This morning we will visit the market at Teotitlán del Valle, which showcases vibrant local culture with handwoven rugs, tapestries, pottery, leather goods, and traditional jewelry. Artisans sell their colorful crafts while sharing stories behind their work, creating a lively atmosphere rich in Oaxacan heritage and artistry.

Later, we will visit the workshop of Pantaleon Ruiz, a talented painter, sculptor, and textile artist. Raised in a family of weavers, he began working with textiles at age seven, blending traditional craft with contemporary art. Influenced by painters like Rufino Tamayo and Francisco Toledo, Ruiz's work combines abstraction and figurativism, often inspired by everyday life, mythology, and Oaxaca's rich pre-Hispanic heritage. After living in the United States to study art, he returned to Oaxaca to develop a unique style that merges artisanal techniques with modern expression. His art includes over 230 pieces spanning drawings, sculptures, collages, and textiles, recognized for their vibrant color, texture, and cultural storytelling.

After lunch, transfer back to Oaxaca, with a free afternoon to explore the city on your own.

Meals: Breakfast; Lunch

Overnight: Majagua Hotel or similar

After breakfast, we will meet our guide and driver, and head out to learn about the artisan heritage of the area. First we will head to San Antonio Arrazola and visit the Jimenez Family, one of the pioneering Alebrijes-making families in Oaxaca.

Alebrijes are brightly colored Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures, originally created in the 1930s by Pedro Linares in Mexico City. After a vivid fever dream, he crafted surreal paper-mâché animals combining features like wings, horns, and fangs. The tradition spread to Oaxaca, where artisans began carving alebrijes from local copal wood, infusing them with indigenous and imaginative designs. These vibrant figures symbolize transformation, spirituality, and cultural storytelling. Over time, alebrijes have become an iconic Mexican art form, celebrated worldwide for their creativity and deep cultural roots, and are a significant part of Oaxaca’s artistic heritage.

The next stop will be San Bartolo Coyotepeq, renowned for its unique black clay pottery called "Barro Negro." This craft dates back over 2,500 years to ancient Mesoamerican cultures like the Zapotecs. The clay itself is found only in this region, and artisans shape each piece by hand without potter’s wheels. These elegant, smoky-black ceramics range from functional vessels to intricate decorative figures, blending ancestral techniques with modern design.

The last stop will be Santo Tomas Jalieza. Women primarily craft colorful cotton pieces using a backstrap loom, an ancient technique that requires precise thread counting and tension control as the loom attaches to the weaver’s body. Designs often reflect Zapotec culture, nature, and community stories passed down through generations. The town has a cooperative that supports weavers by standardizing prices and promoting fair trade. This artisanal textile tradition keeps ancestral knowledge alive, blending artistry with cultural identity in every woven piece.

Dinner and evening are at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast; Lunch

Overnight: Majagua Hotel or similar

After breakfast at the hotel, we will meet our guide and driver and head out for the day’s adventure. The first stop will be Mitla, a major archaeological site and former sacred Zapotec burial ground known as "Place of the Dead." It later became a prominent Mixtec religious center. Mitla is unique for its intricate mosaic fretwork made of finely cut stone without mortar, covering tombs and walls with geometric patterns inspired by textiles. The site comprises five groups of structures, including palatial buildings and tombs.

Next stop, Hierve el Agua, features two stunning petrified waterfalls formed by mineral-rich springs over thousands of years. These calcified cascades resemble frozen waterfalls and feature turquoise pools where visitors can swim. The site also includes ancient Zapotec irrigation canals and offers stunning mountain views. Its waters are believed to have healed properties, making Hierve el Agua a unique combination of geological wonder, cultural heritage, and natural spa destination.

After lunch, we will stop at one of the Agave fields and a family-owned mezcal distillery to learn the process to distill the agave spirits, crafted using traditional methods. Of course, we will sample!

Dinner and evening are at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast; Lunch

Overnight: Majagua Hotel or similar

This morning you will visit Monte Alban, a World Heritage Site, spectacularly situated on a mountain 400 meters above the Oaxaca Valley, a few kilometers west of Oaxaca. Monte Alban is the greatest of the Zapotec cities, and it came to dominate the cultural, religious, and economic life of the region. It is also a triumph of engineering; the mountain top was leveled to allow for the creation of the ceremonial site. We will explore the Gran Plaza, the Ball Court, the Observatory, the Palace, and other beautiful structures.

After Monte Alban, we will visit the workshop of the Oaxacan plastic artist Ixrael Montes, a renowned Oaxacan visual artist whose work is deeply inspired by the animals, landscapes, and cultural traditions of his coastal childhood. Trained at the Escuela de Bellas Artes and the Rufino Tamayo Plastic Arts Workshop in Oaxaca City, he blends figurative and abstract styles influenced by African and indigenous Mixtec art. Montes's vibrant paintings explore themes of transformation, nature, and spirituality, and his career of over 30 years has earned him recognition both nationally and internationally. Through his art, he invites a deep connection with nature and cultural roots.

This evening, we will gather for a farewell dinner to toast to our adventure!

Meals: Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

Overnight: Majagua Hotel or similar

Today you will say goodbye to Oaxaca. Our driver will pick us up from the hotel and transfer us to the airport for our flight home.

If you would like to extend your time in Oaxaca to further explore the city or nearby beaches, please reach out to your account manager!

Meals: Breakfast