Around Donají, Oaxaca: Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec (FIT) 18

Photo by Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Town Matías Romero Avendaño, Oaxaca Municipality of Matías Romero Avendaño Isthmus of Tehuantepec

Railway village north of Matías Romero, at 77 m, with a Line Z Interoceanic Train station that reopened in December 2023.

From Juchitán: 1 h 35 min by car (105 km by road) How to get there ↓

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Where to stay near Donají

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Tours to Donají

Day trips around Oaxaca sometimes stop in Donají; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.

How to get to Donají

  • From Juchitán: about 1 h 35 min by road (~105 km)

Route, map and directions ↓

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About Donají

Donají sits in the low northern part of the municipality of Matías Romero Avendaño, at 77 metres above sea level. The community is also called Tolosa Estación Donají because it grew around the station of the Transisthmian Railway, which opened on 29 June 1894 according to the station's Wikipedia entry.

INEGI counted 2,294 people in 2005, 2,362 in 2010 and 2,297 in 2020, in about 700 occupied homes. Around 15% of residents identify as Indigenous and a little over 6% speak an Indigenous language. About 2.8 km east is Tolosita, with 758 people; the other nearby localities are ranches of fewer than ten.

Passenger service stopped at the station when the railway wound down in the late twentieth century. On 22 December 2023, with the opening of Line Z of the Interoceanic Train between Coatzacoalcos and Salina Cruz, it reopened, then reported as still unfinished. It has one platform and two tracks and is the stop before Mogoñé coming from the Coatzacoalcos side. When Line Z started, Donají was counted among the low-demand stops, together with Chivela.

There are no monuments to tick off. People come to board or step off the train, or to see a line that spent decades without passengers carry them again.

How to get to Donají

Drive from Juchitán: 1 h 35 min, 105 km

By train: Donají is a stop on Line Z of the Interoceanic Train (Coatzacoalcos - Salina Cruz, 308 km, roughly 6.5 to 7 hours end to end). From Salina Cruz or Matías Romero you get off at Donají, the stop after Mogoñé heading toward Coatzacoalcos; on the Veracruz side the previous stop is Jesús Carranza. In 2026 a tourist-class segment costs 68 pesos per station and the full trip 476 pesos, per UnoTV citing the official portal. Check times and buy tickets at pasajerosinteroceanico.com.mx, because the schedules published in 2023 may have changed.

By road: the village is about 39 km straight-line north of Matías Romero Avendaño (the road distance is longer; approx.). We found no source for a highway number or a bus or colectivo service, so ask at the Matías Romero terminal before setting out. The practical way is to reach Matías Romero and continue by train.

Directions to Donají on Google Maps

Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.

Where to stay Hotels in Donají Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in Donají. See prices →

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From the nearest cities to Donají

Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.

Before you go to Donají: hours, prices and tips

Entry
Tourist class on Line Z: 68 pesos per station (full trip 476 pesos), 2026. UnoTV · checked Oct 2026

Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.

Visiting Donají: what to see and do

Step off the train at Donají station, reopened in December 2023.
Walk through the village of about 700 homes, at 77 m above sea level.
Look at the Transisthmian Railway line, in use since 1894.
Head 2.8 km east to Tolosita, the nearest settlement of any size.
Watch the northern Isthmus landscape from the window on the stretch to Mogoñé.

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Places to stay in Donají

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Tours & activities

Day trips around Oaxaca sometimes stop in Donají; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.

Travel insurance

Medical and trip cover for Mexico, by the week or month.

Mobile data

Signal can drop away from Oaxaca: download a map of the way to Donají before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.

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Closest to Donají

Near Donají

Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.

Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.