Journey to Ixtlan 2011

We meet in the capital of Oaxaca state, Oaxaca city, commonly known as just Oaxaca. At about 1500m elevation, It'ss fairly cool and dry. The center is colonial with straight narrow cobbled streets, stone buidlings and many pedestrial walkways. This is the perfect place to sample some of Oaxaca's famous culinary delights, including several varieties of mole, hot chocolate (did you know that chocolate originated in Mexico?), quesillo (Oaxacan stringy cheese, much like good mozzarella), tlayudas, chapulines (grasshoppers!) and much, much more. There are many interesting markets, pleasant shaded plazas, restaurants and cafes, museums, galleries and churches. The nearby Zapotec ruins of Monte Alban are a must. Besides the archeological wonders, they offer a stupendous view of the surrounding countryside and mountains.

Our first day is short, but as we climb very steeply out of the central valley you will appreciate the lack of km's today. There are stunning views as we gradually cycle high into the cool pine forests. We will eat the simple satisfying food of the mountains and sleep in wooden cabañas in the misty mountain forest tonight.

We start with some downhill, but that only means that we will have to uphill again later. There's more beautiful mountain scenery today and more quiet roads as we visit Guelatao, Benito Juarez' birthplace. Benito Juarez was Mexico's favorite president and there's an interesting museum to visit. Onwards then to Ixtlan.

A rest day is in order to recover from our steep climbing of the first two days. If hiking is your idea of fun, there are some beautiful trails in the mountains here to explore. Mountain biking is also an option. Of course you could also just rest too.

There's a HUGE downhill today, but first we have to get to it, and that's no easy task. The roads climbs and drops, gradually reaching our high point near 3000m. After that, hang on to your hat, and check your brakes.

It almost an easy day as we leave the mountains behind temporarily. Of course it's not completely flat, there are still some hills. We wind our way through the lush tropical lowlands, and if we're lucky we'll come upon some fresh squeezed pineapple juice by the roadside. Tuxtepec is a big town with lots going on and it is home to Mexico's largest brewery.

Our ride starts flat today, and as we wind between the hills, we finally climb over a hill to see the large reservoir created by the Miguel Aleman dam. The rest of the ride pokes in and out of this wetland region and we end up in Ixcatlan which is perched on a small peninsula in the reservoir.

A relaxing rest day in this charming Mazateca indigenous village. Surrounded by water, the obvious choice is the good seafood for lunch, and a boat trip to a nearby island village is also possible.

We had a break from the mountains, now they're back with a vengeance. Challenging climbing is the theme of the day, and the quiet roads and beautiful scenery helps to motivate us along. We end up in Huautla, a town made famous by Maria Sabina and her magic mushrooms.

More mountain roads take us up and down and we briefly peek into Puebla state before returning to a dry region of Oaxaca state, punctuated by many different cactus. Our resting place for the day, Teotitlan is a charming little colonial town.

We enter into the Tehuacan-Cuicatlan biosphere reserve today and we'll see quite a variety of cactus in this unique corner of Oaxaca state.

Rest up and get ready for the final long haul back to Oaxaca city. Cuicatlan is another charming little colonial town with an interesting market, and a nice lookout that you can hike up to to get a good view of the surrounding mountains.

Today we'll gradually climb up out of the cactus region and back into pine forest country. It's a long day with lots of climbing, but in contrast to the start of the tour, the climbing is much more gradual.

The capital of Oaxaca state, Oaxaca city, is commonly known as just Oaxaca. At about 1500m elevation, It's fairly cool and dry. The center is colonial with straight narrow cobbled streets, stone buidlings and many pedestrial walkways. This is the perfect place to sample some of Oaxaca's famous culinary delights, including several varieties of mole, hot chocolate (did you know that chocolate originated in Mexico?), quesillo (Oaxacan stringy cheese, much like good mozzarella), tlayudas, chapulines (grasshoppers!) and much, much more. There are many interesting markets, pleasant shaded plazas, restaurants and cafes, museums, galleries and churches. The nearby Zapotec ruins of Monte Alban are a must. Besides the archeological wonders, they offer a stupendous view of the surrounding countryside and mountains.