The mountains and valleys around Oaxaca offer some of the best hiking, mountain biking and adventure travel in southern Mexico. The Sierra Norte communities have built an ecotourism network that gives you access to cloud forests, mountain trails and indigenous villages without the resort-hotel treatment.
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Pueblos Mancomunados
The Pueblos Mancomunados (roughly: Commonwealth Villages) are a group of indigenous Zapotec communities in the Sierra Norte that run their own ecotourism program. You can hike between villages on marked trails through cloud forest and pine-oak woodland at elevations between 2,000 and 3,200 meters. Each village has basic cabins and a comedor (community kitchen) where you eat what the family cooks.
The most popular route runs from Cuajimoloyas to Lachatao to Benito Juarez over 2-3 days. The scenery shifts from high-altitude grassland to dense cloud forest. Bird diversity is remarkable — this is one of the best areas in Mexico for highland birds.
Mountain Biking
The Sierra Norte trails are excellent for mountain biking. The routes follow old mule paths and logging roads through the mountains. Several outfitters in Oaxaca city run guided mountain bike trips — Expediciones Sierra Norte and Bicicletas Pedro Martinez are two that have been around for years. You can also rent bikes and ride independently if you have the navigation skills.
Apoala
Apoala is a Mixtec village in a dramatic canyon in the Mixteca region, about 3 hours north of Oaxaca. The canyon has waterfalls, swimming holes and hiking trails through corn milpas and along the canyon walls. The village runs its own tourism program — you register at the community office, pay a small fee, and a local guide takes you to the waterfall and caves.
Getting there involves a winding mountain road. A mix of colectivo and second-class bus from the Abastos terminal. Not the easiest place to reach, which is exactly what keeps it uncrowded.
Hierve el Agua
Petrified waterfalls and natural infinity pools overlooking the valley. The mineral-rich water has deposited calcium over centuries to create formations that look like frozen cascades. You can swim in the pools at the top. Colectivos run from Mitla or you can join a day trip from Oaxaca.
