Oaxaca

Oaxaca is a state in southern Mexico celebrated for its extraordinary cultural and biological diversity, Indigenous traditions and exceptional cuisine. Its capital, also called Oaxaca, is a UNESCO World Heritage city. From the ruins of Monte Alban to mezcal and Day of the Dead, it is one of Mexico's most culturally treasured regions.

Oaxaca is extremely mountainous, where several ranges of the Sierra Madre converge, descending to a Pacific coastline of beaches and lagoons. This rugged terrain fosters remarkable biodiversity and cultural isolation. The climate ranges from tropical coast to temperate highland.

Oaxaca has the largest Indigenous population in Mexico, with sixteen recognised peoples including the Zapotec and Mixtec, and is renowned for its crafts, textiles, mezcal, complex moles and vibrant festivals such as the Guelaguetza.

Heartland of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilisations, whose great city of Monte Alban dominated the region, Oaxaca was the birthplace of Mexican presidents Benito Juarez and Porfirio Diaz. It became a state in 1824.