10 Days Must-see Mexico - Featuring Ancient Monuments Tour Package
Duration: 10 Days / 9 Nights
Priced From: $2,321 (All pricing reflects per-person Land Only expenses)
Dates: Dec, Jan, Oct, Dec
Taking a couple of days to explore Mexico City, which always proves an assault of colour and vivacity on the senses, we discover the many faces of this fascinating city that has been called home to an array of peoples and cultures; the evidence of which is the archaeological sites temples and ruins of the mighty Aztec Empire sharing ground with Spanish colonial buildings and monuments, and modern art galleries that showcase the works of well-known Mexican artists. Beautiful mountain sceneries of waterfalls, forests and cacti line our route as we travel to Puebla and we enjoy a stop off at Cholula en route to see the largest ancient pyramid in Mexico. In the final days of our adventure, we manage to spend time in Oaxaca, which has been inhabited since at least the time of Christ; we journey past tobacco and banana plantations, and along scenic plateaux to the Caribbean coast; and we walk in the footsteps of the ancients at the massive archaeological site of Teotihuacan.
Tour Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive in Mexico City
Arrival in Mexico City. Overnight in Mexico City. Dinner if required.
Day 2 Mexico City: City Tour
We depart the hotel on foot for a comprehensive city tour. The flagpole in the Zocalo (central plaza) is our start point; we proceed to the cathedral for a brief visit. The Catedral Metropolitana, dating from 1562, took over 250 years to complete and reflects the most popular architectural styles from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Inside the church you will see several chapels fashioned in the churrigueresque style--an ornamental baroque style. We continue to the archeological site nearby, the Templo Mayor, or Great Temple. Unearthed in 1978, the temple was once the holiest shrine of the gods. Our walk continues to the Palacio Nacional, originally built as headquarters for Cortes from the rubble left from the destruction of Montezuma's palace. The palace was used by Emperor Maximilian and all of the presidents of the modern state. We view the Diego Rivera Murals that decorate the stairwell and central courtyard. These famous masterpieces of modern art depict the native cultures of Mexico which existed before the arrival of the Spanish. They also show the Spanish conquest and the history of Mexico from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries. As well as being works of art, Rivera's murals provide an illuminating introduction to the complex cultures and history of this ancient land. We walk back to our hotel and, after a brief break, depart by bus for a guided tour of the Anthropological Museum at Chapultepec Park. The museum is considered one of the world's great museums, not only for its rich collection, but for the originality and practicality of its design. After lunch we continue by bus to along the Avenida Reforma to Alameda to visit the Palacio Bella Artes, one of Mexico City's more visually impressive art nouveau and art deco monuments housing a museum of art showcasing many well-known Mexican artists. We will linger here to admire the murals and striking decor and architecture. Overnight in Mexico City. Breakfast and dinner.
Day 3 Mexico City - Puebla
A morning departure from Mexico City takes us to the southeast toward Puebla. We depart the city limits and travel through scenery of pine forests, rivers, waterfalls and magnificent mountains. En route we will pass the Popocatepetl volcano, said to be dormant, but occasionally belching forth a puff of steam! Estimated at 2.5 million years in age, this "Smoking Mountain" soars to 5452 m / 17,882 feet. We will arrive in Puebla in the early afternoon in time for lunch. After a break, we will embark on a walking our of Puebla, an important regional capital in the colonial era, and today one of Mexico's most charming cities. We will see some of the city's many ornate churches including the gold-leafed Capilla del Rosario. Also included this afternoon is the Museo de Santa Monica. This "secret convent" reflects the period when nuns and priests were forced underground--literally--in 1857. This convent was discovered in 1935 and later turned into a museum. The convent's entrance was through the homes of the religiously faithful through cupboards in the dining hall; today the entrance to the convent-cum-museum is still through a private home. During free time we recommend a visit to the Ceramics Market, located very close to the Holiday Inn. There is also a lively flea market at Los Sapos Plazuela open till about 18:00. Overnight in Puebla. Breakfast and dinner.
