Exploring around Oaxaca

The city is nice and all, but what is there to explore outside of Oaxaca de Juarez?

I already shared a post about Monte Alban, the ancient Zapotec Ruins that lie 9.5 kilometres southeast of the city. I set that aside as it's own post simply because of the plethora of photos. I'll try to curate them more in this post.

The Tule Tree

18 kilometres south is the town of El Tule, home to the Tule tree.

'Tule' is Zapotec (native) for 'cattail' or 'reed', a thriving plant in the swamp that the town was built on, thus the name. It's a little confusing because the Tule Tree is a cypress tree named after the town which is named after a reed.

This impressive giant is known as the widest tree in the world (not the tallest), growing to a diameter of 42 metres (137.8 ft) in it's 2,000 years of life.

It's also just a very cute town to walk around in.

Mitla

Mitla is the sight of more archeological ruins, also Zapotec. This is where the people came when they abandoned Monte Alban.

This town is a good place to go to see architecture from multiple periods. From ancient ruins, to colonial churches to more modern houses.

Hierve el Agua

Also known as the Petrified Waterfalls, this is possibly the most popular attraction around Oaxaca. It is a bit of a drive 68 kilometres west of the city.

Hierve el Agua (translated: The Boiling Water) is not at all hot. The boiling action occurs because of all the minerals in the water interacting with each other and other sciencey stuff. The minerals are also what has solidified as the water cascades over the side of the cliff to create the waterfall-carved-in-stone effect.

Over time the area has been manipulated (by humans) to form swimming pools which is the biggest draw to this attraction. Come swim in the mineral waters and heal all your woes and aching joints! Not to mention the great views.

As you can see, we didn't just hide in our hostel room and avoid all the late night Dia de los Muertos parties going on upstairs... although we did do that too.