Things to do in Valles Centrales
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Zona Arqueológica
Behind the village church overlooking the main plaza, a sign indicates the entrance to Zaachila’s Zona Arqueológica, a small assortment of mounds where you can enter two small tombs used by the ancient Mixtecs. Tumba 1 retains sculptures of owls, a turtle-man figure and various long-nosed skull-like masks. Tumba 2 has no decoration, but in it was found a Mixtec treasure hoard that’s now in the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City. When Mexican archaeologists first tried to excavate these tombs in the 1940s and 1950s, they were run off by irate Zaachilans. The tombs were finally excavated under armed guard in 1962. You can see photos of some of the objects that…
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Centro de las Artes de San Agustín
Pretty San Agustín's large, early-20th-century textile mill has been superbly restored as the Centro de las Artes de San Agustín, a spectacular arts center with two long, large halls. The lower hall is used as a gallery for often wonderful craft or art exhibitions; the upper one is a setting for concerts, conferences and other events. The center also hosts courses and workshops in a great variety of arts and crafts. Pools surrounding the building are part of a gravity-powered water system that cools the roof and also supplies a paper-making workshop down the hill.
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Museo Comunitario Shan-Dany
The Museo Comunitario Shan-Dany is a good little community museum, with exhibits on local textiles, history, archaeology (it has some fine pre-Hispanic ceramic pieces), and the Zapotec Danza de las Plumas, which is danced in Santa Ana during the Fiesta de Esquipulas (January 12−14), on July 26 and during the Fiesta de Santa Ana (August 11−13), usually around noon. The museum is a good place to ask about textile workshops that you can visit.
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Museo Comunitario Ex-Hacienda El Cacique
The Museo Comunitario Ex-Hacienda El Cacique is in the former landowner’s hacienda next to the primary school. The museum has interesting material on the villagers’ 20th-century struggle for land ownership; an archaeological highlight is ‘El Diablo Enchilado,’ a pre-Hispanic brazier in the form of a bright-red grimacing face. If you find the museum closed, ask anyone to point your way to the nearby house of the encargado (keeper).
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Ruins
The ruins date mostly from the final two or three centuries before the Spanish conquest. At this time Mitla was probably the most important of the Zapotec religious centers, dominated by high priests who performed heart-wrenching human sacrifices. It’s thought that each group of buildings we see at Mitla was reserved for specific occupants – one for the high priest, one for lesser priests, one for the king and so forth.
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Mineral Springs
At Hierve El Agua, 13km southeast of Mitla, bubbling mineral springs run into bathing pools with a dramatic cliff-top location and expansive panoramas. Hierve El Agua means ‘the Water Boils,’ but the mineral-laden water is actually cold. Water dribbling over the cliff edge for millennia has created mineral formations that look like huge frozen waterfalls. Altogether the pools here make for a unique bathing experience.
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Monte Albán
The ancient Zapotec capital of Monte Albán stands on a flattened hilltop 400m above the valley floor, just a few kilometers west of Oaxaca. It’s one of the most impressive ancient sites in Mexico, with the most spectacular 360-degree views. This strategic position was doubtless one of the reasons why the ancient Zapotecs chose this site for their capital. Its name, Monte Albán, means White Mountain.
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Museo Comunitario Balaa Xtee Guech Gulal
Facing the Mercado de Artesanías on the central plaza is the Museo Comunitario Balaa Xtee Guech Gulal, with local archaeological finds and displays on local crafts and traditions (in English as well as Spanish and Zapotec). Here, with a day’s notice, you can organize a guided walk up Cerro de Picacho, a sacred hill just outside the village, for M$10 per person.
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Restaurant Doña Chica
Less than 100m from la cuchilla, bright and elegantly decorated Doña Chica serves straightforward, delicious Oaxacan dishes like moles, enchiladas and tasajo from an open kitchen. Good soups, antojitos, and salads cost M$35 to M$55, rounding out the careful menu. The restaurant also makes its own quality mezcal.
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Templo de la Virgen de la Natividad
The handsome 17th-century Templo de la Virgen de la Natividad’s altar area and transept are adorned with colorful 18th-century frescoes. It was built atop a Zapotec ceremonial site, many of whose carved stones can be seen in the church walls; look especially in the inner patio.
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Yagul Ruins
The Yagul ruins are finely sited on a cactus-covered hill, about 1.5km north of the Oaxaca−Mitla road. The signposted turnoff is 34km from Oaxaca. Unless you have a vehicle you’ll have to walk the 1.5km, though caution is advised on this isolated road.
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Ex-Convento Dominicano
Cuilapan, 9km southwest of Oaxaca, is one of the few Mixtec towns in the Valles Centrales. It’s the site of a beautiful, historic Dominican monastery, the Ex-Convento Dominicano, whose pale stone seems almost to grow out of the land.
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Restaurante Tlamanalli
The traditional Oaxacan dishes here are superb. Some of them are based on pre-Hispanic recipes, and vegetarian options are offered. Exhibits on weaving add to the interest of lunching here.
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