Explore the Oaxaca Valley!
These are the best and most popular day trips and excursions in the area surrounding Oaxaca City, or the Oaxaca Valley (sometimes referred to as the Central Valley). If you don’t have a car, you can access these sights with a tour bus, taxi or colectivo. Check out our Oaxaca 101 page for more info on transport.
Pro Tip: of the listed day trips here are the ones that are in the same direction out of town:
WEST – Monte Alban – Atzompa
SOUTH – Coyotepec – Tilcajete
EAST – Mezcal Tasting – Teotitlan – Tlacolula – Tule
FARTHER EAST – Hierve el Agua – Mitla
Monte Alban
The biggest, most well-known ruins in Oaxaca
Monte Alban is a large and active archaeological site perched on a hill overlooking the valley with Oaxaca City in the distance. The ancient city was the capital of the region. You can walk all around and up several sets of giant steps for a top down view of the ruins. A guide is recommended because the signage is minimal. This is a great add-on if you love ancient ruins and history.
Hierve el Agua
Rock formations, spring-fed pools and an epic view
Bring a swim suit! Up in the mountains east of Oaxaca is a tiny town with a beautiful park. Hierve el Agua is famous for its rock formations that look like frozen waterfalls. There are several spring-fed pools at the top of the cliff overlooking the countryside and yes, you can swim.
Mitla
Well preserved ruins important to the Zapotec people
Visiting the Mitla ruins is a much different experience from Monte Alban. Rather than a bustling city, Mitla is a small site built as a burial ground – the name Mitla translates as Place of the Dead. It’s popular for its well-preserved intricate stone work and mosaics. The town of Mitla is cute and worth a short walk around.
Mezcal Tasting in the Valley
Learn How To Make Mezcal and Get a Little Toasty
Disclaimer: We did not do a mezcal tour, we only watched one on Netflix. Lincoln doesn’t drink and I’m a lightweight so it didn’t really seem worth it, ya know? Trying to convince friends to meet us in Oaxaca next time so I’ll have details to share.
However, we did drive through what I’m gonna call ‘Agave Country’ several times and saw the gorgeous tasting rooms and fields of baby mezcal. It’s all Napa vibes and looks really fun, plus some of the tours have you driving around in what looks like a giant barrel on wheels.
Teotitlan/Coyotepec/Atzompa/Tilcajete
The artisan villages of the Oaxaca Valley
If you want more of the artisan side of Oaxaca, take a day trip to a couple artist villages. This is your chance for a unique experience meeting with generations of makers and scoring an incredible souvenir (or 5 or 6). Below is the village and what they specialize in.
Teotitlan – Traditional textile design, rugs, tapestries, naturally dyed wool, weaving demostrations
Coyotepec – Pottery and a famous black pottery, in particular
Atzompa – Also pottery, specializing in a green glaze, but also with really creative (bizarre) designs
Tilcajete – Famous for hand painted alebrijes, or colorful surrealist carved animals
Tlacolula Market
The biggest indigenous peoples market in Oaxaca
This is my favorite market experience in the Oaxaca Valley. The food is great, the town is cute and it very much feels like you’re interacting with the people and families responsible for the goods – farmers rather than resellers. I wrote more about the Sunday Tlacolula Market in our Oaxaca Market Guide.
Important: SUNDAY only so plan accordingly!
The Tule Tree
The widest tree in the world
Tule is a tiny town on the edge of Oaxaca and home to the world’s largest tree trunk. The Tule Tree is estimated to be about 1600 years old which would make it a sapling while Monte Alban was being built.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend a separate trip to Tule if you’re only in Oaxaca for a week, but you might swing through on your way back from any of these spots east of Oaxaca: Hierve el Agua, Mitla, Teotitlan or Tlacolula. Tule is also easily accessible via the bike path through Oaxaca that follows Av. Ferrocarril.