The stone mosaics
Polished pieces fitted without mortar.
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Mitla is the second most important archaeological site in Oaxaca state after Monte Albán, and the most important of the Zapotec culture. It lies at the upper end of the Tlacolula Valley, at about 1,480 metres. It stands alone for the intricate geometric stone mosaics covering its walls, a work found at no other site in Mexico. Its name comes from the Nahuatl for place of the dead, and it was a sacred burial site and later the main religious centre as the power of Monte Albán passed. It reached its largest size between 750 and 1521, with both Zapotec and Mixtec influence. The high priest lived here when the Spanish arrived. In 1553 the archbishop ordered the site destroyed, and its stones went into the Church of San Pablo, built over part of it. The mosaics are made of small polished stones fitted without mortar in interlocking patterns across panels and friezes. The finest thing to see is the Group of the Columns, with its courts, halls and massive stone pillars. These are low buildings on the valley floor rather than pyramids on a ridge, with the red domes of the church behind. The site is 41.7 km in a straight line east of Oaxaca city, and visitors often combine it with the Árbol del Tule and Hierve el Agua in a day. Do not touch the carvings. The village around it is full of textile shops. The Church of San Pablo is a place of worship, so dress modestly when you go in.
Polished pieces fitted without mortar.
Courts, halls and massive pillars.
Red domes over part of the site.
San Pablo Villa de Mitla, Oaxaca state
Monte Albán is pyramids on a ridge, while Mitla is low buildings in the valley, famous for stone mosaics.
Yes, it is on the road past the Árbol del Tule, and many add Hierve el Agua too.