The desert city of Indio is located in the heart of the famed Coachella Valley, about 125 miles east of metropolitan Los Angeles. Sharing the Coachella Valley with such international resort destinations as Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells, Indio is the valley's largest and oldest city. It's also a great place to stay and play - golf, tennis, shopping, dining, and casino nightlife are "indigenous" to Indio.

Indio's climate is characterized by clean, dry air; blue skies, pleasant winters, infrequent rainfall, moderate afternoon breezes with occasional gusts or wind storms, hot summers and sunshine 350 days a year are also attributes. Average summer temperatures range from a low of 75° to slightly more than 100°. Average winter temperatures are within a range of a low of 40° to a high of 78°. Average yearly rainfall in Indio is just above 3 inches - with some years producing no measurable rainfall. Visibility is usually a crisp 10 miles.

Tucked within the Colorado Desert, surrounded by the San Jacinto Mountains to the east and the Santa Rosa Mountains to the south, Indio began as an Indian village, with Native Americans drawn to its palm oases and water sources. Today, festivals and fairs give Indio its moniker as the "City of Festivals." Starting Thanksgiving weekend with the first of three Native American pow-wows, and continuing with the International Tamale Festival, the Indio Desert Circuit Horse Show, the Southwest Arts Festival and the National Date Festival, the winter season is filled with exciting things for visitors to do.

The annual Indio International Tamale Festival in December has something for everyone - a celebration of food, cultural heritage, fun and entertainment, it's one of the top 10 regional food festivals in the country, according to USA Today. More than 300,000 tamales of every description, from traditional to gourmet, were served at the 2002 event. Many try to time their Indio visit for the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival in early February. It's a great place to watch a camel race or an Arabian Nights Pageant, and sip a delicious date shake. Fans of Southwestern art and a variety of other genres will not want to miss the Southwest Arts Festival, held in late January and early February. The festival magically transforms Indio's Empire Polo Club with bold splashes of color. Coupled with the California desert's bloom at the peak of its spectacular season, it is a great time to visit Indio and the Coachella Valley.

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