Day 4 Puebla - Cholula - Cacaxtla - Puebla
Our morning departure takes us first to the church of San Francisco de Acatepec for a brief look at its impressive facade. We then continue to the village of Tonatzintla to visit the Church of Santa Maria with its extranordinary baroque interior (sorry, no video/flash). We drive on to Cholula, arriving first at the Great Pyramid of Cholula, the largest in Mexico, though it is almost all hidden inside a hill. We pay a visit to the small museum, then walk over to the pyramid tunnel entrance. About 10 minutes of walking through this very narrow and interesting tunnel takes us deep inside the pyramid. The pyramid is solid, but archeologists made many tunnels, most of them closed to the public, in order to see what lay beneath the massive pyramid's exterior. We continue outside the pyramid walking clockwise around the pyramidal mound, looking down on the far side at a fairly extensive site. Those with the energy might walk up to the church at the top of the pyramid hill. After lunch we depart Cholula for Cacaxtla, located in what historians have named the "trade corridor". On arrival we walk approximately 800 metres to the great mound of the main pyramid. This site is particularly interesting for the colourful frescoes that date from the middle of the 7th and 8th centuries. Each of the murals relates important facts about the culture of the ancient people; one unexpected discovery is the presence of the Maya who hailed from the Yucatan some 1300 km (800 miles) away! Of particular importance is the "Battle Mural." We return to Puebla. Overnight in Puebla. Breakfast and dinner.
Day 5 Puebla - Oaxaca
We have morning departure from Puebla for a scenic journey of about 5 hours, with stops along the way. The various species of cactus you are seeing on the hillsides in this arid area are the Pitahaya (organpipe) cactus. It looks like what its name suggests: many shoots, and very large. The small, single-stemmed cacti, which cover the hillsides for miles around, are the Saguaro. We will make stops to view / photograph these curious plants, as well as the expansive mountain and valley views afforded by this high pass. We arrive in Oaxaca early afternoon. As we enter town, there is a statue of Benito Juarez, who was a Zapotec lawyer from a nearby village, and Oaxaca's most famous son. Oaxaca is the capital of the state of the same name. Surrounded by green, densely forested hills, modern Oaxaca has been the site of a town since at least the time of Christ. Later, in the 15th century, it became an important Aztec town until it was captured by the Spaniards. The modern city has a baroque flavour left over from the colonial period, and is a center of native culture and art. In the city center we will visit colonial monuments, gardens, palaces, plazas, temples, and monasteries. After our hotel check-in, we walk to the Zocalo for free time for lunch. We then embark upon a walking tour of Oaxaca including the Governor's Palace, an attractive building housing several outstanding murals by Arturo Garcia Bustos. We proceed to the market, a very lively and colourful place. We also visit a small Chocolate Factory before leaving the market area. We stop in at the ex-Convento de Santo Domingo (Regional Museum or Museo se las Cultruas de Oaxaca), one of the best museums we will visit on the tour. This museum contains, among other things, the Mixtec treasures from Tomb 7 at Monte Alban (NOTE: variable museum opening hours may require our return at another time). Overnight in Oaxaca. Breakfast and dinner.
