Oaxaca

Oaxaca, in the mountainous south of Mexico, is one of the most culturally rich and gastronomically significant cities in Latin America — a colonial city of coloured stucco buildings, excellent artisan markets, extraordinary indigenous cultural heritage (the Zapotec and Mixtec peoples have been here for 2,500 years) and a cuisine so important that it was included on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list alongside Mexican cuisine generally. Monte Albán, a Zapotec archaeological site built on an artificially flattened hilltop 10km from the city, is one of the Americas' most significant — an ancient capital with pyramids, plazas and ball courts that was continuously inhabited from 500 BC to 700 AD. The Regional Museum of Oaxaca in the former monastery of Santo Domingo holds the extraordinary Tomb 7 treasures from Monte Albán. The Tule Tree (the world's widest tree trunk, a Montezuma cypress over 2,000 years old) is 12km from the city. Oaxacan cuisine is considered the most diverse and complex in Mexico — the seven moles (negro, colorado, amarillo, verde, rojo, chichilo, manchamanteles) are extraordinary. The markets — Benito Juárez, Mercado 20 de Noviembre (for tlayudas and grilled meats) and the Saturday Tlacolula market — are essential food experiences. Mezcal, the artisanal spirit distilled from agave that originates here, is Oaxaca's other great contribution to the world. The Day of the Dead celebrations (November 1–2) in Oaxaca are among Mexico's most elaborate and visually extraordinary.