About Catemaco, Mexico
Catemaco is located on the Tuxtlas Mountains, in the south-central area of the Mexican state of Veracruz, 174 kilometers (104 mi) from the port of Veracruz. Most of Catemaco is within an area declared a Biosphere Reserve. In addition to its beautiful lagoon and jungle, Catemaco is so popular for being home of important groups of witches, sorcerers, or healers, who have embraced the ancient secrets of their ancestors. Usually, people visiting Catemaco get a clean or healing ritual, since it is the main experience you can live in the town.
This destination also offers a wonderful natural environment. Lake Catemaco offers boat service to make tours to the Herons Island, inhabited by herons, and to the Monkey Island, where you cannot descend to land but you can attract monkeys throwing bananas from the shore. The Monkey Island is formed by a Thai macaques colony implanted there years ago by the Veracruzana University in order to make studies. The macaques have adapted so well to the lake environment that are already considered part of the natural landscape of the lagoon. The island is also home to spider monkeys and howler monkeys.
The Boardwalk is the main atttraction of the destination, with more than 1.5 kilometer (0.9 mi) long and incredible views of the lake and the town. In downtown Catemaco, you can find the Basilica of Our Lady of Carmen, where multiple pilgrimages arrive, whose interior is decorated with Baroque-style gold leaf; the Central Park, the Municipal Palace, and El Cerrito, an old pyramid covered with earth and grass. To explore the main points of Catemaco and the surrounding areas, you can take a tour at the city of Veracruz.
Rio Grande de Catemaco is nourished by the waters of Lake Catemaco, its channel reaches the Salto de Eyipantla and then flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The Salto de Eyipantla, located 12 kilometers (7.2 mi) from Catemaco, is a cascade of 40 meters (131 ft) wide and 50 meters (164 ft) high, which has been scenery of commercial advertisements, TV series, and films, as Apocalypto.
Regarding films, Nanciyaga is a private natural reserve 7 kilometers (4.2 mi) from Catemaco, where the northern tropical rain forest joins with incalculable diversity of flora and fauna. El Curandero de la Selva was filmed in this reserve.
***The official currency of Mexico is the Mexican Peso (MXN).
