Oaxaca State, southern Mexico · Mexico
Mexico's food and craft capital: seven moles, mezcal, indigenous markets, a baroque city and the Zapotec ruins of Monte Albán above it.
Photo: Roman Bonnefoy ( Romanceor [parlons-en]) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Oaxaca sits in a high valley in southern Mexico, where the Zapotec and Mixtec civilisations flourished for two thousand years before the Spaniards arrived. About a third of the state's people still speak an indigenous language, and the city's markets, craft villages and cooking reflect a living culture that is more visible than almost anywhere else in Mexico.
The historic centre and the ruins of Monte Albán are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The centre is a grid of low, colourful colonial buildings in green volcanic stone, with a baroque church, Santo Domingo, and its former convent, now a museum, at its heart. Around the Zócalo, cafés and mezcal bars fill the arcades in the evening.
Oaxaca is above all a food city. It claims seven classic moles, quesillo string cheese, tlayudas, chapulines (grasshoppers), chocolate and the mezcal of the surrounding villages. A day here can revolve around a market breakfast, a cooking class and a long dinner, and the valleys around the city offer ruins, waterfalls and weaving villages.
Why visit
Oaxaca is the most rewarding city in Mexico for food, craft and living indigenous culture.
Moles, tlayudas, memelas, tamales and chocolate made and eaten as they have been for centuries.
Small producers in the valleys distil mezcal from wild and cultivated agave using traditional methods, and tastings are easy to arrange.
Black pottery, alebrijes, woven rugs and embroidered clothing are made in villages a short drive from the city.
Monte Albán, Mitla and Yagul show a civilisation that flourished from about 500 BCE.
Oaxaca's celebration of 1–2 November, with altars, cemetery vigils and parades, is one of the most vivid in the country.
Main attractions
The centre is compact, and the valleys around it fill several more days.
The main square is shaded by laurel trees and lined with arcaded cafés. It comes alive in the evening with musicians, vendors and families.
Tip Have a drink at an arcade table and watch the evening unfold.
A gilded baroque church, with an intricate interior, and its adjoining monastery, which houses the Museum of the Cultures of Oaxaca and a botanical garden.
Tip Visit the museum for the Monte Albán tomb 7 treasure.
A Zapotec capital on a levelled mountaintop above the city, with a great plaza, pyramids, an observatory and carved stones. It was occupied from about 500 BCE to 800 CE.
Tip Go at opening, and take a guide or read up first.
The Benito Juárez and 20 de Noviembre markets are the place for smoked meat, mole pastes, chocolate, cheese and mezcal. The Tlacolula market, on Sundays, is one of the largest in the region.
Tip Try tlayudas and the smoke-grill corridor in 20 de Noviembre.
Petrified waterfalls of mineral formation on a mountain edge, with natural infinity pools and views over the valley. About 90 minutes from the city.
Tip Combine with Mitla.
A religious centre with intricate geometric stone mosaics on its palaces, and the nearby ruins of Yagul.
Tip Visit on the way to Hierve el Agua.
San Bartolo Coyotepec (black pottery), Teotitlán del Valle (wool rugs), and San Martín Tilcajete and Arrazola (alebrijes, painted wooden animals).
Tip Buy directly from the makers.
Things to do
Oaxaca is a city for eating slowly and learning how things are made.
Start at a market, buy ingredients and learn to make mole, salsas and tortillas.
Tip Book a day ahead.
See agave roasted in earthen pits, crushed by stone wheel and distilled in clay or copper stills, and taste the results.
Tip Go with a guide, and do not drink and drive.
Watch weavers, potters and carvers at work in family workshops around the valley.
Tip Hire a driver for the day.
Breakfast on tamales and atole, lunch on tlayudas, and dinner at a market grill.
Tip Go before noon for the best selection.
Cemetery vigils, altars, parades and comparsas fill the city in the days around 1 and 2 November.
Tip Book accommodation months ahead, and be respectful.
A pedestrian street of galleries, shops and cafés from the Zócalo to Santo Domingo.
