DAY TOUR SIGHTS: Southeast Highway 190 Mitla corridor
Starting from farthest point, Mitla, 27 miles / 44 km on a two lane paved highway that is part of the Pan American Highway. Because Mitla is lower and hotter than Oaxaca, I recommend driving out there and seeing Mitla before it gets hit. There’s little shade.
Mitla, splendid Zapotec archaeological site is unique for its “elaborate and intricate mosaic fretwork and geometric designs that cover tombs, panels, friezes and even entire walls. These mosaics are made with small, finely cut and polished stone pieces which have been fitted together without the use of mortar. No other site in Mexico has this.”
The town has weaving and other shops, but I recommend you wait to buy until you visit Teotitlán del Valle.
Yagul archaeological center and prehistoric caves, 22 mi / 36 km from Oaxaca dates back to nearby cliff paintings from 3,000 BC. ”Yagul was first occupied around 500-100 BC. Around 500-700 AD, residential, civic and ceremonial structures were built at the site. However, most of the visible remains date to 1250-1521 AD, when the site functioned as the capital of a Postclassic city-state.“
Dainzú is a small but interesting archaeological site 20 mi / 32 km from Oaxaca.
Link
Tlacolula, known for its amazing and sprawling market - particularly on Sundays. 18 mi / 30 km from Oaxaca. The market is one of the oldest of Mesoamerican markets. Lots of produce and even services. I’ve seen a dentist with a foot pedal,operated drill, a massage healer (who traded services with a chiropractor friend visiting from Australia), traditional herbalists, etc.
Nearby
Mezcal tasting. (Tequila is distilled from the Blue Agave, Agave tequilana Webber, in Jalisco. Mezcal is distilled from other species of Agave century plants, and can be very fine to rough, and can be flavored to make tasty liquors. You’ll see the signs, and it’s worth a stop. Santiago Matatlán, halfway between Tlacolula and the Teotilán junction, produces over 95% of mezcal consumed in Mexico. El Rey de Matatlán mezcal distillery and tasting at the road junction into Teotitlán.
Teotitlán del Valle, reached by a short paved spur east of the highway, is a Zapotec town that specializes in weaving wool by traditional methods, as well as dyeing and weaving wall hangings, rugs, clothing items, etc. Uf you’re a weaver, come spend the day. Go to one of the traditional weaving Gutierrez, Mendoza families or the Vida Nueva Women’s Weaving Cooperative, where you might see dyeing with natural substances including walnut, bugambilia, añil (indigo), cochineal (the scarlet dye used by the British redcoats), Purpura patula (related to the Mediterranean royal purple), etc. See photo of Porfirio Santiago below.
Link.
For lunch try “Restaurant Tlamanalli, Av. Juárez 39 (tel. 951/524-4006), run by three Zapotec sisters who serve Oaxacan cuisine. Its reputation attracts lots of foreigners. It's on the right on the main street as you approach the main part of town, in a red brick building with black wrought-iron window covers. It's open Monday through Friday from 1 to 4pm. A bit farther on, there's another nice restaurant on the left where the main street intersects with the town center.” - Frommer
El Tule, close to (9 km / 6 mi) Oaxaca, is unmissable in the church grounds in the town center of Santa María del Tule, a colossal 2409-1600 year old ahuehuete (Montezuma cypress, ) tree, the tree with the greatest girth in all the world.
You’re back in Oaxaca, having made a memorable one day tour.
Other possibilities you can add to this trip:
Hierve el Agua “mineral waterfalls” past Mitla on the unpaved road to San Lorenzo Albarradas. Probably best to ignore this site in rainy season.