Monte Albán
Zona ArqueolóGica (INAH) · Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca
A mountaintop that was cut flat by hand. The Zapotecs founded Monte Alban around 500 BC on a ridge about 400 metres above the floor of the Oaxaca valley, levelled the summit into a plaza some 300 metres long, and ruled the region from it for more than a thousand years - the first true city in Mesoamerica and for centuries the most powerful. Its buildings follow the cardinal points except one, the arrowhead-shaped Building J, skewed to the stars and carved with the names of conquered places. Around the plaza stand the Danzantes, carved slabs once called dancers and now understood as captives. The site is high and shadeless at about 1,940 metres, so go at opening or late, bring water, and climb the south platform first. It shares one UNESCO listing with the city below, and the gold from Tomb 7 is in the museum there, so see them together. Allow two to three hours, and do not rush the quiet outer groups.
Carretera a Monte Albán km 9, Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, 71250, Mexico
⚠ OPEN DAILY, roughly 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with last admission about an hour before closing. ⚠ SUNDAY FREE ADMISSION APPLIES TO MEXICAN NATIONALS AND RESIDENTS ONLY and makes Sunday the busiest day by a distance. ⚠ GO AT OPENING OR IN THE LAST TWO HOURS - the plaza has no shade at 1,940 metres and the middle of the day is punishing. Tourist shuttles run from the city on a fixed return time, usually about two hours; a taxi with an agreed wait buys you longer. ⚠ THE SITE CLOSES BEFORE SUNSET. ⚠ HOURS AND FEES NOT VERIFIED FOR THIS FILE.