Although difficult to spell, Oaxaca is easy to love with its feast for the senses. With Spanish colonial traditions, it is an architectural gem, filled with fantastic museums, regular celebratory festivals, handmade artesanal products and art, and baroque churches. Most importantly, it is revered as the culinary capital of Mexico, offering everything from inexpensive markets to elegant five-star restaurants. Enjoy cooking classes, visit a palenque to learn how to make mezcal, and discover ancient ruins, all with plenty of time left over to independently explore the city.
Schedule
Itinerary subject to change
Day 1: Arrive + Welcome dinner
Day 2: Downtown exploration + Ethnobotanical Garden
In the early 1990's when the mexican military moved out of the 16th-century santo domingo monastery complex, artists and intellectuals of Oaxaca proposed to make the space into a botanic garden - or more precisely, an ethnobotanic garden to show the “interaction between plants and people.” Today, this garden tells the area's history through ecological and cultural themes.
Day 3: Monte Albán + Hierve el Agua*
The Monte Albán ancient ruins were built for the Zapotec and mixtec culture, and was constructed in the 8th century BCE. It contains plazas, pyramids, a grand court, underground passageways, and about 170 tombs. First discover history, then cool off with a refreshing mezcal margarita while touring a local farm.
Hierve el Agua (Spanish for “the water boils”) is a set of natural rock formations that resemble cascades of water. With the high mineral content, the waters are thought to have healing qualities.
*As of July 2021, Hierve el Agua remains closed due to Covid, so schedule is subject to change.
Day 4: Cooking class with Casa Crespo + Market tour with Chef Oscar Carrizosa
Chef Oscar Carrizosa mixes the ingredients of the 16 ethnicities of Oaxaca to create the flavors and aromas of Oaxacan food. Before diving into the kitchen, take a tour of the local market and sip delicious coffee or hot chocolate, both native to the Oaxaca region.
Day 5: Day trip to Teotitlán del Valle + Taller Jacobo y María Angeles
Teotitlán del Valle is where some of the best weavers reside in Mexico. It has been said that the great amount of biodiversity in the area has created the biggest variety of fibers and dyes in all of Mexico.
Alebrijes are small, wooden animals that keep the indigenous culture of Oaxaca alive. They are made using natural colors, copal wood, and draw inspiration from pre-Hispanic Zapotec indigenous culture to create various patterns.
Day 6: Free time/day
Day 7: Depart
Feeling the Oaxaca experience?
This experience includes:
Roundtrip airport transportation
All breakfasts, one lunch, welcome dinner
6 nights private or shared accommodation
Entrance to Ethnobotanical Garden
Cooking class & market tour
All day trips and activities
Transportation to all excursions
Accommodations
Casa del Sótano
King Comfort // King bed, wifi, private bathroom, safe for belongings, ceiling fan.
Santa Standard // Queen bed, wifi, private bathroom, safe for belongings, ceiling fan.
Double // Double room (two queen beds), wifi, private bathroom, safe for belongings, ceiling fan.
