Santo Domingo

Most important cultural center built in the XVI century. Cultural museum and temple. Located next to the Santo Domingo Ex-Convent and Cultural Center is the Santo Domingo de Guzmán Church. The exterior faces a large esplanade planted with row upon row of an unusual desert succulents, around and through which area run wide walkways. It is located on the corner of Alcalá and Cinco de Mayo Streets in Oaxaca City.

Seat of the Dominican Order in Oaxaca since the 16th century, the Temple and ex-convent of Santo Domingo form a stately and imposing complex of amazing beauty and interest.

Walking into the Church, one is struck in awe by a dazzling display of baroque ornamentation, gilded plaster, towering columns and intricate paintings and reliefs on every side.Above, the ceilings are a wonderful, tangled tree of saints and miscellaneous personages.

The Chapel of the Rosary, dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary is another astounding exhibit of elaborate, resplendent decor. Completed in 1731 after about 7 years of construction, its gilded plaster, shining columns and arches, paintings, mouldings and embellishments seem to carry on a constant dance of divine movement.

Contemporary Museum

Known as "House of Cortez", built in XVIII century.

Pre Hispanic Museum

More than 800 pieces of art and culture from the Pre-Hispanic age, private collection of Rufino Tamayo.

Santa Maria El Tule

The Tule Tree, one of the biggest & older tree in the world.

At over 2000 years old, the 'Tule tree' (arbol del Tule) is amongst the oldest living trees in the world. With 10 meter diameter trunk it is also considered by many to be the broadest tree in the World. The appearance of the massive tree is that of multiple trunks fused together. Recent DNA tests, however, suggest that it is in fact a single individual tree!

The circumference of the trunk is an amazing 54 meters.Various contortions of the trunk give the appearance of the faces of goblins and monsters. In fact, if you visit you will be offered a tour of the tree by local school children (an official project) who will show you all manner of creatures hiding in the tree, including elephants and jaguars! If you click on the images on this page you'll see some of the spooky figures trapped in the tree. This great ahuehuete (Montezuma cypress) specimen is still alive and growing, as can be seen by the dense foliage reaching 43 meters into the sky!

Mitla

Arqueological zone where the Mixteco - Zapoteco tribes use to live. Mila is the second most important ceremonial center, after Monte Alban, and a massive burial center built by the Zapotecs. Mitla means "Place of the Dead". The most characteristic architecture is the group of columns at the Great house of Pezalao. The great Hall of Columns, where you will find the Columna de la vida (column of life), is rectangular. According to legend you can tell how many years you have left in your life by embracing the column and calculating the space left between your outstretched hands. The more beautiful tombs are located in the northern and eastern buildings where the higher classes are buried.

Hierve el Agua

Amazing petrified waterfalls. Hierve el Agua is a natural warm spring which contains air trying to escape, hence the name which means "the water boils". The water is also full of minerals, so as it runs off of the edge of the nearby cliff, calcium carbonate and magnesium in the water create a petrified waterfall, and the sulphur ads nice yellow accents in places. There are only two such sites in the world, the other one is in Turkey. Archaeological evidence suggests that these springs were first used about 2,400 years ago. The early inhabitants constructed wells approximately every three meters along canals used for watering terraced crops. The springs continue to flow through the ancient canals at a rate of 2 liters of water per second in the dry winter months, and more in the summer.

Monte Alban

The archeological site of Monte Alban was discovered by the Mexican archeologist Alfons Caso in 1932, and the find was comparable to Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankamun tomb in Egypt. It is located in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. The site is approximately 10 km away from Oaxaca City, and about 1948 meters above sea level on the top of a mountain. Monte Alban itself is 40 square kilometers, but the most impressive ruins are the nine main buildings located in the center of the great plaza.

Monte Alban, the ancient capital of the Zapotecs, was believed to be built by the Zapotecs as early as 500 B.C., and was one of the first cities in Mesoamerica. At its height, Monte Alban had approximately 40,000 people living on the site. During this time Monte Alban exercised political, economic, and ideological control over the other communities and surrounding mountains. The downfall of Monte Alban occurred about 750 A.D.. Monte Alban was believed to be inhabited by the Mixtec, Olmec, and Aztec cultures as well as the Zapotecs.

The Great plaza of Monte Alban includes nine main buildings, many of which are currently being reconstructed due to earthquake damage. The Ball court is right at the left entrance of the great plaza