Archaeological site Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, Oaxaca Municipality of Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán Central Valleys of Oaxaca
The Zapotec capital on a levelled mountaintop 400 m above Oaxaca's valleys, founded about 500 BC and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
From Oaxaca: 15 min by car (7 km by road) How to get there ↓
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Plan your visit to Monte Albán
Where to stay near Monte Albán
Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in Monte Albán.
Tours to Monte Albán
A guide brings Monte Albán to life: look for tours from Capulálpam de Méndez that include the site and the ride there.
Monte Alban Guided Half Day Tour
★ 4.8 (1,070) · From US$30
How to get to Monte Albán
- From Oaxaca: about 15 min by road (~7 km)
- Nearest airport: Oaxaca (OAX), 1 h 27 min by car to Capulálpam de Méndez
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Popular tours to Monte Albán
Tours, prices and ratings from Viator, checked weekly. We may earn a commission if you book.
About Monte Albán
Monte Albán is the ancient Zapotec capital that crowns a ridge about 9 km west of Oaxaca city, at roughly 1,940 m above sea level and some 400 m above the floor of the Central Valleys. It was founded around 500 BC, near the end of the Middle Formative period. Its builders flattened the mountaintop to make the Main Plaza, about 300 m long and 150 m wide, and over the next thousand years the city grew to perhaps 35,000 people, most of them living on terraces cut into the hillsides. It lost its political weight in the Late Classic, between about AD 500 and 750, and was largely abandoned by AD 900–1000.
The Main Plaza is framed by the North and South Platforms, both reached by wide stairways, with rows of temples and residences along the east and west sides and a line of buildings down the middle. Building L holds the Danzantes, more than 300 carved slabs of naked male figures from the city's earliest phase, often read as captives or slain rulers. The arrow-shaped Building J sits at an angle to everything else and carries over 40 carved "conquest slabs"; it is often described as an observatory. There is an I-shaped ball court, and on the North Platform a sunken patio and the remains of elite residences.
Large-scale excavation began in 1931 under Alfonso Caso, who in 1932 opened Tomb 7, a Zapotec tomb later reused for Mixtec burials. Its offerings, among them a skull covered in turquoise mosaic now in Oaxaca's regional museum, made it one of the richest finds ever made in the Americas. Caso, Ignacio Bernal and Jorge Acosta kept digging for nearly two decades, and much of what visitors see today was restored in those years. UNESCO listed Monte Albán together with Oaxaca's historic centre in 1987. A small site museum by the entrance shows original carved stones, while many of the objects found here are in Oaxaca's museums and the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
How to get to Monte Albán
Drive from Oaxaca: 15 min, 7 km
Monte Albán is about 9 km from central Oaxaca by the winding road up the hill (Carretera a Monte Albán), 20–30 minutes by taxi depending on traffic; agree the fare first and arrange your ride back, since taxis are scarce near closing. Tourist shuttles run by Lescas Co (from the Hotel Rivera del Ángel on Calle Mina) and Transportaciones Turísticas Mitla (also on Calle Mina) leave roughly every hour in the morning and take 30–40 minutes; you return on the same company's bus. Walking up from the city is possible but long, steep and has had reports of robberies.
Directions to Monte Albán on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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From the nearest cities to Monte Albán
- Oaxaca · 7 km by road, 15 min
- Huajuapan de León · 174 km by road, 2 h 25 min
- Tuxtepec · about 175 km by road, ~2 h 35 min
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic or stops. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Before you go to Monte Albán: hours, prices and tips
- Hours
- Open daily 8 am–5 pm; last entry 4 pm. INAH, Lugares · checked Oct 2026
- Entry
- 210 pesos for foreign visitors, 105 for Mexicans (INAH category I, 2026). INAH, Lugares · checked Oct 2026
- Time needed
- Allow 2–3 hours on site, plus about an hour for the round trip from Oaxaca. Along Dusty Roads (Jan 2026) · checked Oct 2026
- Best time of day
- Early morning or late afternoon, ahead of the tour groups and the midday heat. Along Dusty Roads (Jan 2026) · checked Oct 2026
- Best season
- Busiest during Holy Week, the Guelaguetza (July) and Day of the Dead; nearby Atzompa takes some of the overflow. INAH bulletin 619 (2023) · checked Oct 2026
- Guide or tour
- Local guides offer their services at the entrance; signs are mostly in Spanish. Tours: Viator GetYourGuide Along Dusty Roads (Jan 2026) · checked Oct 2026
- What to bring
- Sun hat, sunscreen and water: there is little shade. You can refill bottles at the toilets by the ticket office. Along Dusty Roads (Jan 2026) · checked Oct 2026
- Rules
- No food, smoking or pets inside the site; drones are not allowed. INAH, Lugares · checked Oct 2026
Hours and prices change, especially around holidays. Each fact links to where we checked it.
Visiting Monte Albán: what to see and do
Walk the length of the Main Plaza between the North and South Platforms.
Climb the South Platform for the view over the plaza and the three valleys.
Look for the Danzantes carvings at Building L.
Check the conquest slabs on the arrow-shaped Building J.
See the I-shaped ball court and the North Platform's sunken patio.
Stop at the site museum by the entrance to see the original carved stones.
Plan your trip
Places to stay in Monte Albán
Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around Monte Albán.
Tours & activities
A guide brings Monte Albán to life: look for tours from Capulálpam de Méndez that include the site and the ride there.
Rental cars
Pick up a car at OAX (Oaxaca): about 1 h 27 min by road to Capulálpam de Méndez, then 44 km more to Monte Albán, on your own schedule.
Flights
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Oaxaca (OAX), about 1 h 27 min by road from Capulálpam de Méndez, the base for Monte Albán.
Mobile data
Signal can drop away from Capulálpam de Méndez: download a map of the way to Monte Albán before you set out, or carry an eSIM with data.
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Photos
When to go to Monte Albán cool
Monte Albán shares the climate of Capulálpam de Méndez, 44 km away. The best months to visit are January, February, March, and December.
See the month-by-month climate of Capulálpam de Méndez
Weather in Monte Albán now and the next 7 days
Live forecast from Open-Meteo. Chance of rain is the day's highest.
The closest Pueblo Mágico: Capulálpam de Méndez
Capulálpam de Méndez is the Pueblo Mágico closest to Monte Albán, with places to stay, food, and more to see.
Also close to
- Mitla · Oaxaca · 45 km away
Closest to Monte Albán
-
San Antonio Arrazola · Village · 2 km away
-
Central de Abastos · Landmark · 4 km away
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Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán · Town · 4 km away
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Zona Arqueológica de Atzompa · Archaeological site · 4 km away
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Andador Macedonio Alcalá · Landmark · 5 km away
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Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad · Landmark · 5 km away
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Cerro del Fortín · Viewpoint · 5 km away
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Cuilápam de Guerrero · Town · 5 km away
Near Monte Albán
Drive times by road from OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Times marked ~ are estimated from the straight-line distance.
Lists with Monte Albán
Ruins in Oaxaca · 12 Ruins near Oaxaca · 6Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.