Xilitla

Xilitla is a municipality (Spanish: municipio) and town in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí in the Huasteca region of Mexico.

The rugged landscape has partly shielded Xilitla from industrialization, helping preserve its indigenous Huastec and Nahuatl cultures and traditional agrarian lifestyles.

Finally, in the mid-18th century, Fray Junípero Serra and the Franciscans succeeded in establishing a permanent missionary presence in the region.

[4] A local food specialty is the zacahuil, a giant tamale (3 to 4 feet long) wrapped in banana leaves and filled with pork on one side and chicken on the other.

Receiving more than 100 inches (2,500 mm) of precipitation annually, Xilitla is one of the wettest areas of Mexico.

Rainfall occurs throughout the year, with maximum precipitation coming in summer, but winters are not as dry as in many other parts of Mexico.

It includes more than 80 acres (32 ha) of natural waterfalls and pools interspersed with towering surrealist sculptures in concrete.

Buses run hourly from the town to Ciudad Valles and Tamazunchale and several times daily to Monterrey, Mexico City, San Luis Potosí and Tampico.

Town of Xilitla, seen from its western hills.
Las Pozas pillars
Some of Edward James' sculptures (in this case, vase-shaped stone objects) are interspersed within and around the river flowing through the garden.