City Juchitán de Zaragoza, Oaxaca Municipality of Juchitán de Zaragoza Isthmus of Tehuantepec
The Isthmus's Zapotec capital: a hot, busy market city of velas, embroidered huipiles and muxes, still rebuilding after the 2017 earthquake.
From Salina Cruz: 45 min by car (44 km by road) How to get there ↓
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Where to stay near Juchitán de Zaragoza
Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in Juchitán de Zaragoza.
Tours to Juchitán de Zaragoza
Day trips and guided outings from Oaxaca often include Juchitán de Zaragoza; with a local guide you can get there without a car.
How to get to Juchitán de Zaragoza
- From Salina Cruz: about 45 min by road (~44 km)
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About Juchitán de Zaragoza
Juchitán de Zaragoza is the largest city on the Oaxaca side of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a flat, hot trading town about 26 km north-east of Tehuantepec. The 2020 census counted 88,280 people in the city and 113,570 in the municipality, the third largest in the state. Most Juchitecos are Zapotec, and Isthmus Zapotec (didxazá) is heard everywhere, above all among the vendors of the big market beside the town hall. Officially it is a "Heroica Ciudad", a title the state congress gave it in 2006 for the 5 September 1866 battle in which Juchitán and the neighbouring towns of Unión Hidalgo, San Blas Atempa and Ixtaltepec defeated French troops based in Tehuantepec.
The town has a long streak of independence. Local leaders rose over salt rights and self-rule in the 1830s and again in 1910, and in the early 1980s the left-wing COCEI movement won the town hall, one of the first local governments in Mexico taken from the PRI. On 7 September 2017 a magnitude 8.2 earthquake off the coast hit Juchitán harder than almost anywhere: whole streets fell, part of the mid-19th-century municipal palace (whose front has 31 arches) collapsed, and the 17th-century parish church of San Vicente Ferrer was badly damaged. The 5 de Septiembre market was rebuilt with state and foundation money for its more than 800 vendors, and the Casa de la Cultura reopened in January 2025.
That Casa de la Cultura, called Lidxi Guendabiaani in Zapotec, opened on 22 March 1972 after a campaign led by the painter Francisco Toledo; it occupies a 19th-century building next to San Vicente Ferrer and has rooms for modern art, archaeology and ethnography plus a library. Juchitán is best known, though, for its velas: all-night neighbourhood and guild fiestas held from May into early September, with women in embroidered huipiles, gold jewellery and long enaguas, and a fruit-throwing parade called the regada. The city is also known for its muxes, people of a third gender long accepted in Zapotec society, who hold their own vela every November. Around town, wind farms line the plains toward La Venta and La Ventosa.
How to get to Juchitán de Zaragoza
Drive from Salina Cruz: 45 min, 44 km
Juchitán is on Federal Highway 190, about 26 km (30 minutes) north-east of Tehuantepec. From Oaxaca city the quickest road is the Mitla–Tehuantepec highway, 169 km of toll road opened in January 2025 that cut the drive to the Isthmus to roughly two and a half hours; from Tehuantepec continue east on Highway 190. Buses leave Oaxaca city for Juchitán several times a day. Since November 2025 Juchitán also has a station on Line K of the Interoceanic Train (Ixtepec–Tonalá), and Ixtepec airport is about 20 km north.
Directions to Juchitán de Zaragoza on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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From the nearest cities to Juchitán de Zaragoza
- Salina Cruz · 44 km by road, 45 min
- Minatitlán · 236 km by road, 3 h 10 min
- Coatzacoalcos · 255 km by road, 3 h 20 min
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
What to see in Juchitán de Zaragoza 1
Sights with their own page, closest to the centre first.
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Laguna Superior · Lagoon · 18 km from the centre
Coastal lagoon of roughly 350 to 380 km² on the Isthmus; Huave and Zapotec fishing, islands and seafood palapas at Playa Vicente.
Map of Juchitán de Zaragoza
Neighbourhoods and villages of Juchitán de Zaragoza
Part of Juchitán de Zaragoza or just outside it, closest first.
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Playa San Vicente · Village · 10 km from the centre
Fishing agency of Juchitán on the Laguna Superior, 2 m above sea level: fishermen, fried mojarra and a shore that flooded in 2010. -
La Ventosa · Town · 16 km from the centre
A crossroads town named for its wind, ringed by the turbines of Mexico's biggest wind-power zone, where gusts can tip over trucks.
Day trips and tours from Juchitán de Zaragoza
The closest Pueblos Mágicos and places to visit, with the drive from Juchitán de Zaragoza and tours that leave from it.
All 4 Pueblos Mágicos within a weekend of Juchitán →
Times marked ~ are estimated from the distance. Links open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Before you go: getting to and around Juchitán de Zaragoza
- The nearest airport is Oaxaca (OAX).
- 3 of the places on this page are more than 3 km from the centre: take a taxi, a ride-hailing app or a local bus.
- For day trips a rental car gives the most freedom; the tours above leave from Juchitán de Zaragoza.
Before you go to Juchitán de Zaragoza: hours, prices and tips
- Best season
- The velas run from the second Saturday of May to the first week of September; the San Vicente Ferrer fiestas in May are the biggest. The muxes' vela is in November. México Desconocido · checked Oct 2026
- Rules
- At a vela everyone dresses up: women in huipil and enagua, men in a white guayabera and dark trousers. Men bring beer or mezcal; women give a small cash gift (limosna). México Desconocido · checked Oct 2026
Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.
Visiting Juchitán de Zaragoza: what to see and do
Walk the 5 de Septiembre market beside the town hall, where Zapotec is the language of trade.
Visit the Casa de la Cultura (Lidxi Guendabiaani), founded in 1972 with Francisco Toledo's backing.
See the arcaded municipal palace and the church of San Vicente Ferrer on the main square.
Try garnachas istmeñas and bupu, a foamy corn drink flavoured with guiechachi flowers.
Come in May for the velas, or in November for the muxes' vela.
Look for the floral embroidery on huipiles and enaguas sold in the market.
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Places to stay in Juchitán de Zaragoza
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Juchitán de Zaragoza.
Tours & activities
Day trips and guided outings from Oaxaca often include Juchitán de Zaragoza; with a local guide you can get there without a car.
Mobile data
Signal can drop away from Oaxaca: download a map of the way to Juchitán de Zaragoza before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.
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Near Juchitán de Zaragoza
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.