The land of mezcal, the Guelaguetza and a magical cuisine, Oaxaca is located in the south of Mexico, borders on Guerrero, Puebla, Veracruz and Chiapas and has a spectacular Pacific coastline. Its scenery contains natural contrasts that make it unusually attractive. It is surrounded by the Sierra Madre Oriental, which leads into the Nudo Mixteco and the Sierra Madre del Sur. The Central Valleys are formed by a depression between these mountain chains.

Climates here are extremely varied: tropical in the north of the Sierra de Oaxaca, dry steppes in the valley and Yautepec, dry and desert-like in the ravines and cool in La Mixteca. It was the site of two of the great cultures of pre-Hispanic Mexico: the Zapotec, based in Monte Alban, and the Mixtec, whose capital was Mitla.

After the Conquest, the territory was divided into the capitals of the valley and the isthmus. Oaxaca City, the state capital, is one of the loveliest cities in the country, with its magnificent churches and civil buildings, surrounded by villages of craftspeople, jealous of their traditions and their marvelous natural attractions. Oaxaca's coasts have some of the most exotic beaches on the Mexican Pacific.

In 1987, UNESCO declared Oaxaca and Monte Alban a World Heritage Site, which gives some idea of what visitors can find here; at the foot of the archaeological zone, a city preserved for centuries in which the Colonial era shines through the altarpieces and green stone of its buildings. It also contains the legacy of these two cultures that emerges in the work of its goldsmiths, potters and painters, its cuisines, music and the colorful, exuberant fiestas, streets and markets.

Stroll along the walkways that will take you to Santo Domingo past the Museum of Contemporary Art; climb up Monte Alban, watch the sunset in its enormous plaza and imagine the time when its buildings were painted red. In the evening, round off a wonderful dinner with a traditional mezcal. Make sure you remember three important fiestas: the Guelaguetza, the Noche de Rabanos or Night of Radishes and Dia de Muertos or the Day of Dead.