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Monte Albán and Cuilapan: Explore Ancient Sites and Crafts
4.4
11 Ratings
Oaxaca de Juárez
Embark on a day tour to Monte Albán, Cuilápan, and Coyotepec to explore historic sites and witness the creation of unique artisan crafts. Discover ancient ruins, visit an open chapel, admire colorful alebrijes, and learn about the technique behind black clay crafts.
Embark on a day tour to Monte Albán, Cuilápan, and Coyotepec to explore historic sites and witness the creation of unique artisan crafts. Discover ancient ruins, visit an open chapel, admire colorful alebrijes, and learn about the technique behind black clay crafts.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Zona Arqueologica de Monte Alban - Capital of the Zapotecs since 500 BC. It was the most important indigenous capital of the region of the Valleys of Oaxaca. In tomb no.7 the most important treasure of Mesoamerica was found.
- Cuilapan de Guerrero - You will be able to admire the unfinished but wonderful religious architectural complex that the…
- Zona Arqueologica de Monte Alban - Capital of the Zapotecs since 500 BC. It was the most important indigenous capital of the region of the Valleys of Oaxaca. In tomb no.7 the most important treasure of Mesoamerica was found.
- Cuilapan de Guerrero - You will be able to admire the unfinished but wonderful religious architectural complex that the Dominicans built in the 16th century. General Vicente Guerrero was shot to death ere.
- San Antonio Arrazola - in this town the famous “Alebrijes” are made, figures carved in wood from the copal tree, hand-painted with unique figures and colors.
- Coyotepec - Population of famous artisans who are dedicated to the elaboration of beautiful objects in black clay, demonstration of the elaboration of a piece, and exhibition of the same.
What's Included
- Transport by air-conditioned
- Guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off (selected hotels only)
- Professional driver
- Transport by air-conditioned
- Guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off (selected hotels only)
- Professional driver
What's Not Included
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Your day will start at the Monte Albán archaeological site. Next, you’ll visit Cuilapan, a 16th-century open chapel built by the Dominicans. Afterward, we’ll head to the town of Arrazola, known for its vibrant and uniquely designed alebrijes. Finally, we’ll go to San Bartolo Coyotepec, a significant town renowned for its black clay crafts. Here,…
Your day will start at the Monte Albán archaeological site. Next, you’ll visit Cuilapan, a 16th-century open chapel built by the Dominicans. Afterward, we’ll head to the town of Arrazola, known for its vibrant and uniquely designed alebrijes. Finally, we’ll go to San Bartolo Coyotepec, a significant town renowned for its black clay crafts. Here, artisans will demonstrate their crafting techniques.
Your tour concludes with a drop-off at your hotel.
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
Location
Oaxaca
Pick up time will be stablish depending on your hotel location (between 8:30 and 10:00 am)
The operator will meet you in the lobby of your Hotel/Airbnb; he will ask at the Front desk for your name.
We can pick up in any hotel or Airbnb located in Oaxaca Downtown.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.4
(11 Ratings)
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Barbara_p
Apr 8, 2024
Wonderful Experience at Monte Alban - Comfortable ride to Monte Alban and back. Our guide was great! His knowledge and the way he shared it with the group made Monte Alban come to life. This was my second tour to this special place and it was much more informative than the first one. I highly recommend this experience.
Review provided by Viator
Lynne_s
Feb 11, 2024
Knowledgeable guide - Gabriel was a fantastic guide who is very knowledgeable about Monte Albán. We would fully recommend this trip and company.
Review provided by Viator
Beatriz_m
Nov 26, 2023
Our guide was very... - Our guide was very knowledgeable, perfect time allowed for monte Alban. Some time with the guide and time to explore on our own. The stops to the small towns were my favorite, to see the artisans who make the alebrijes, embroidery, and pottery was amazing to see and happy to support small business.
Review provided by Viator
Maria_v
Aug 20, 2023
Oaxaca ❤️ - We had a great time! What a beautiful place. I totally recommend it. Doña Marta was great she knew so much about her culture.
Review provided by Viator
Studior893
Jul 23, 2023
You Gotta See This! - Absolutely amazing. Monte Albán is an otherworldly experience, a marvel of human genius. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable about the history of all the sites we visited, and even our driver had some knowledge to share. San Antonio Arranzola and San Bartolo Coyotepec were simply fascinating—we were able to watch the artists at work making alebrijes and black clay pottery, respectively. Bring some extra pesos for lunch and shopping!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gvlatebloomer
Oct 8, 2024
Great Monte Alban trip - We were disappointed the road to the ruins was partially closed and we had to walk more than expected. However, our guide Marta was fabulous. She provided us with information and history that enhanced our understanding of what we were seeing. We visited several artisan villages and got to see first hand how waving, black clay pottery, and carved and painted wooden animals were created. We stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant with a good variety of choices. It was a great day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
97anic
Apr 3, 2024
Monte ablan oaxaco - Easy to do without a tour. There is a public bus route that goes straight to the site and pay only 100 pesos for return journey which takes approximately 30 minutes in travel. It's pretty much direct but does pick up and drop off some locals. We took a couple of guides up to site.
Buy ticket and that allows access to small museum. Quick entrance. Best to go early before heat of day as large area to cover. Well signed in both Spanish and English. Not much shelter so bring plenty of water to drink. Can do in 2-3 hours comfortably. When you leave as with all of Mexico's sights there are vendors selling drinks, food and souvenirs.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Priyanka_g
Mar 13, 2024
Good experience of History and Local culture - Tour guide was good, knowledgeable and explained the history of Monte Alban very well. We also visited the Cuilapan church, Coyotepec pottery demonstration and the Arrazola wood curving center. Except for the last one which was unbelievably overpriced, rest of the places were good. My only slight dissatisfaction was the tour guide's inability to handle the situation at buffet lunch where I had very little option because of not eating meat. Firstly the operator didn't bother to check my food choice. Then despite reminding the tour guide about my food preferences, even before arriving at the buffet, I was asked to eat dry chicken and rice and still pay the full buffet rate. Thankfully the restaurant owner was nice to accept a reduced rate from me and also arrange some vegetarian soup for me.
Review provided by Viator
Steven_b
Dec 23, 2023
Worth the Trip - Monte Albán was beautiful and educational. Our tour guide was exceptional as was our driver. However, there were over 20 people in the group (2 vans) pretty evenly split between English speaking and Spanish speaking, so the tour guide had to say everything twice, and it was too many people to hear him well at each stop - not his fault!
Review provided by Viator
781ericb
Dec 16, 2023
Left in the lurch - The first part of the tour in Monte Alban was adequate, although the guide’s English was somewhat difficult to understand. It was disappointing but no time was allocated to let us visit the fine looking museum.
To our surprise we were told to wait at the parking lot while the rest of the people on our tour returned to Oaxaca, and that we would be picked up to continue our day with others on a full day tour. 45 minutes later we had not heard anything or seen anything resembling the van that was supposed to pick us up. When I communicated via WhatsApp with our Viator contact, they couldn’t figure out who had made the error, but they sent a Spanish-speaking driver to pick us up and bring us to the other group going on. This was a Spanish-speaking group with a Spanish-speaking guide! Fortunately for us, my Spanish is adequate, and a few people on that tour were bilingual. But the tour was supposed to be in English. The artisans we saw were very good and the demonstrations were interesting.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
