Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca
Oaxaca City
Got two hours? You'll need it for the Museum of Oaxacan Cultures, housed in the beautiful monastery buildings adjoining the Templo de Santo Domingo. This…
Must-see attractions in Oaxaca
Valles Centrales
The former capital of the Zapotec people is today an illustrious ruin, but for over a thousand years it served as the second-largest ceremonial site in…
Puerto Escondido
Legendary 3.5km-long Zicatela is the best-known surfing spot in Mexico courtesy of the tempestuous surfing waves of the Mexican Pipeline. The heart of the…
Zipolite
Zipolite's beach is huge, running for a good 1.5km and dispatching massive waves. It's famous for its nudity; you'll see people randomly swimming,…
Puerto Escondido
Small is beautiful at Carrizalillo, set in a sheltered cove west of the center that's reached by a stairway of 157 steps. It’s popular for swimming and…
Bahías de Huatulco
Halfway between the western edge of Parque Nacional Huatulco and Puerto Ángel awaits some of the most precious coastline in Oaxaca. The water can be…
Hierve El Agua
Natural springs have never looked this good. Set in truly ethereal surroundings amid low brush-covered mountains, Hierve El Agua (meaning 'the water boils…
Oaxaca City
Gorgeous Santo Domingo is the most splendid of Oaxaca’s churches, with a finely carved baroque facade and nearly every square centimeter inside decorated…
Mazunte
This rocky cape, jutting out from the west end of Mazunte beach, is the southernmost point in the state of Oaxaca and a fabulous place to hike at sunset…
Valles Centrales
Second only to Monte Albán in their importance, though not as old, the ruins of ancient Mitla date from the final two or three centuries before the…
Puerto Escondido
The 6km-long Manialtepec Lagoon, beginning 14km west of Puerto Escondido along Hwy 200, is an essential spot for bird enthusiasts and a fascinating place…
Bahías de Huatulco
This long, sandy beach, 14km west of Santa Cruz Huatulco, is backed by a fishing village, and in contrast to Huatulco's other settlements, there's…
Valles Centrales
If you like your pre-Hispanic Mexican ruins suitably ‘ruined’ and crowd-free without compromising on authenticity or spectacular setting, opt for Atzompa…
Centro de las Artes de San Agustín
Valles Centrales
Pretty San Agustín's large, early-20th-century textile mill has been superbly restored as the Centro de las Artes de San Agustín (CaSa), a spectacular…
Valles Centrales
Visitors flock to the village of El Tule to behold El Árbol del Tule, which is, by some counts, the fattest tree in the world. California's General…
Oaxaca City
Traffic-free, shaded by tall trees and surrounded by elegant portales (arcades), the Zócalo is the perfect place to start soaking up the Oaxaca atmosphere…
Puerto Ángel
The coast east of Puerto Ángel is dotted with small hidden beaches, none of them very busy on weekdays. Playa La Boquilla, on a gentle bay about 7.5km…
Bahías de Huatulco
The oddly named 'rabbit bay,' 3km east of Tangolunda, has a long main beach divided by a small rocky outcrop into the western Playa Arenas and the eastern…
Monte Albán
This structure combines an early (Monte Albán I) building, which contained famous carvings known as Danzantes (Dancers), with a later structure that was…
Templo y Ex Convento de San Pedro y San Pablo
Western Oaxaca
The church dominating San Pedro Teposcolula sports arguably the finest capilla abierta (open chapel) in Mexico, open to the elements on one side and…
Monte Albán
The North Platform is almost as big as the Gran Plaza, and affords the best views. It was rebuilt several times over the centuries. The 12 column bases at…
Bahías de Huatulco
Cacaluta is a 1km-long slice of paradise that's protected by an island, backed by dunes and usually deliciously deserted. The Mexican road-trip movie Y Tú…
Oaxaca City
A top-class museum, even by Oaxaca's high standards, showing off a wondrous collection of pre-Hispanic art donated by the city's most famous artist,…
Bahías de Huatulco
Three kilometers west of Santa Cruz and easily walkable along a roadside pavement, Maguey’s fine 400m beach curves around a calm bay between forested…
Oaxaca City
Historic, romantic, dignified and safe, wonderful Calle Alcalá (traffic-free since the 1980s) is what Oaxaca is all about. It runs north from the…
Monte Albán
The 40m-high South Platform, with its wide staircase, is the tallest in Monte Albán and is great for a panorama of the plaza and the surrounding mountains…
Valles Centrales
It was doña Rosa Real Mateo (1900−80) who invented the method of burnishing barro negro with quartz stones for the distinctive shine. Her family…
Bahías de Huatulco
One of Huatulco’s loveliest and most interesting day trips, this ‘agro-ecotourism’ operation includes a large organic fruit orchard and a gorgeous 500m…
Puerto Escondido
Casa Wabi, a sprawling artists' residency that occupies a wonderfully airy building designed by famed Japanese architect Tadao Ando, runs tours three…
Bahías de Huatulco
Inaccessible by land, Chachacual has two beaches: the easterly Playa La India is one of Huatulco’s most beautiful scimitars of sand and one of the area’s…
Oaxaca City
In a city of provocative graphic art, this workshop and gallery is a key agitator. Founded by the art collective Asaro (Asamblea de Artistas…
Oaxaca City
At the center of this gallery's workshop is an exceedingly rare 8-ton J Voirin lithography press, which prints both acrylics and woodcuts. Works on…
Bahías de Huatulco
La Entrega lies toward the outer edge of Bahía de Santa Cruz, a five-minute motorboat trip or 2.5km walk/drive along a bendy road from Santa Cruz. This…
Oaxaca City
In former monastic grounds behind the Templo de Santo Domingo, this garden features plants from around Oaxaca state, including a staggering variety of…
Valles Centrales
If you want photos of Zapotec ruins without hordes of tourists milling around in the background, Yagul is your kind of place. The ruins (known as 'Pueblo…
Valles Centrales
Standing by the highway in dusty Cuilapan, the Ex Convento Dominicano (aka Santiago Apóstol) with its pale 'green' stone walls seems almost to grow out of…
Valles Centrales
As far as Zapotec ruins go, Mogote is the oldest of the old. The site predates Monte Albán in its earliest incarnation. Indeed its inhabitants are thought…
Valles Centrales
Ancient Zaachila, rather like Mitla, was a post-Classic Zapotec city that took root after the demise of Monte Albán. It was later conquered by the Mixtecs…
Prehistoric Caves of Yagul & Mitla
Valles Centrales
Approaching Yagul from the main road, you can make out a large white rock painting of a person/deity/tree/sun on a cliff face on the Caballito Blanco rock…
Oaxaca City
Wander northwest of the historical core and you’ll ultimately encounter this arched aqueduct rendered in typical green cantera stone that runs the length…
