My first activity when arriving to Mexico City was to take an historic walking tour of the centre of town. The bulk of this tour was focused on prehispanic history, before Cortez and is Spanish soldiers showed up. The indigenous cultures weren’t completely obliterated by the Europeans. They’ve had a difficult time until the very recent past but are now being supported a bit more. Pueblos Mancomunados is a cooperative of villages with interconnected resources focused on hiking but also supporting biking, horse riding and zip lining! I wanted to escape the city of Oaxaca for the mountains and visit the Zapotec people there. This is how I did it and what I learnt.
The office of Expodiciones Sierra Norte offer organised tours including transport and food. This was extremely expensive, especially for a solo traveller, but they were happy to give me information to visit on my own. Their office in central Oaxaca is marked on maps.me and they were very patient with my rudimentary Spanish language skills.
Transport
I went to the second class bus station the day before to book my ticket to Cuajimuloyas. The Faden Bus Company is to the left when you enter and has a notice of the destinations above the window. It was 60 pesos and I got to pick my seat. The bus leaves at 7am.
On the day of my visit we were all loaded into the minivan and the journey took less than two hours.
To return, buses leave from the place it drops you at around 6pm and at 7am and 8am if you stay over. (Don’t necessarily count on the buses being on time.)
Sleeping
I went to the tourist office (which isn’t where it’s marked on maps.me, ask for directions) and sorted a place to sleep for 200 pesos. This was in the hotel across the street. It’s possible to stay in a more traditional cabaña for more than 200. The hotel had everything I needed. Hot shower, plenty of blankets and a comfy bed.
Hiking
This was a bit confusing. There are some routes that you don’t need a guide for but most of them you do. My bus friends and I weren’t sure how difficult the route finding would be, so started off to the next village of Benito Juarez on our own, but had to stick to the quiet but dusty road. From Benito Juarez we made it to the view tower and bridge with a little help from maps.me, and back to the village in a rather unorthodox manner... so in order to return to Cuajimuloyas via the scenic forest route, we hired a guide in the tourist office in Benito Juarez. We paid 300 pesos between us for the guide. I highly recommend spending a bit more time deciding on which trek you want to do and get a guide from the beginning. The trail would have been impossible without one, you’re supporting the local economy and you learn so much more!
Transport
I went to the second class bus station the day before to book my ticket to Cuajimuloyas. The Faden Bus Company is to the left when you enter and has a notice of the destinations above the window. It was 60 pesos and I got to pick my seat. The bus leaves at 7am.
On the day of my visit we were all loaded into the minivan and the journey took less than two hours.
To return, buses leave from the place it drops you at around 6pm and at 7am and 8am if you stay over. (Don’t necessarily count on the buses being on time.)
Sleeping
I went to the tourist office (which isn’t where it’s marked on maps.me, ask for directions) and sorted a place to sleep for 200 pesos. This was in the hotel across the street. It’s possible to stay in a more traditional cabaña for more than 200. The hotel had everything I needed. Hot shower, plenty of blankets and a comfy bed.
Hiking
This was a bit confusing. There are some routes that you don’t need a guide for but most of them you do. My bus friends and I weren’t sure how difficult the route finding would be, so started off to the next village of Benito Juarez on our own, but had to stick to the quiet but dusty road. From Benito Juarez we made it to the view tower and bridge with a little help from maps.me, and back to the village in a rather unorthodox manner... so in order to return to Cuajimuloyas via the scenic forest route, we hired a guide in the tourist office in Benito Juarez. We paid 300 pesos between us for the guide. I highly recommend spending a bit more time deciding on which trek you want to do and get a guide from the beginning. The trail would have been impossible without one, you’re supporting the local economy and you learn so much more!
Manuel the guide - 76 year old grandfather with a bad knee - arrived to lead us back. He had a great sense of humour, knew about the plants, and took great pains in teaching us to pronounce the name of the village we were heading for. (It’s a Zapotec word with several spellings!) The 8km trail through woods, up and down mountain sides, next to (sometimes through) fields and big rock formations was demanding. The altitude is around 3000m above sea level so every hill had me huffing and puffing. Plus the sun is very bright and my pale skin was easily burnt.
I wanted to see a slice of real life. Seeing donkeys in the fields and farmers cutting oats, meeting Manuel and eating in a comedor in Cuajimuloyas where the family were busy around me was lovely. Traditional farming and family life have been the life of the Zapotec people for hundreds and hundreds of years and it’s great that they can now turn their way of life into an ecotourism initiative. Everyone was friendly and helpful, with the pace of life allowing time to sit and watch and chat.
I stayed just one night and got the early bus back, but I wish I could’ve stayed longer. If I were going again I’d take the bus to Cuajimuloyas (now I can say the word) engage a guide to walk to another village to sleep. Then perhaps continue to another town the next day. There are shared taxis from all the villages and the tourist office was open beyond 8pm, so transport back to the city is guaranteed from wherever you end up and you’ll be able to find a place to sleep even if you arrive later in the day. I left most of my stuff at the lovely Hostal Pochon so could easily walk with my stuff between villages. Take warm layers though, as soon as the sun starts to set, the air gets chilly - temperatures reach 2 degrees C at night.
Let me know if you have any questions, if you go, how you do it and what you see. There are 9 villages to explore and the fresh mountain air will have you refreshed for your return to the city.
I wanted to see a slice of real life. Seeing donkeys in the fields and farmers cutting oats, meeting Manuel and eating in a comedor in Cuajimuloyas where the family were busy around me was lovely. Traditional farming and family life have been the life of the Zapotec people for hundreds and hundreds of years and it’s great that they can now turn their way of life into an ecotourism initiative. Everyone was friendly and helpful, with the pace of life allowing time to sit and watch and chat.
I stayed just one night and got the early bus back, but I wish I could’ve stayed longer. If I were going again I’d take the bus to Cuajimuloyas (now I can say the word) engage a guide to walk to another village to sleep. Then perhaps continue to another town the next day. There are shared taxis from all the villages and the tourist office was open beyond 8pm, so transport back to the city is guaranteed from wherever you end up and you’ll be able to find a place to sleep even if you arrive later in the day. I left most of my stuff at the lovely Hostal Pochon so could easily walk with my stuff between villages. Take warm layers though, as soon as the sun starts to set, the air gets chilly - temperatures reach 2 degrees C at night.
Let me know if you have any questions, if you go, how you do it and what you see. There are 9 villages to explore and the fresh mountain air will have you refreshed for your return to the city.
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