Tabasco’s natural resources have turned this state into fertile soil for great cultures settled and found towns that, nowadays, survive as legends and vestiges that travelers from Mexico and all over the world want to explore.
One of those sites was La Venta, where Olmecs decided to settle. The city of La Venta is in the state's northwest, a couple of kilometers from the Veracruz border.
To get to La Venta, Tabasco, you must drive by road for 50 minutes from Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz; one hour from Minatitlán and one hour 25 minutes from Villahermosa, the state capital.
La Venta’s climate is hot and humid, so if you plan to visit in spring we recommend you bring light clothing, a cap or hat, and repellent. The average temperature is 27º C and it’s quite rainy in summer. It’s very humid because it is surrounded by the Tonalá and Blasillo rivers, as well as some swamps.
This city main attraction—recognized in 2015—is its proximity to the Archaeological Site of La Venta and the oil fields surrounding it. Since the 19th century, this town was already known by its current name because its residents were precisely dedicated to selling wood.
In the 1950s, La Venta became an oil municipality after important fields were found, which attracted people searching for job opportunities. The oil exploitation caused many Archaeological Site remains to be taken to Villahermosa in prevention from being damaged by this activity.
La Venta is a very small, young city, inhabited by happy and curious people who want to meet the visitors to make them feel at home.
If your strolls through this small city, urbanized in the mid 20th century, take you where juche (armadillo) is cooked, take the chance to taste this typical dish. It’s also very common to eat seafood chilpachole, salpicón and chipilín tamales, a real delight.
Refresh yourself with the traditional corn pozol or a tepache. To mitigate the heat, also try juices of citrus harvested in their lands such as pineapple, orange and lemon.
