Oaxaca is Mexico’s most beautiful colonial city and indigenous cultural capital — a place where the streets smell of mole negro and copal incense on the way to Zapotec mountaintop pyramids 2,500 years old. This companion post accompanies a real oaxaca walking tour filmed in 4K, the video Oaxaca | MEXICO — BETTER THAN CHICHEN ITZA (Monte Alban Pyramids full Tour), which covers both Oaxaca city and the extraordinary Monte Albán archaeological site — the creator’s provocative comparison suggests Monte Albán rivals the more famous Chichén Itzá as an archaeological experience.

About This Walking Tour

This Oaxaca travel guide covers both the city and the Monte Albán site, walking through Oaxaca’s streets and exploring the Zapotec pyramids. The video covers Monte Albán — the Zapotec capital built on an artificially flattened mountaintop from around 500 BC, covering 20 hectares at the summit of a hill rising 400 metres from the Valley of Oaxaca floor. The Great Plaza, observatory, ball court, temples, and pyramid structures are all visible from the hilltop complex, with panoramic views of the surrounding valleys.

In Oaxaca city itself, the walk covers the Zócalo with its colonial cathedral in the distinctive Oaxacan green cantera stone, the extraordinary interior of the Santo Domingo Church (1570, its gilded Baroque interior considered one of the finest in Mexico), the Mercado Benito Juárez and Mercado 20 de Noviembre (where tlayudas are cooked on clay comales and grasshopper tacos are a regional delicacy), and the pedestrian streets lined with mezcal bars and chocolate shops that have made Oaxaca Mexico’s most celebrated food destination.

Highlights of Oaxaca

The Santo Domingo Church and Cultural Centre complex is the visual heart of Oaxaca city — the church (completed 1608) has a gilded Baroque interior of extraordinary extravagance, with the Genealogical Tree of the Dominican Order depicted in polychrome relief on the barrel vault above the entrance. The adjacent former convent now houses the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, whose pre-Columbian collection includes Mixtec gold jewelry from Monte Albán’s Tomb 7 — some of the finest ancient goldwork in the Americas.

Monte Albán was established around 500 BC when three independent valleys were unified and their populations joined to build a new capital on an artificially levelled mountaintop — one of the first urban centres in Mesoamerica. At its peak (200–700 AD) the city had a population of approximately 35,000 and was the largest city in the region. The site covers over 40 km² of ridgelines, terraces, and residential areas, with the 3-hectare Great Plaza at the summit containing the main ceremonial buildings. The observatory building (Structure J, 200 BC) was oriented to track certain astronomical events. Oaxaca’s mezcal production, protected by Denomination of Origin, accounts for 85% of Mexico’s total mezcal; the state grows dozens of agave varieties, each producing a distinctly different spirit.

A Brief History of Oaxaca

Monte Albán was founded around 500 BC by the Zapotec people and remained occupied for approximately 1,200 years before being abandoned around 700 AD. The Mixtec people subsequently used Monte Albán as a burial site for their own elite. The Spanish founded Antequera (now Oaxaca city) in 1529 on the valley floor below Monte Albán. Oaxaca’s distinctive green stone architecture and remarkable series of colonial churches and monasteries date from the 16th to 18th centuries.

Benito Juárez, Mexico’s first indigenous president (1858–1872) and the statesman who resisted the French intervention under Maximilian, was born in a Zapotec village near Oaxaca — he is celebrated throughout the state. Oaxaca’s Día de los Muertos celebrations, where Zapotec and Catholic traditions fuse in the cemetery rituals, are the most elaborate in Mexico and were the inspiration for the Pixar film Coco. The mezcal industry has seen explosive global growth since 2010, with Oaxacan distillers receiving international recognition.

Practical Tips

Mexico’s currency is the Mexican peso (MXN). Spanish is the official language; Zapotec and Mixtec languages are widely spoken in indigenous communities. Xoxocotlán Airport is 9 km from Oaxaca city; ADO buses from Mexico City take approximately 6 hours. Monte Albán is 10 km from the city centre — minibus services run regularly from the second-class bus terminal. The city is compact and entirely walkable. Altitude is approximately 1,550 metres — higher than Mexico City.

Best Time to Visit

October 31–November 2 for Día de los Muertos — the cemetery and street celebrations in Oaxaca are the most elaborate in Mexico. December through February for the dry season. July for the Guelaguetza festival — a spectacular gathering of Oaxacan indigenous communities performing traditional dances at the hillside amphitheatre above the city. Monte Albán is best visited in the early morning before heat builds on the exposed hilltop.

Watch & Explore More

Watch the Oaxaca and Monte Albán tour above to explore Mexico’s finest combination of colonial city and pre-Columbian archaeology. For more Mexican city walks, see Mexico City: Zócalo to Coyoacán. Subscribe to @walkingtoursvideoscom for walking tours from cities on every continent.