Day 6 Oaxaca - Mitla - Monte Alban - Oaxaca
Early this morning we travel 45 km to the fascinating site of Mitla. En route we stop at the Tule Tree, or "Taxodium Mucrunatum". In Spanish, it is called "Sabino". This extraordinary tree is supposed to be over 2000 years old with a circumference of almost 60 metres! We continue to Mitla, a beautiful site distinguished by the finely-carved and inlaid stones that form unique geometric patterns. Another feature of the site is one that ties the pre-Columbian world with that of the Spanish Conquest: a small colonial church on the site of the ruins, typical of those that the Spanish frequently built as a symbol of the new religion they were bringing to this new the land. We depart on the road back to Oaxaca. We make a stop at a Mezcal maker en route. Mezcal is a liquor made from the Maguey Agave, as opposed to Tequila which has the Blue Agave as its primary ingredient. We will have an interesting look at Mezcal production, which is done on a small scale when compared to Tequila (produced in Jalisco State, not far from Guadalajara). We pass through Oaxaca on our way to directly to Monte Alban. We visit the site museum before walking out onto the site itself for our visit. Situated on a flattened mountain top, the site affords commanding views of the Valley of Oaxaca, a stunning vista of endless mountain peaks. Monte Alban was an important religious site and today is one of the most impressive places anywhere; we stop at the ball court, the plaza, the Gallery of the Dancers, and the Observatory, considered to be the oldest in Mesoamerica. We return to Oaxaca. Overnight in Oaxaca. Breakfast and dinner.
Day 7 Oaxaca - Veracruz
An early departure today takes us from the high plateau of Central Mexico to the lush green Caribbean coast, a total 1600 m / 5,280 foot descent. We'll stop at a mountain viewpoint (weather permitting), just after the turnoff for the coast, to see Mount Orizaba, the highest in the country at over 5700 m / 18,810 feet. We will continue through the towns of Orizaba and Cordoba, important centres for sugarcane, tobacco, and coffee production. After a lunch break en route, we continue to Veracruz. To early explorers, this the door to the New World. Set on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, Veracruz is rich in heritage and colonial architecture and has a distinctly Caribbean feel. It had a monopoly on foreign trade in the Atlantic basin during Mexico's Colonial period and, as such, was constantly menaced by pirates! Before checking in to our hotel, we will stop at the 16th century Fortress of San Juan de Ulua for a one hour tour. We drive on, seeing the Palacio Municipal, the cathedral, and the Malecon, a seafront boulevard, arriving at the hotel late afternoon. This evening you can visit the Zocalo, with lots of live music in the evening. There are Mariachi groups, but the most common instrument here is the Marimba, a Xylophone that originally came with African slaves to the Caribbean. For 50 pesos they'll play you a song. Overnight in Veracruz. Breakfast and dinner.
Day 8 Veracruz - Zempoala - El Tajin - Papantla
Today we travel along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico through a balmy tropical region producing rice, coffee, sugar, tobacco, oil, cattle, and a large assortment of fruit. We stop at Zempoala, a lovely and quiet Totonac site. It was here that Cortes arranged to travel into the highlands on his expedition of conquest. We can visit the site museum before continuing to El Tajin (lunch en route), one of the most impressive archaeological sites in Mexico. El Tajin's name comes from a Totonac legend about twelve old men called "The Tajin". They supposedly lived on the site and had the powers of gods of thunder. The site is set amid tobacco fields and banana plantations, apiaries and vanilla groves, and is situated on a terraced hillside on a tributary of the Rio Tecolutla. We will see the famous Pyramid of the Niches which is noted for its beautiful symmetry, carving and its 365 altar-niches. After our tour we continue on to Papantla. Overnight in Papantla. Breakfast and dinner.
Day 9 Papantla - Teotihuacan
We drive up from the coast back into the highlands of central Mexico. Our destination this afternoon is the massive archaeological site of Teotihuacan (500 BC-AD 700). The site was the first major urban area in the New World and was named "the City of the Gods". On the site we will see the Pyramid of the Sun, which the adventurous can climb. This is the pyramid at which the cult of the famous god Quetzalcoatl began. Legend dictates that he allowed himself to be tested by bravely casting himself into a fire. He survived the fire but was transformed into a plumed serpent. Other structures on the site include the Pyramid of the Moon, the Avenue of the Dead, and the Temple of Quetzalcoatl. We have a comprehensive tour of the site, including the excellent museum, before heading to the hotel. Overnight near Teotihuacan. Breakfast and dinner.
Day 10 Teotihuacan - Mexico City - Depart
This morning we transfer to Mexico City airport in time to connect with our international flights. Breakfast. BUEN VIAJE!
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12/09
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