Tip Go in the evening.
Local food
Oaxaca is the culinary capital of Mexico. Its food is built on corn, beans, chiles, chocolate and cheese, with dishes that differ from village to village.
Rich sauces of chiles, spices, seeds, chocolate and fruit. Mole negro is the most famous, but the others include coloradito, amarillo, verde, chichilo, rojo and manchamanteles.
Where to try it Restaurants and market stalls.
Large, crisp tortillas topped with beans, quesillo, tasajo and salsa, grilled over charcoal.
Where to try it Street stalls, particularly at night.
Oaxaca's string cheese, wound into balls, and thick corn tortillas with beans and cheese.
Where to try it Markets.
Toasted grasshoppers seasoned with chile, lime and garlic, sold by the scoop in the markets.
Where to try it Markets and street stalls.
Ground with sugar, cinnamon and almonds and served as a hot drink, often with bread.
Where to try it Chocolate mills near the market.
Distilled from agave, with smoky and complex flavours, served neat with orange and worm salt.
Where to try it Bars and tasting rooms in the centre.
Accommodation
Stay in the historic centre, in a restored colonial house with a courtyard, so that you can walk everywhere.
Transport
Oaxaca is 460 km from Mexico City by road, and flights are the easiest way.
The centre is walkable, and taxis, colectivos and tours cover the valleys.
When to go
Oaxaca sits at 1,550 m and has a mild climate, with a wet season from June to September. The dry months are the most comfortable.
Dry and sunny, with cool nights. The best time, and the high season.
Warm to hot, with the first rains.
Green, with afternoon showers. Quiet and cheaper. The Guelaguetza festival in July draws crowds.
Clear and pleasant. Día de Muertos makes early November the busiest time.
Worth planning around: Día de Muertos and the Guelaguetza in July if you want quiet, and Semana Santa.
Itinerary
The centre and markets on the first day, Monte Albán and a cooking class on the second, the valleys on the third.
Old streets and market food.
Ruins and food.
Villages and ruins.
Travel tips
Oaxaca is easy and friendly, and a few tips help.
FAQ
Three to four for the city and Monte Albán, and a few more to include the valleys and a cooking class.
The city and the main tourist sites are generally safe for visitors, though protests and road blockades can occur in the state. Check your government's advice and local news.
A spirit distilled from agave, often from a smoky, earth-roasted heart. Oaxaca produces most of Mexico's mezcal, and tequila is a type of mezcal made only from blue agave.
A festival of indigenous dance and music held on two Mondays in July, at the Cerro del Fortín amphitheatre. Book well ahead.
By taxi, tour or the local bus from the city centre, about 20–30 minutes.
November to April for dry weather, though the summer green season is quiet and pleasant.
Keep exploring
Places that pair well with Oaxaca, whether you have a few spare days or are building a longer route.
Ciudad de México, central Mexico, Mexico
One of the great cities of the world: Aztec ruins beside a baroque cathedral, Frida Kahlo's house, leafy Roma and Condesa, and a food scene that runs from street stalls to global fine dining.
Don't miss The National Museum of Anthropology and, after it, a plate of tacos al pastor at midnight.
Explore Destination — Mexico CityPuebla State, central highlands, Mexico
A UNESCO-listed colonial city of tiled facades, cathedrals and convent kitchens, with the giant pyramid of Cholula, volcanoes and one of Mexico's great cuisines, two hours from the capital.
Don't miss Sunset from the church on the Great Pyramid of Cholula, with the volcanoes Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl on the horizon.
Explore Destination — Puebla & CholulaChiapas State, south-eastern Mexico, Mexico
Mexico's deep south: Palenque's sculpted Maya city in the jungle, the waterfalls of Agua Azul, the Sumidero Canyon and San Cristóbal de las Casas, a colourful highland town with living Tzotzil and Tzeltal Maya culture.
Don't miss The Temple of the Inscriptions rising out of the rainforest at Palenque, with howler monkeys calling in the mist.
Explore Destination — Chiapas: Palenque & San CristóbalRead next
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