Where to go in Oaxaca?
Omar Rito is a graduate of The Oaxaca Learning Center and now runs a successful Oaxaca tour company. Follow his monthly blog for his tips of lesser-known places to visit.
Santiago Apoala
Set apart from the typical tourist areas of Oaxaca, in the mountains of the Mixteca, is the magical pueblo of Santiago Apoala, a site of enormous natural beauty with waterfalls, valleys, caves, history, rocks, legends and traditional customs.
Apoala means 'Where the waters part' in Náhuatl and that's not by chance - this beautiful place is characterized by its abundance of the vital liquid. Indeed, when you arrive at the main street, the first thing that catches your eye is a canal of cristal water which crosses the village and on its way to the agricultural fields.
Apoala also offers cabins where you can enjoy a night in the middle of enormous canyons and Montezuma cypresses (whose Náhuatl name, rather beautifully, means 'old man in the water').
To reserve accommodation and other services, you can call this mobile:
How to get there?
Public transport: first you need to get to Nochixtlán. You can do that on one of the vans of the 'Transportes Turisticos de Nochixtlán' (departures every 30 minutes daily between 8am and 8pm), or a bus of the 'Sur' line (departures daily at 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:00 and 20:30). Journey time roughly one hour.
In Nochixtlán you have the choice of getting a bus to Apoala or hiring a private taxi.
Private: hire a car with a driver/guide in Oaxaca.
Oaxaca Experience Tours has a lot of experience in taking small groups to Santiago Apoala and we're delighted to assist! Contact us on
