San Pedro Ixcatlán

By car from Tuxtepec it is about 60 km on federal highway 182 toward San Felipe Jalapa de Díaz: after roughly 54 km turn right and drive the remaining 6 km or so into town. Allow about 1 h 15 min. Tuxtepec itself is reached on highway 175 from Oaxaca city (about 280 km), on 145 from Córdoba, Veracruz, or from Puebla through Tehuacán and Teotitlán.

Without a car: take an ADO bus to the Tuxtepec terminal and then a van to Ixcatlán. It leaves from Blvd. Plan de Tuxtepec in colonia 5 de Mayo, between Melchor Ocampo and Ignacio Allende streets, four blocks from the ADO terminal. The fare is about $50, the ride about 1 h 30, and the last departure in each direction is at 5 p.m.; We found no timetable for the earlier ones, so ask at the stop and do not leave the return for late.

For Mil Islas there is another turn-off, onto a dirt road, a few kilometres past the Ixcatlán one; it reaches San Andrés Cerro Quemado in about 15 km. Boats can be hired at Cerro Quemado, in Ixcatlán or at Temascal; tours start at about $200 per person.

Walk up to the church of San Pedro, on high ground in the centre; it is over 400 years old.
Follow the shore of the reservoir and look out over the water from the streets that run down to the lake.
Hire a boat to see the fish farms and the Mil Islas area.
Eat ceviche or mojarra at a restaurant on the lake.
Buy bread from the town's ovens.
Ask for the workshops that embroider the Mazatec huipil.
Climb the hill at San Andrés Cerro Quemado for views of the valley if you are heading to Mil Islas.