Alma de mi Tierra Cooking Classes Nora Valencia joyfully opens her kitchen and her heart to share her love for the regional dishes of Oaxaca and the culture of her homeland. As your host and teacher, Nora skillfully guides you through each step of the way. You will experience true Oaxacan cooking in its natural setting: "From the Market to the Dinner Table". The classes provide a fun, social, hands-on experience, where you will be participating in the preparation of the various dishes under Nora's thoughtful guidance.

Oaxaca Birding Tours Our company is dedicated to personal birding & cultural tours throughout this amazing state of Oaxaca. We have been offering to our guests the best of Oaxaca Birding. We specialize in customized birding & cultural tours, for individuals & small groups, our emphasis is on professionalism, reliability & personal attention. All of our programs are available throughout the year and are flexible to accommodate your special needs. Roque Antonio Santiago, Owner.

Mezcal Educational Excursions Of Oaxaca Mezcal distillery tours in Oaxaca, Mexico. Visit quaint, untouristy, artisanal palenques using both ancestral stills made of clay pots, and traditional copper alambiques. Your guide, Alvin Starkman, is a recognized authority on both mezcal and pre-Hispanic Oaxacan fermented beverages including pulque and tepache. Learn, sample, photograph, speak with mezcal producers, and buy if so inclined. Visit several Zapotec distillers where they work, where they live, and perhaps in the agave fields.

Viajes Xochitlan We are an expert tour operator specializing in tours in Southeast Mexico: Oaxaca City, Huatulco, Puerto Escondido, Tuxtla Gutierrez, San Cristobal de las Casas, Villahermosa, Merida and Cancun. We offer a variety of exciting tour packages that combine great recreation with great value, and are happy to help you select the ideal itinerary to suit your interests.

Oaxaca is a world-class destination for tourists, featuring archaeological sites, museums and craft work of the highest quality. The visitor can explore these wonders on his/her own by automobile or local bus, or on a guided tour. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. To make an informed choice, it is necessary to have an overview of the three valleys which converge in the city of Oaxaca.

The Western valley contains the roads that come from Mexico City. On or near these roads are the Municipio (rather like a U.S. county) of Etla (Wednesday market), and the villages of Yanhuitlan (Dominican monastery), Atzompa (brown and green pottery), Arrazola, (carved and painted wooden animals), and includes the ruins at Monte Alban, the Hacienda in San Jose del Mogote, and the archaeological site in Huitzo.

The Eastern valley centers on the International Highway to Tierra del Fuego, and passes through or near to the villages of El Tule (the giant cypress tree), Teotitlan del Valle and Santa Ana del Valle (rugs and other wool weavings), Tlacolula (Sunday market), Mitla (ruins) and Hierve el Agua (natural attraction); and on to Tehuantepec (4 hours) and the Isthmus. Along the way are the ruins of Dainza, Lambityeco and Yagul.

To the south, there are two roads. One goes to Puerto Angel, on the coast, through San Bartolo Coyotepec (black pottery), Jalietza (cotton weaving), San Martin Tilcajete (painted wooden animals) and Ocotlan (Friday market, home of Rodolfo Morales). The other passes through Xoxocotlan (famous Day of Dead cemeteries), Cuilapan (Dominican monastery), Zaachila (Thursday animal market), and eventually Juquila (with a Miraculous Virgin) and on to Puerto Escondido.

There are also collectivos (shared taxis) to most of the above destinations.

No matter which direction you choose, it is impossible to cover all there is to see in a single day. This means that you will be constantly faced with choices of destination, and of method of travel, and the amount of time you have and the budget you have decided upon are going to have a lot with the choices you make.

Buses and collectivos leave from different locations in the city of Oaxaca, depending on their destination. There are both first and second class bus stations, two main collectivo stands, and several minibus terminals scattered throughout the city. Your hotel's concierge and various travel agencies specializing in local tourism can be of some help, as can the chat rooms on Mexico Online. The following taxis and tour operators are among many helpful resources you can use once you arrive.