Archaeological site 10 km northwest of Mitla
A Zapotec hilltop city with a big ball court, a maze-like palace and a fortress lookout over the Tlacolula Valley.
Yagul is a Zapotec city spread over a rocky hill just off the highway between Oaxaca and Mitla. People lived here from a few centuries before Christ, but most of what you see dates from about 1250 until the Spanish conquest, when Yagul was the capital of its own small kingdom with several thousand inhabitants. After the conquest its people were moved down to the valley, to what became Tlacolula.
The site has three parts. On the lower terraces are the ceremonial buildings, including one of the largest ball courts in Oaxaca and the Palace of the Six Patios, a warren of rooms and courtyards where the rulers lived. Above them, on the cliffs, is the fortress, a hilltop refuge with walls and a lookout that takes in the whole Tlacolula Valley, from the mountains around Teotitlán to the fields toward Mitla.
The hills around Yagul matter even more than the ruins. Caves and rock shelters here, such as Guilá Naquitz, hold some of the earliest evidence of plant domestication in the Americas, and in 2010 UNESCO listed the area as the Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla. The site is quiet and rarely crowded, which makes it a good stop on the way to or from Mitla.
What to see and do
Stand in the ball court, one of the largest in the Oaxaca Valley.
Get lost in the rooms and patios of the Palace of the Six Patios.
Climb to the fortress at the top for the view over the Tlacolula Valley.
Look for the carved stone tombs on the lower terraces.
Getting there
Yagul is about 15 minutes west of Mitla on Highway 190 toward Oaxaca; a signed turnoff leads about a kilometer north to the entrance. Buses and colectivos running between Oaxaca and Mitla can drop you at the turnoff, then it is an uphill walk. It is an INAH site with an entry fee, usually open daily from morning until late afternoon; check before going.
10 km northwest of Mitla
Directions from Mitla on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
Plan your trip
Places to stay in Yagul
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Yagul.
Links open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Weather mild
Yagul shares the climate of Mitla, 10 km away. The best months to visit are Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec.
Make Mitla your base
Yagul is an easy trip from Mitla, a Pueblo Mágico with places to stay, food, and more to see.
More around Mitla
-
Santiago Matatlán
· Town · 7 km away
A town that calls itself the world capital of mezcal, lined with family palenques where you can see agave being roasted and distilled. -
Hierve el Agua
· Nature reserve · 11 km away
Mineral springs that have built white rock "waterfalls" down a cliff, with pools to swim in and huge views of the sierra. -
Tlacolula
· Town · 12 km away
Home of one of Oaxaca's oldest and biggest Sunday markets, and a Baroque chapel covered in gilded plasterwork. -
Santa Ana del Valle
· Town · 14 km away
A Zapotec weaving village with a pioneering community museum and a church full of colonial saints. -
Lambityeco
· Archaeological site · 15 km away
A small Zapotec site by the highway with two striking stucco masks of Cocijo, the rain god, at a noble's house. -
San Marcos Tlapazola
· Town · 17 km away
A Zapotec village in the hills where women shape red clay pottery by hand, without a wheel, as their families have for generations. -
Teotitlán del Valle
· Town · 20 km away
The Zapotec weaving village of the valley: family workshops making wool rugs on foot looms with natural dyes. -
Dainzú
· Archaeological site · 22 km away
An early Zapotec site at the foot of a hill, famous for dozens of carved stones showing masked ball players. -
Tlacochahuaya
· Landmark · 25 km away
A Dominican church whose walls and vaults are painted with flowers and angels, with a restored 18th-century pipe organ. -
Árbol del Tule
· Landmark · 32 km away
A Montezuma cypress in Santa María del Tule with one of the widest trunks in the world, on the road between Oaxaca and Mitla.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.