Coatzacoalcos

Coatzacoalcos is an industrial port city at the southern tip of the state of Veracruz. It has limited appeal to tourists, but serves as a transportation hub between the main body of Mexico, the Yucatan peninsula, and Central America.

History
In the pre-Hispanic era, Coatzacoalcos was Olmec territory, though by the time the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century, the region was dominated by the Aztec. The Spanish settled the area in 1522 under the leadership of Gustavo Sandoval. The town's importance as a regional port grew steadily over the next four centuries. In the 1970s petroleum shipping became an important part of the port business, connecting to the oil fields of Campeche. Four major petrochemical facilities are in Coatzacoalcos.

The city is an important connection point between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, though less commonly used than the Panama Canal. Freight can be unloaded from Atlantic freighters in Coatzacoalcos, shipped by trains across the isthmus to Salina Cruz, and then re-loaded onto ships crossing the Pacific. Going the other way, trains arriving in Coatzacoalcos can be driven onto rail ferries and shipped across the Gulf of Mexico to ports in the southern United States. The railroad across the Tehuantepec isthmus was built in 1907, but after the Panama Canal opened just 7 years later, traffic declined. During the presidency of Andres Lopez Obrador (AMLO), the Mexican government embarked on an ambitious project to dramatically upgrade the infrastructure between Coatzalcocos and Salina Cruz with new bridges, tunnels, improvements to the railway and the addition of a passenger rail line. The upgraded freight lines began operating in September 2023 and the passenger line in December 2023. The railroad was also extended south to Palenque where passengers can connect to the Tren Maya intercity railroad across the Yucatan Peninsula. The government is promoting the Corridor Interoceanico Isthmus Tehuantepec (CIIT) as a potentially faster and cheaper way than the Panama Canal to move goods across the American continent.

The area is also the historic home of the Olmec people. One of the oldest mesoamerican archaeological sites is El Mantial, a sacrificial bog in the Laguna Mantial where a number of relics dating from 1650 BC were discovered.

By plane
Coatzalcocos has twice-daily flights on Aeromexico to and from Mexico City.



By bus
There are intercity buses from most major cities in central and southern Mexico as well as international services from Guatemala. ADO is the main operator.



By train
After a 30-year hiatus, intercity trains once again serves Coatzacoalcos as of late 2023. The daily Tren Interoceanico service runs to and from Salina Cruz, on the southern side of the Tehuantepec isthmus. In December 2023, passenger services began between Coatzacoalcos and Palenque, where passengers can connect onwards throughout the Yucatan Peninsula via the Tren Maya.



Get around
Taxis are plentiful and affordable. Uber works as well.

See

 * Coastal Malecon - walk along a seawall fronting the Gulf of Mexico. The views at sunrise and sunset are the best in the city.


 * Olmec Archaeological Museum, John Sparks s/n (on the Coastal Malecon), 10ː00-18ː00 Tuesday through Sunday, closed Monday, M$10. Impressive pyramid structure houses an interesting collection of more than 1,000 artifacts from the Olmec civilization that inhabited the southern Gulf coast of Mexico over 1,000 years ago.


 * Jaguaroundi Ecological Park, Camino al Ejido Cangrejera 1, Coazacoalcos, Phoneː +52 921-276-9582, free admission, 09ː00-17ː00 Tuesday through Sunday (closed Monday) - environmental reserve housing hundreds of birds and more than 65 mammal species.

Go next

 * Salina Cruz
 * Veracruz
 * Tabasco
 * Palenque