North America >> Mexico >> Northern Mexico >> Nuevo León

Nuevo León is a state in Northern Mexico.

Cities

  • Monterrey - Mexico's third-biggest city and capital of Nuevo Leon. (Includes suburban municipalities, such as San Pedro, Apodaca, Garza Garcia, Guadalupe, and Santa Catarina).
  • Montemorelos - Small city in the heart of Nuevo León's orange-growing belt.
  • Linares - City between two rivers, with some interesting colonial buildings. Good place to buy carne seca and glorias.

Other destinations

  • Cumbres de Monterrey - Mexico's largest national park. Rugged canyons and gorges in the Sierra Madre Orientals.
  • Barranca de Potrillos - Is home to one of the unique archaeological sites in Northeast Mexico. These are numerous stone carvings, isolated from any populated area, being deep within the semidesertic area.
  • Matacanes - If you are fanatic of extreme sports, this a place to be. Is famous for its abundant rivers, waterfalls and underground caves. Is adviced to get proper equipment.

Culture and History

Nuevo León is bound by Coahuila to the west, Tamaulipas to the east and north, and San Luis Potosí to the south. It also shares a short 15 kilometer border with the US state of Texas.

Talk

Spanish is the official language. English is widely taught as a second language. People will speak it in various levels, but within the Metropolitan area of Monterrey is were most likely fluent speakers will be found.

Travel to Nuevo Leon - Visa Requirements

Car, bus, plane, and 18-wheeler are the most common ways to get to Nuevo Leon.

  • By plane: fly into Monterrey (MTY)
  • By car: Nuevo Leon has one checkpoint on the U.S./Mexico border, it is the Colombia Bridge just west of Laredo. Highway 85 south of Nuevo Laredo enters the state of Nuevo Leon about 20 miles south of the border.
  • By bus: Most people in the region use buses heavily. Monterrey is the major hub.

Tours and Getting around Nuevo Leon

In most of the state, the pickup truck or Chevy Suburban is the preferred family vehicle. Cheap buses go to every point in the state populated by more than 2 people and a goat.

Nuevo Leon tourist attractions and sightseeing

  • Grutas de Garcia - Lying just 30 minutes out of Monterrey is a delightful underground world. The caverns are reached by riding a cable car to the cave entrance where guides lead visitors on a mile-long trek through the cave system. From Monterrey, take Mexico route 40 toward Saltillo.
  • Huasteca Canyon, 20 miles west of Monterrey.
  • Horsetail Falls (sp:Cascada Cola de Caballo) - Three mossy waterfalls.

Nuevo Leon city tours

Nuevo Leon Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

Some Nuevoleonense specialties include:

  • Arracheras - Flank steak served with tortillas and carmelized onions , similar to what is called fajitas north of the border.
  • Cabrito - Young goat prepared a number of different ways-- wood roasted (a la lena), cooked in beer (en cerveza), or in ancho chili sauce (en chile ancho).
  • Chicharrones de Móntemorelos - Pork cracklings prepared in the unique style of the city of Montemorelos.
  • Lengua de res en pipián - Beef tongue cooked in a sauce made of pumpkin seeds.
  • Leche quemada - A carmelized milk candy for which the region is famous. Look for glorias de Linares, a pecan flavored version from Linares.
  • Machacado con huevos - Dried, shredded beef with eggs.
  • Sopa de col y queso - Cheese cabbage soup.

Nuevo Leon nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

  • Local-made beer from Cuauhtemoc Brewery, makers of Sol, Dos Equis, and Bohemia.

Stay safe

The state police and the federales often set up checkpoints on highways. They are looking for drug traffickers, but they will occasionally ask to see your tourist permits or vehicle import permits. They are usually efficient and quick, and chances are good that if you look like tourists, you'll simply be waved on.

Get out

Destinations in Nuevo Leon:

This page was last edited by Frederick Heald. Based on work by Mark Stevens, metzenberg@yahoo.com and Evan Prodromou, Wikitravel user(s) Texugo, Cacahuate and Episteme and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license

Didn't find what you were looking for?
Submit your question to the Nuevo Leon travel forum
Subject
Question / Comment
Note: HTML tags will be removed.
Your Name (required)
Your Email (will not be published) (required)
Website (Optional)

Note: Hitting submit you grant Traveltips24 the right to edit, display and store the content you provide.