It has the closest beaches to Mexico City, and much of its economy is based on tourism, as it is only a four- or five-hour drive from the capital.

[1][2] It is the northern end of a tourist corridor along the Gulf of Mexico called the "Emerald Coast," which extends down to the city of Veracruz.

"[5] These are strong cold fronts that come down from the north along Mexico's Atlantic coast between December and February and can cause sudden drops in temperature and winds.

This tourism is mainly concentrated during peak seasons, such as Christmas and Easter holidays, and special events such as the annual fishing tournament.

[7] Cultural attractions include the Hueytepec archeological zone, the Parish of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, the old lighthouse, the Hotel Tecolutla, the Municipal Palace and the Marine Museum, which contains an exposition of river and ocean products.

From April to September each year, the beach known as Vida Milenaria is reserved for sea turtles returning here to breed.

[3] One notable nearby attraction is the El Tajín archeological site, built by the same people who have inhabited this municipality, the Totonacs.

The river passes by a number of cities and towns such as Cuetzalan, Zacapoaxtla, Zapotitlán, Huauchinango, Tajín, Tecuantepec, El Espinal, Papantla, Gutiérrez Zamora, Cazones, Coatzintla, Chumatlan, Poza Rica, then finally to Tecolutla at its mouth.

[8] These estuaries have abundant vegetation and aquatic, and semi-aquatic wildlife such as crabs, lobsters, red snapper, shad, white and black herons and in the mangroves, two species of alligator.

The third is called Del Narajo and is the largest with 40 km of navigable waters and is bordered by ranches and orange groves.

For ten km north along the coast from Tecolutla are the most important beaches: Santa María del Mar and Barra Boca de Lima, which have warm waters with some motion.

This area is known as the Costa Esmeralda because of the green ocean near the beaches, and many contain three and four star hotels, bungalows and trailer parks.

[4] The Tecolutla River was visited by Juan de Guijalva in 1518, three years before the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire.

This caused violent confrontations between the Spanish and the local people at first but eventually led a mixing and the native and the European, in culture, flora, fauna and economic activities.

[9] Major flooding of the Tecolutla in October 1999 cause widespread damage in the town, including washing away a number of homes and businesses.

The storm knocked out power as rivers and streams overflowed, closing down much of the infrastructure such as banks, roads and gas stations.

[11] On the early morning hours of August 21, 2021, Tecolutla suffered yet another natural disaster when the eye of Hurricane Grace came ashore.

[12] In the Marine Museum there are bones and photographs from 3 or even 4 mixed, uncompleted sperm whales of the species Physeter macrocephalus (Linnaeus, 1758).

This legend becomes from an unreported stranding of a cetacean and its appearance after being cut off, burned, rotted and transported to Tecolutla's beach.

Some people found the animal looks like a giant worm, or with fibers hanging like a mane, or with either "wool" or armor plating, or both, or with a gigantic beak or bone-like fang sticking out of its head; the weight of the carcass was estimated between 24 and 35 tons, measuring 22 m long and 2 m wide.

It was also rumored that an unknown Biology Institute of California[clarification needed] wanted to buy the creature, also believing it to be prehistoric.

[clarification needed] A volunteer rescue party was organized but what they found was an enormous head, with the rest of the creature partially buried.

It was decided to bring the carcass to the town of Tecolutla, using a truck with a fifteen-meter platform borrowed from Mexican state oil company (PEMEX).

It was recommended to bury the creature, which was decomposing rapidly, but the mayor of Tecolutla refused, and kept it as a tourist attraction in spite of the odor.

The municipality contains 375 communities(inegi) and has a surface area of 471.31km2 and an average altitude of ten meters above sea level.

It borders the municipalities of Papantla, Martínez de la Torre, and Gutiérrez Zamora with the Gulf of Mexico to the east.

The area is suited to fast-growing trees with soft wood such as guarumbo, chancarro, jonote, guanacaxtle and sangrado.