Prehistoric Caves of Yagul & Mitla


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 outcrop to your right. This is the most obvious feature of the Unesco World Heritage site, the Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla, which stretches about 6km east from here.

Caves here have yielded evidence of the earliest plant domestication in North America, about 10,000 years ago, and other valuable details about the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture over a period of several thousand years.

The Unesco-protected caves are difficult to visit independently. Your best bet is to hook up with Tierraventura on a day-tour to the important Guilá Naquitz cave (M$1500 per person). The trip includes a three-hour hike.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Yagul Ruins

1.64 MILES

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…

2. Santa María de la Asunción

3.51 MILES

Tlacolula's main church is notable for its ornate baroque side-chapel, known colloquially as the Capilla de la Plata (Silver Chapel), a dazzling riot of…

3. Museo Comunitario Shan-Dany

4.32 MILES

This is a good little community museum in the village of Santa Ana del Valle, 33km southeast of central Oaxaca, with exhibits on local textiles, history,…

4. Zona Arqueológica de Mitla

4.64 MILES

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…

5. El Rey de Matatlán

7.34 MILES

A popular place to taste and buy artisan mezcal right next to the fields where they grow the agave. Granted, it's a hot spot on the tour-bus circuit (if…

8. Iglesia Preciosa Sangre de Cristo

8.29 MILES

From the plaza, steps rise to this handsome 17th-century church with a fine broad churchyard and colorful 18th-century frescoes inside. It was built atop…