This guide is for you if you have a morning or an afternoon free in Oaxaca and want the old city and the giant cypress of Santa María del Tule in one go. It helps you pick the start time and the day of the week, and tells you which dates change the centre around you.
What you are looking at
The old centre of Oaxaca and the ruins of Monte Albán share a single UNESCO World Heritage listing, inscribed in 1987. The Spanish founded the city in 1529 as Antequera, in a valley where Zapotec people already lived, and laid it out as a grid of square blocks around a central plaza with arcades on all four sides. The Zócalo is that plaza. The valley is highly seismic, which is why the buildings are low and the walls are thick. Look at the doorways as you walk: the depth of the stone tells you how the town was built to stay up.
The tree is an ahuehuete, Taxodium mucronatum, a cypress thought to be around 2,000 years old. Its trunk has been measured at 14.35 metres across and 45 metres round. It would take about thirty people with arms outstretched to circle it. A tree that size needs a great deal of water, and it lives off a water table some thirty metres below its roots. Signs in Spanish, English and German ask you not to pull at the branches. The churchyard charges a small fee at the gate, which you pay there.
Look closely at the bark. Over the years people have picked out shapes in the folds of the trunk, among them animal heads, an elephant and a crocodile.
Morning or afternoon
You can start at 07:00 or 13:00. The choice mostly comes down to Santo Domingo, the last stop. The former Dominican monastery beside the church is now the Museum of the Cultures of Oaxaca, which opens Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 to 16:00, and is closed on Sundays and Mondays. On those days we spend longer in the markets and at the church instead.
On the 07:00 start we reach Santo Domingo after the museum opens. On the 13:00 start it closes about when you arrive, so if you want to go in, tell your driver and the order changes with you. Hours can change, so check the INAH site the week you travel.
The museum is worth planning for. Room III holds the treasure of Tomb 7 at Monte Albán, uncovered by the archaeologist Alfonso Caso on 9 January 1932: gold, silver, turquoise, obsidian and rock crystal, with a skull covered in turquoise mosaic and goblets cut from crystal. Other rooms cover the Zapotec and Mixtec kingdoms, colonial art and the years of Benito Juárez, whose desk and chair are on show. The entrance is not included; you pay at the door. Flash, food and smoking are not allowed inside.
The building has its own story. The Dominicans began it in 1575 and finished the last stage in 1731. During the wars of Independence and the Reform the cloister served as a barracks. The museum moved in during 1972 and reopened under its present name in 1998, after a long restoration. The ethnobotanical garden behind it belongs to the same complex.
Dates that change the centre
Three times of year, the city around you is not the same city.
- The Guelaguetza, in July. The two Mondays on the hill are held at the Guelaguetza auditorium on the Cerro del Fortín, with a morning and an afternoon performance; the dates are set each year, so check them for your trip. Delegations from the regions of the state dance in the costume of their communities. Some boxes are sold in advance and others are free, first come, first served. Around those days the centre also hosts a mezcal fair, a mole festival and street processions. If your date falls on one of those Mondays, the hill is a venue rather than a viewpoint, so tell your driver in the morning and the order of the day can change.
- The Day of the Dead, late October to 2 November. Comparsas, the costumed processions, fill the streets, markets set up altars, and the cemeteries open from 31 October. Traffic in the old centre becomes very slow, and locals advise walking. A half day that is mostly on foot suits those days well.
- The Night of the Radishes, 23 December. Carvers fill the Zócalo with scenes cut from giant radishes, a competition the city has held every year since 1897. It draws large crowds, so expect a full square.
On your own or with a driver
The old centre is easy on foot. The Zócalo, the cathedral, the 20 de Noviembre and Benito Juárez markets and Santo Domingo are a few blocks apart, and you do not need a car to see them. If that is all you want, a free morning and a map will do it.
The car matters for the other two stops. The tree stands in its own town to the east, about half an hour from your door, and the Cerro del Fortín rises above the city. On your own that means arranging transport out and back, then again up the hill. On a private half day the driver collects you at 07:00 or 13:00, does the drives, and stays close while you walk. The price depends on the size of your group; see it on the tour page.
What to carry
- Cash in small notes for the fee at the tree, the museum and anything you eat in the markets. Food is not included.
- Shoes for paving stones. Most of the half day is on foot.
- A hat and water for the Cerro del Fortín, which is open to the sun.
- A phone or camera without flash for the museum.
Who it suits, and who should think twice
It suits a first morning in the city, before you head out to the ruins or the villages, and it fits after a flight if you land early: take the 13:00 start. If you are still arriving, our airport transfers bring you to the hotel first.
Think twice if Monte Albán is your main reason for coming. Four hours does not leave room for it. The full day in the city and at Monte Albán takes in both, or you can pair this half day with the Monte Albán and Arrazola half day on another date. If anyone in your group walks slowly, tell us when you book, as the market and church stops are on foot. Groups of more than 16 travel in two vehicles on one booking; message us for a price.
Questions people ask
Is the tree really the widest in the world?
Its trunk, at 14.35 metres across, is the one usually cited as the widest of any tree. Bring someone to stand beside it in your photographs, or nobody at home will believe the scale.
Can we see the Tomb 7 treasure at Monte Albán itself?
No. The treasure was found at Monte Albán but is shown in the city, at the Museum of the Cultures of Oaxaca in Santo Domingo.
Can we cancel?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before pick-up for a full refund. The details are on our cancellation page.
Booking the half day
Avoid a Sunday or a Monday if the museum matters to you, look at the festival dates before you fix the day, and pick the start that fits your flight. The stops and times are on the historic centre and Tree of Tule private tour page, where you choose your group size and book. For how this half day compares with the other days out, read our guide to day trips from Oaxaca.
