Muinaiset rauniot Oaxaca de Juárezissa

Oaxaca Ancient Ruins

Zapotec and Mixtec cities, tombs and ceremonial centres scattered across the Central Valleys, from the UNESCO-listed hilltop capital of Monte Albán to the carved stonework of Mitla and Yagul. Most sites lie within an hour of Oaxaca city.

DavidConFran / cc-by-sa-3.0

A

Monte Albán

Hilltop capital of the Zapotecs, laid out on a levelled ridge high above the Oaxaca valley and listed by UNESCO. Its Great Plaza, ball court, tombs and the arrow-shaped Building J are all within a short walk of each other.

DavidConFran / cc-by-sa-3.0

B

Mitla

Zapotec and Mixtec ceremonial centre famous for its intricate stone mosaic fretwork, which covers the walls of its palace groups. Still an active town, with a colonial church built over part of the ruins.

Jlrsousa / cc-by-sa-3.0

C

Yagul

Hilltop Zapotec city above the Tlacolula Valley, with a palace complex, a very large ball court and a fortress-like summit that gives wide views over the valley. Part of the UNESCO site that includes the Yagul and Mitla caves.

D

Atzompa

Quieter hilltop satellite of Monte Albán, with terraces, residential palaces and three ball courts, one of them the largest in the area. Much less visited than Monte Albán, and a good pairing with it.

Lsalgador82 / cc-by-sa-3.0

E

Dainzú

Zapotec site on a hillside near Tlacolula, known for a gallery of carved stone slabs showing ball players. A small, uncrowded stop on the way to Mitla.

Ivanpares / pd

F

Lambityeco

Small Zapotec site of the Late Classic period, best known for two tombs decorated with stucco friezes and the masks of the rain god Cocijo. Easy to combine with a visit to Mitla or Yagul.

Abdeel Yañez Quintanar / cc-by-sa-3.0

G

Cuilapan Monastery

Sixteenth-century Dominican convent south-west of Oaxaca city, whose vast unfinished basilica stands open to the sky among its colonnades. Atmospheric ruins with a colonial rather than pre-Hispanic history.