As destinations go, doesn't Mexico darn near have it all?

An astonishingly varied geography, ranging from the harsh deserts of the north with its atmospheric mining towns, via lushly verdant mountains, snow-capped volcanos and steaming jungles teeming with life to the perfect beaches of the Caribbean.

A turbulent and intoxicating history which has thrown up some of the great heroes and villains of our time, from the great pre-Hispanic civilisations of the Aztec and Maya to the bloodshed and revolution of the post-colonial period.