Taste of Puebla and Oaxaca Culinary Tour of Mexico

Day One

• Welcome to Mexico! Transfer from Mexico City airport to your hotel. Check in and rest of evening on your own.
• Overnight. (Please note that if you are combining this tour with our Magical Mexico City Culinary Vacation this day can be eliminated – ask us for details!)

Day Two

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out and depart for Cholula, about 2 hours away.
• Cholula was, for many centuries, one of the largest cities in Mesoamerica. It was ideally situated on the main trade route for such goods as obsidian, pottery, and tropical products. The town used to organize one of the largest fairs of Ancient America, and reached its zenith in the Sixth Century before declining.
• See the “Tlachihualtepetl” pyramid, or “handmade mountain.” It was the result of a thousand years of effort by the Cholulans. Dedicated to the gods of rain, it was one of the largest and most important structures of the American continent.
• Continue on to nearby Puebla. This colonial and provincial town is considered one of the most “Spanish” cities in central Mexico.
• Lunch at a local restaurant, which honors the gastronomic traditions of the city and its regional “Poblana” cuisine.
• After lunch, head to the Zòcalo, or main square of Puebla, which is also known as the “City of Angels.” Admire the best examples of religious architecture from the colonial era: the Cathedral and the Rosario Chapel, an 18th-century architectural jewel. Admire also the beautiful colonial houses and the El Parian market.
• Arrival at the hotel and check in.
• Dinner tonight at a local restaurant that offers high quality local cuisine. You might taste the classic chicken in mole, chamorro en mole verde (pork shank in green mole), peasant-style rabbit, or a dessert mole, all accompanied by aguas frescas, the fresh beverages made of natural fruit and water which are found on every table of Mexican households.
• Return to hotel and overnight.

Day Three

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• In the morning visit a local food market with its bright colors, scents, and displays. Here you will find seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables, including some varieties that will be completely new to you.
• Head to a local hotel for a cooking demonstration with one of the hotel’s master chefs, where you will learn to prepare an authentic Poblano dish. Lunch to follow.
• In the afternoon transfer to Oaxaca, about 5 hours away.
• Arrive at the hotel and check in.
• Dinner on your own and overnight.

Day Four

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Head to a small Zapotec community in the Oaxaca Valley, where a family settled in the countryside and welcomes visitors into the traditional kitchen with its wooden stove. Your host will be a “Comidera,” the women who are in charge of preparing the food for the festivities in the surrounding villages. These ladies are well-known for their excellent cooking. Prepare three dishes from among the many regional specialties such as nicuátole, tortillas, sauces, empanadas, sopa de guías, cuitlacoches (corn funghi), nopal soup, atole, and other.
• Lunch to follow.
• Return to Oaxaca and enjoy a city tour. Admire the beautiful architecture of the historical center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, including the Cathedral, the Temple and ex-Convent of Santo Domingo de Guzman, the Basilica of Le Soledad, the Macedonio Alcala Theater, and other 19th-century colonial buildings.
• Visit the Museum of Cultures in the former convent of Santo Domingo, where you will admire the art and artefacts found by the archeologist Alfonso Caso in tomb number seven in Monte Alban.
• Return to hotel and dinner on your own.
• Overnight.

Day Five

• After breakfast at the hotel, head to Monte Alban, one of the most important archeological sites of ancient Mesoamerica.
• The three valleys in the center of Monte Alban have always been central to Oaxacan life. The Monte Alban site was begun around the Sixth Century BC, and was the focal point of the three valleys. The Zapotec civilization based its cultural and commercial development there, and it controlled all the valleys of the region as it grew to its dominance between 250 and 740 AD.
• At its peak, the site had nearly 25,000 inhabitants, but it suffered a sharp decline in 750 AD and was abandoned, like many of the other sites in the surrounding Zapotec valleys. The site stands on an artificial plateau on a hill overlooking the valley floor, making it a truly impressive sight.
• Continue on to Cuilapam de Guerrero, where you will visit the beautiful architecture of its old ex-monastery.
• Lunch will be at a typical restaurant of the Zapotec village of Zaashila, where the food is served on long tables, creating a friendly atmosphere. Try the pork chops grilled over charcoal, the sopa de guías (a traditional Oaxacan zucchini soup).
• After lunch, continue on to San Martín Tilcajete, where artisans create Alebrijes, the brightly colored Oaxacan-Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures. Try your hand at creating your own masterpiece!
• This evening, dinner at a local restaurant that honors the all-important local ingredient: corn. The name of the restaurant means “corn flower” in the Mixtecan language. Try tasty contemporary Mexican dishes based on corn, from snacks to more elaborate dishes.
• Return to your hotel and overnight.

Day Six

• • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Depart for Santa Maria del Tule, where you can see the famous and ancient Tule Tree, a Montezuma cypress tree that is one of the oldest, largest, and widest trees in the world.
  • Next head to Hierve el Agua, a natural spring that forms petrified waterfalls and natural bathing pools. Even though the name menas “the water boils,” the mineral-laden water is actually cold. But the amazing panoramas make swimming in the these pools a must.
  • Stop at a local Mezcal factory to learn about this traditional Oaxacan liquor.
  • Next, head to Mitla, another important archeological site and the religious center of the Zapotec during the post-Classic period. Its buildings were richly decorated with geometric forms and are a formidable example of the splendor of this old civilization.
  • Finish with a visit to an artisanal weaving workshop in Teotitlán del Valle. See how they manufacture wool rugs and dye wool with natural dyes.

• Lunch at a local restaurant.
• Return to Oaxaca, time to rest.
• Dinner tonight is at a local restaurant where the fusion cuisine of the chef combines Mediterranean flavors and local ingredients.
• Return to your hotel and overnight.

Day Seven

• Breakfast at the hotel, then transfer to the Oaxaca airport.