↑ ↓ to move ↵ to open esc to close
    Templo de San Pablo Huixtepec, Oaxaca

    Photo by Cuche biflora, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    San Pablo Huixtepec

    Town San Pablo Huixtepec, Oaxaca Central Valleys of Oaxaca

    Valles Centrales town in the Zimatlán district with almost 10,000 people and a red-and-white church tower.

    From Oaxaca: 30 min by car (28 km by road) How to get there ↓

    Near here

    See everything nearby ↓

    Plan your visit to San Pablo Huixtepec

    Where to stay near San Pablo Huixtepec

    Compare hotels, posadas and guest houses in San Pablo Huixtepec.

    Hotels in San Pablo Huixtepec Houses on Vrbo

    Tours to San Pablo Huixtepec

    Day trips around Mitla sometimes stop in San Pablo Huixtepec; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.

    Find tours on Viator GetYourGuide

    How to get to San Pablo Huixtepec

    • From Oaxaca: about 30 min by road (~28 km)
    • Nearest airport: Oaxaca (OAX), 47 min by car to Mitla
    Rent a car at OAX Flights to OAX

    Route, map and directions ↓

    Links open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.

    About San Pablo Huixtepec

    Huixtepec comes from Nahuatl and means "on the hill of thorns" (huiztli, thorn; tepetl, hill). The town, at about 1,480 metres, is the seat of the municipality of San Pablo Huixtepec: only 17.86 square kilometres, in the Zimatlán district, in the west of the Valles Centrales. It borders Zimatlán de Álvarez to the north, Santa Gertrudis and Santa Cruz Mixtepec to the south, San Bernardo Mixtepec to the west and Santa Inés Yatzeche, Santiago Apóstol and Santa Ana Zegache to the east.

    The censuses show steady, unspectacular growth: 2,205 inhabitants in 1900, 3,593 in 1930, 5,132 in 1960, 8,224 in 1990 and 9,610 in 2020. It had already levelled off around 8,000 in the 1990s, and the later rise is slower than in the towns attached to the capital.

    The church of San Pablo is the building that identifies the town: a white-and-red tower with a bell level that is hung with coloured papel picado during the patronal fiesta. The Ruta de la Fe de Juquila guide from Oaxaca's tourism ministry lists Huixtepec among the places on the pilgrim route to Santa Catarina Juquila.

    How to get to San Pablo Huixtepec

    Drive from Oaxaca: 30 min, 28 km

    Huixtepec is in the Zimatlán district, about 32 km south of the state capital according to INEGI's municipal data (roughly 30 to 45 minutes by car). Zimatlán de Álvarez is the neighbouring municipality to the north, about 4 km away in a straight line, so you reach it by passing that way.

    By public transport, a travel guide says colectivos to destinations south of the city (airport, San Bartolo, Ocotlán, Santa Catarina) leave from outside the Mercado de Abastos; look there for one signed Zimatlán or Huixtepec. A 2015 IPN report describes Zimatlán as about an hour from the capital. Colectivo fares are usually 10 to 15 pesos, though that figure may be out of date.

    If you drive, leave Oaxaca toward Zimatlán and follow the road into the sierra; from Zimatlán it is a few minutes more. Check the exact route on a map before you go.

    Directions to San Pablo Huixtepec on Google Maps

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

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

    Links open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.

    From the nearest cities to San Pablo Huixtepec

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

    Visiting San Pablo Huixtepec: what to see and do

    Visit the church of San Pablo, with its white-and-red tower.
    Catch the patronal fiesta, when the churchyard fills with papel picado.
    Walk the town plaza.
    Follow the pilgrims' road toward Juquila.
    Stop in Zimatlán de Álvarez, the neighbour to the north.

    Plan your trip

    Places to stay in San Pablo Huixtepec

    Compare hotels, posadas, and rentals in and around San Pablo Huixtepec.

    See them all on Expedia Booking.com
    Vacation rentals on Vrbo Airbnb

    Tours & activities

    Day trips around Mitla sometimes stop in San Pablo Huixtepec; a tour is the easy way to see it without a car.

    Viator GetYourGuide

    Rental cars

    Pick up a car at OAX (Oaxaca): about 47 min by road to Mitla, then 46 km more to San Pablo Huixtepec, on your own schedule.

    EconomyBookings Discover Cars

    Flights

    The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Oaxaca (OAX), about 47 min by road from Mitla, the base for San Pablo Huixtepec.

    Kiwi.com

    Travel insurance

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

    SafetyWing

    Mobile data

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

    Airalo

    Links open a partner site. We may earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.

    When to go to San Pablo Huixtepec mild

    San Pablo Huixtepec shares the climate of Mitla, 46 km away. The best months to visit are January, February, March, and December.

    See the month-by-month climate of Mitla

    The closest Pueblo Mágico: Mitla

    Stone fretwork of the Mitla palaces above the Oaxaca valley mild
    Oaxaca Mitla

    Mitla is the Pueblo Mágico closest to San Pablo Huixtepec, with places to stay, food, and more to see.

    Also close to

    Closest to San Pablo Huixtepec

    Near San Pablo Huixtepec

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

    Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.