Tula de Allende (Otomi: Mämeni)[1] is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo in central-eastern Mexico.

Its built-up area (or metro) made up of Atotonilco de Tula, Atitalaquia, Tlaxcoapan municipalities was home to 188,659 inhabitants at the 2010 census.

[3] The modern city is a regional economic center and has been listed as one of the fastest growing in Mexico by the National Commission of Population.

[5][6] The main facade has three arches, pilasters with reliefs, a curved pediment and a chapel annex that takes from the 17th century.

[6] Near here is a main plaza and an open-air theatre, framed by a mural called “Tula Eterna” created by Juan Pablo Patiño Cornejo.

[5] There is also the Plaza de las Artesanias dedicated to local handcrafts including replicas of the atlas figures.

The Toltec Empire reached as far south as the Valley of Mexico and its influence has been found in artifacts as far away as the current U.S. Southwest.

[2][5] According to the Codex Mendoza, the site was conquered under the reign of Tizoc and subsequently incorporated into the Aztec Empire After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Pedro Miahuazochil was named in 1531 as the lord of Tula helping to evangelize the area.

[2][5] The Tula area was the scene of various battles during the Mexican Revolution, particularly between those loyal to Venustiano Carranza and those to Emiliano Zapata.

With an extension of 305.8 km2 it borders the municipalities of Tepetitlán, Tlahuelilpan, Tepeji del Río, Atotonilco de Tula, Atitalaquía and Tlaxcoapan, with the State of Mexico to the west.

[2][5] Pollution problems generally come from the PEMEX refinery and the discharge of wastewater from the Valley of Mexico into the Tula River.

[8] The natural vegetation is mostly semi desert, with cactus and maguey plants the most defining followed by mesquite and the pirul tree (Schinus molle) along with seasonal grass.

Native fauna includes rabbits, squirrels, chameleons, roadrunners, coyotes, various kinds of birds and snakes, skunks and opossums.

[5] The city and municipality have a very low level of socioeconomic marginalization but median household income varies between US$10,641 and $5,037 a year.

The most important of these are the Francisco Pérez Ríos Thermoelectric plant and the PEMEX refinery as well as the Cruz Azul and Tolteca cement locations.

There is also the Requena dam (boating, fishing and picnicking) and the Parque Acuático la Cantera, a water park with a pool and thermal springs.

[7] The Tula de Allende municipality is very big, and includes many cities, towns, and small communities.

Tula-Tepeji, the third Metropolitan Area in Hidalgo state, is the most important population center in the Mezquital valley.

[5] Traditional garb for men consists of pants and shirt made of undyed cotton cloth along with a sombrero.

[5] Traditional dishes of the area include barbacoa, carnitas, pulque, nopal cactus with eggs, beans with epazote and mixote but the area is known for dishes made with escamoles (ant eggs) as well as mezcal worms which are both seasonal.

Tula Grande contains pyramids, Mesoamerican ball courts and other buildings but its most distinctive characteristics are the Atlantean figures, columns in the shape of warriors and the “Serpent Wall,” a wall with reliefs that serve as a predecessor to similar constructions in later cultures.