Xilitla and the Huasteca region go back
If you want a tourist free few days in the warm, surrounded by friendly locals and stunning rivers and waterfalls then this is a great area to visit. A hard days driving would get you to Xilitla on the first night, then two nights near valles, and maybe one night in Pachuca or Ixmiquilpan on the way back, would make a great trip.
I found a couple of tourist maps to the area, one in hotel Dolores, which had info on Edward James and a decent map. Another with a cartoon map of attractions wasn't quite as good.
Xilitla is a beautiful little down in the mountains of the Sierra Madre Oriental where you can visit the surrealist sculpture garden of Englishman Edward James called Las Pozas. The garden is stunning with crazy structures and little pathways you can follow into the forest. There are beautiful pools and waterfalls if you follow the path to the left of the restaurant. It costs 20 pesos and is open until sunset every day. It is a few kilometres east of town and is signed from the main road - a short drive or a good walk. The restaurant looked pleasant and there are cabanas at the site which seemed pretty remote and musty (350 pesos for a single).
In town there are several hotels. The San Isidrio (one level down from the square), and Hotel Dolores (well signed), both have rooms with fantastic views for about 180 a single. The cheapest place is Casa Maria, behind the market (100 pesos a single). Restaurant Cayos is reasonable, and tortas (sandwiches) at La Tortugas really are very good. There is internet near the square.
To get there by car from DF you head to Pachuca then Tamazunchale then turn left at the sign for Xilitla. The road between Ixquimilpan and Tazunchale is very slow going, about four hours for that section. Do not be fooled by the fact it is only 130km long. Arriving in Xilitla you take a very sharp right turn to go up to the main square. For public transport there are Flecha Amarillo buses.
Aquismon is about half an hours drive from Xilitla, and is signed from the Laredo highway as you head north. In town there is an unexciting church and several places to eat on the square. There are at least two hotels, one advertising tv. But far more exciting would be to camp out at either Sotano de las Golondrinas, or Balnearios Tambaque.
Sotano de las Golondrinas is a deep and enormous cave/hole in the ground where at sunrise and sunset thousands of swallows flock in and out. The road up is a bit dodgy for a normal car so to get there ask any pick up you see if they are going to the Sotano. You should pay around 20 pesos if you share a truck with locals. The trucks only run until sunset, so if you want to go up for sunset and come back down, ask the taxis on the main square and they will charge about 500 for the ride up and back.
balnearias
tambaque
To get to Balnearios Tambaque you turn right after the square and drive for about twenty minutes along a smooth road through beautiful countryside. At the balnearios there are changing areas, some absolutely horrific bathrooms, and steps built into a cool clear river. A 400m walkway takes you alongside the deep blue water up to some falls. Camping by the river looked like a great option and there are a couple of barbecues you can use.
Ciudad Valles
Not recommended - although the people are very friendly. It is about an hour from Aquismon and is dusty and probably extremely hot in the summer. One of the cheaper places is Hotel Condesa, near "el Parque" in the centre, 130 pesos for a single. Hotel Pina is nearby at 230 pesos a single. The eating options are mainly bright, diner type places with slightly overpriced bland food. And you can get plenty of ice lollies. Beware of fatty tacos! Look before you order.
There are two museums in Valles. T/////////////////////////// is slightly out of town. It has a selection of pots from nearby sites and replicas or pictures of some statues that have been taken to other, better, museums. If you are killing some time in the city, the people that work there will be pleased to show you around. 10 pesos entrance, and about 20 to get there from the centre in a cab. If you drive there look out for the signs, and it is on the corner of a large junction. I didn't go to the other museum, but locals told me it was the worse of the two.
30 km east of Valles the archaelogical sites of Tontoc and El Consuelo look like tranquil, tourist free places to visit. One has pools, the other has a river, and they both have grassy lumps which are apparently pyramids. Staying in Tamuín would be a good alternative to Valles itself. And on one of my maps it says there are hot springs on the way.
60km west of Valles, about an hours drive, is Tamasopo with several options for places to stay and some lovely water features. Some places combine hotels and balnearios, El Paraiso is one of the more expensive ones. Hotel Cosmos is well signed and comfortable at 200 pesos a single. Again, if I was me with a tent, I would be camping at the nearby Cascades de Tamasopo which are stunning. There is a restaurant and toilets and showers, and they are a beautiful place to be. You can have a proper swim around and make use of the diving boards, or walk up behind the falls into the meadows. Reminiscent of agua azul, but without hoards of tourists.Puente de Dios is another waterfall nearby (follow signs from town) which has an even more beautiful campsite. The falls are a short steep walk down into the valley, but when you find several cascades into one deep blue pool it is worth the trek. The water upstream is slightly warm and safe to swim, and if you are a good swimmer you can jump into the pool and float down the river through a cave. If there was anyone else down there I would have gone, it looked gorgeous. There is a path leading between here and the cascadas de tamasopo. It is a few kilometers long and apparently a man will try and charge you 10 pesos. Walking along the river all the way would be a fantastic way to arrive.
tamasopo
puente
de dios
If you get one of the tourist maps you will see loads of other waterfalls and caves to explore, minas viejas looks good, and at cascadas tamul you have to take a boat through a lagoon to get to the falls, which sounds a bit different. A taxi man in Ciudad Valles offered to take me there for 30 dollars.
Ixmiquilpan is about 70km from Pachuca, it is a long winding journey through mountains and canyons from Xilitla. The town has a big church on the square, and the hotel there, Palacio Real is cheapish and has parking. In town there is a park with a mini railway and caged animals, not that much fun if you are over four years old. Outside of town are loads of water parks with large pools and slides. Some hotels along the highway have their own pools, but the hotest water I could find was 36. degrees.
Pachuca is an hour from the city on a good day. There is a clock in the centre and you can take a tourist tram around the city, past the mine and up to the mirador. There are loads of mines around the place, at Real de Monte (look for a combi of the same name if you are not driving) you can visit a very deep mine on the weekends, (450m down!) and a museum about mining. The local food is "pastes", and they are pretty good if you can avoid the ones full of chili.
There are several hotels on the square, and if you take the road southish from the square, against the traffic, you will find a couple of cheaper options and an internet place on the second floor.
The national park nearby has several campsites, you can get a list from the tourist office under the clock. There are two with cabanas that sleep four people at about 400 pesos. The woods in the park are beautiful, and there are places for rock climbing. Apparently you can hire bikes and all sorts - ask at the campsite. I was there on a friday night and the cabanas were available, so i guess it's not too busy on a normal weekend.