Mitla, Tlacolula and Santa María del Tule

The ruins at Mitla are the first stop on this tour. The site consists of 5 “ruin clusters”; archaeologists speculate that some of the ruins were used for ceremonial and religious purposes while others were palaces for the elite. Unique to Mitla are the greca (fret) decorations found on ruin walls.

The tour continues with a stop in Tlacolula. Founded around 1250 A.D., this originally Zapotec village was known as Guichiibaa (“Place between Heaven and Earth”). This pueblo's Sunday market is one of Oaxaca's biggest, oldest and most diverse. Students also have the opportunity to see the main town church, la Parroquia de la Virgen de la Asuncion. Of special interest are the sculptures, paintings and gold scrollwork found in the chapel, la Capilla del Señor de Tlacolula.

The last stop on the tour is the huge Mexican cypress tree at Santa María del Tule, a pueblo about 14km east of Oaxaca. The Arbol del Tule is dated at over 2,000 years old and measures one hundred sixty-five feet in circumference, and is about 15 stories tall. Some say that El Tule may be the largest tree in all of Latin America.