Xalapa aka: Jalapa, Xalapa de Enríquez, Xalapa Enríquez

Jalapa (or Xalapa) Is a very cultural city. Its not too warm, because its in the Mountains, and when its cold there is a hot spring you can go to. I have quite a number of family members who live there.

I studied my degree in this city, and found it to be delightfully charming, where it rained almost every day, with freshness all around, a city where coffee is the main attraction, and where cultural events are the most apreciated form of enterntainment…

Definetly a must see are parks “Tecajetes” and “Los Berros”, this last one was near where I lived, and miss it quite dearly…

Read Tony Cohan’s description of Xalapa in “Mexican Days”: it’s utterly captivating.

A cool, misty city redolent of coffee, Xalapa is nestled at 4000’ of elevation in the mountains above Veracruz and below the volcanic dome of Pico de Orizaba. A lively cultural and intellectual center, this city of 400,000 sounds like the perfect place to experience Mexico without succumbing to beach culture.

Plus, in 2005 many residents of Xalapa reported seeing an invasion of UFOs. Even space aliens want to visit this place!

http://www.rense.com/general66/massive.htm

Jalapa is the capital city of the state of Veracruz. While it is not a tourist destination in and of itself, one could make an interesting day trip to visit the art museum and other downtown sites while getting a feel for life in a typical Mexican city.