The central Gulf coast is among the least-visited yet most distinct, atmospheric areas of Mexico. From the capital you descend through the southern fringes of the Sierra Madre Oriental, past the country's highest peaks, to a broad, hot and wet coastal plain. In this fertile tropical zone the earliest Mexican civilizations developed, and it remained densely populated throughout the pre-Hispanic era. Cortés himself began his march on the capital from Veracruz, and the city remains, as it was throughout colonial history, the busiest port in the country. Rich in agriculture – coffee, vanilla, tropical fruits and flowers grow everywhere – the Gulf coast is further enriched by oil and natural gas deposits.

The majority of the few tourists who find their way here are simply passing through. In part, at least, this is because the area doesn't especially need them and makes no particular effort to attract them; and in part the weather can be blamed – it rains more often and more heavily here than just about anywhere else. Yet even in the rainy season the torrential downpours are short-lived, and within a couple of hours of the rain starting, you can be back on the steaming streets in bright sunshine. Though there are long, windswept beaches all down the Atlantic coast, they are less beautiful than their Pacific or Caribbean counterparts, and many suffer pollution from the busy shipping lanes, the oil industry or even sewage outlets. Most of the coastal towns are commercial centres, of little interest to the visitor.

That said, the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre hold a number of colonial cities worth a look at least in passing: Xalapa, seat of the state government, is worth a longer visit, with its balmy climate and superb archeological museum. Veracruz is among the most welcoming of all Mexican cities – too busy with its own affairs to create a separate life for visitors, you're drawn instead into the atmosphere of a steamy tropical port with strong echoes of the West Indies. Within a couple of hours lie La Antigua, where Cortés established the first Spanish government in the Americas, and Cempoala, ruined site of the first civilization he subdued. El Tajín, near the coast in the north of the state, is one of the most important archeological sites in the country, and Filo Bobos, only recently excavated, is also well worth a visit. Both sites are in an area where Totonac culture retains a powerful influence. To the south, Catemaco is a beautiful lake set in an extinct volcanic crater, where you can see the last remaining tract of Gulf coast rainforest. The area is renowned as a meeting place for native brujos and curanderos, witches and healers.

The state also has some great food – not only local coffee, fruit and vanilla (Mexicans inevitably take home a plastic bottle of vanilla essence as a souvenir), but also seafood. Huachinango a la Veracruzana (red snapper Veracruz-style) is served across the country, and is of course on every menu here. But there are many more exotic possibilities, from langoustines and prawns to jaiba, a large local crab; look out for anything made with chile chipotle, a hot, dark-brown chile with a very distinctive (and delicious) flavour – chilpachole de jaiba is a sort of crab chowder that combines the two. Sweet tamales, too, are a speciality, and to wash it all down, the local brewery at Orizaba produces several distinctive beers – less expensive and better than the big national brands.