Mexico’s finest cities, states, sights and dishes were recognized at the Best of Mexico awards ceremony at the Tianguis Turístico travel show in Mérida, Yucatán, last week.

Voting took place online from March 1-15, 2020, but the ceremony — held during Latin America’s largest tourism industry event — was delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Zacatecas was the only state to win in two categories: La Quemada ruins won Best Tourist Experience in an Archaeological Area and Zacatecas city won Best Cultural City. 

Otherwise, the winners were spread around states in all corners of the country. Oaxaca won the Best State to Live Original Experiences, followed by Zacatecas in second and Puebla in third. Best Beach was Balandra, Baja California Sur. The second best was Mahahual, Quintana Roo, and the third best was Costa Esmeralda, Veracruz.

The Best Tourist Route was the El Chepe train ride in Chihuahua; second place was the Art, Cheese and Wine route in Querétaro, and third place was the Coffee Route in Chiapas.

The Best Adventure Destination went to La Huasteca, San Luis Potosí, and the Best Natural Destination was the Montebello Lakes, Chiapas. 

More specialized categories included Best Artisan Work, which was awarded to Nayarit for its Huichol craftwork, and Best Dish, which went to Hidalgo’s barbacoa. The Best Magical Town for Culinary Experience was won by Zacatlán de las Manzanas, Puebla.

The Best Destination for Day of the Dead was Pátzcuaro, Michoacán; Orizaba, Veracruz, won the Best Magical Town With Surprising Architecture; the Best Magical Town for a Romantic Escape went to Bacalar, Quintana Roo, and the Best Magical Town with Ancestral Roots was awarded to Huamantla, Tlaxcala.

The awards program is sponsored by magazine and web publisher México Desconocido.

With reports from México Desconocido