Puerto Vallarta City Map Poster

About Puerto Vallarta

The city of Puerto Vallarta is a popular tourist destination, with the 2010 Census population figures reporting that 52% of its inhabitants were from Mexico, followed by South America at 24%, and the United States at 16%. Tourism is the most important economic activity with seven million tourists visiting the city in 2006. The Puerto Vallarta-Nayarit region was formerly inhabited by Indians called "Cualpopan" or "Cualhuique". The Cualpopan lived off fishing and agriculture; they grew corn, beans, squash (called chilacayote), chili peppers (ají) and tobacco. Puerto Vallarta's location between Jalisco's Sierra Madre Occidental mountains and Pacific Ocean made it an attractive spot for fishermen.