLOW me on your preferred social media platform ( Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter) so you do not miss one bit of our travels through Lily’s country of Mexico.
