Pueblos Mancomunados

The Pueblos Mancomunados are eight Zapotec villages in the Sierra Norte that have owned and managed a large block of mountain forest in common for centuries: Amatlán, Lachatao, Yavesía, Latuvi, Llano Grande, La Nevería, Benito Juárez and Cuajimoloyas. Several of them border Capulálpam. For decades they have run a joint ecotourism project, Expediciones Sierra Norte, which opened a network of more than 100 kilometers of trails, many following old royal roads between the villages.

The forests climb from oak and pine into misty cloud forest full of mosses and bromeliads, and most of the villages sit above 2,400 meters, so nights are cold year-round. Cuajimoloyas, the highest, at about 3,200 meters, holds a wild mushroom fair in the rainy season. Benito Juárez has a long suspension bridge over a ravine and a viewpoint over the mountains. Latuvi, lower and greener, has orchards, a temazcal and trout farms, and Lachatao, the closest to Capulálpam, has cobbled streets, a colonial church and a small community museum.

Each village has a tourism office and simple cabins with fireplaces and hot water. The communities govern themselves by usos y costumbres, and the tourism is run the same way: local guides are required for the hikes from one village to another.