Every year large number of tourists from various corners of the world come to Zaachila. A wonderful holiday destination, Zaachila is located 15 kilometers south of Oaxaca City, in the center of the town of the same name.
According to historians the town of Zaachila flourished from 1100 to 1521 A.D. Although the meaning of Zaachila has not been clearly established but it is believed to mean the one who came from the east. In Nahuatl, the word means Teozapotlan which means God of the Zapotec Region. It was the most important Zapotec city of the 14th Century. In comparison to other archaeological sites in Oaxaca, Zaachila has not been much explored. It was the last important Zapotec City following the fall of Monte Alban. The Mixtecs occupied the site until the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors.
The site of Zaachila has group of mounds, including mound B, known as El Cerrito, mound A, on which Roberto Gallegos explored two tombs in 1962 and found artifacts in Mixtec style. Visitors can enter these two tombs and learn how Zaachila inhabitants used to carefully build them to later bury their dead. There are two Mixtec tombs decorated with jaguar heads and owls with out-stretched wings. Tomb 2 contained an extraordinary offering of pieces worked in gold, jade and other precious materials.
There are also many fabulous tourist attractions in the regions near Zaachila. San Bartolo Coyotepec and San Antonio Arrazola, two nearby towns and one unfinished 16th century ex-convento in Cuilapan de Guerrero are worth visiting.
Tourists also love to relish the signature dishes which include barbacoa and carne al horno. The town’s most famous restaurant is La Capilla. Other recommended local favorites are Mangalito and La Esquina.
Transportation in Zaachila:
There is bus service in Oaxaca City from Autotransportes Añasa, Bustamante no. 606 which runs between Arista and Nuno Del Mercado, only two blocks south of San Francisco Church. Collective taxi service is available around the corner from Arista no. 107.
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