Huasca de Ocampo

Huasca de Ocampo (Spanish: ['waska ðe o'kampo] ^ⓘ) is a town and municipality of the state of Hidalgo in central Mexico. It is located 34 km from Pachuca and 16 km from Real del Monte in the Pachuca Mountains. While the town itself is just within the mountain range, much of the municipal land is located in a valley that opens up to the east of the town. While one of the first haciendas to be established in Mexico is located here, economic development started with mining haciendas built by Pedro Romero de Terreros in the 18th century. By the mid 20th century, none of these haciendas were in existence, having been broken up into communal farm lands ( ejido ) and some even fully or partially under lakes created by dams. While agriculture remains important economically, the area has been promoted as a tourism destination, especially for weekend visitors from Mexico City, with attractions such as canyons, traditional houses, old hacienda facilities and waterfalls.