Touring Monte Alban: A UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mexico.
When you have travelled for years on end through more “lost cities” than you can think of (Sigiriya, Machu Picchu, Teotihuacan etc.) the idea of yet another one might sound like more of the same. However Monte Alban was a pleasant surprise.
Loving the lost city of Monte Alban.
Situated on a mountain top only a half hour drive from Oaxaca de Juarez in Mexico, this place is well worth a trip. As of 1987 it has also been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This has meant more money invested into it and yes…more tourists 😉 Of which we were two!
Monte Alban, Mexico
How to get to Monte Alban
We did it ourselves but used a touristy bus to get out there. The return ticket for the bus was 50Mexican Pesos which is only about $4US, so $2US each way is pretty good. Buses leave frequently from numerous points in Oaxaca’s Hotel Zone. We used Autobuses Turisticos who have an office based on Avenida Francisco Javier Mina street in Oacaxa de Juarez.
Our bus tickets from Oaxaca de Juarez out to Monte Alban.
Do not be fooled by people offering you the bus on the street. They will try to charge you 60 Mexican Pesos or more. 50is the maximum you should pay for the return. Buses leave regularly from 8.30am they are every hour until 15.30pm.
Our bus to Monte Alban, Mexico
You can also arrange guided tours out there from Oaxaca. The tours can also include visits to waterfalls and other sites in the region. Expect to pay upwards of 200 Mexican Pesos for any such tour.
Bus times to Monte Alban from Oacaxa de Juarez.
Bus From Oaxaca to Monte Alban
The bus journey is smooth, scenic and uphill. It takes around half an hour. As you soar up the hills you can admire the views down over the city of Oacaxa de Juarez.
On the bus to Monte Alban.
Views from the bus to Monte Alban
Entrance Fee for Monte Alban
As it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site there’s an entrance fee. It’s a flat rate of 59 Mexican Pesos to get inside. That’s under $5 US Dollars. This includes access to the entire site and the museum.
Monte Alban is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We paid it and we recommend you pay it too. You could just walk round the side and get in for free in all honesty. The tickets are checked and ripped at a small turnstile entrance but we barely noticed it.
Ticket for Monte Alban is 59 Mexican Pesos.
Best Bits of Monte Alban
It’s a decent sized for a ruined city on the mountain and unless you’re a complete architecture and archaelogical freak, I’d say 2- 4 hours is enough time to see it. We spent about 3.5 hours there.
1. Platforma Sur
The South Platform gives a good vantage point over the lost city. It is accessed up steps behind the Gran Plaza.
Walking up to Platforma Sur – south platform.
View down into Monte Alban from Platforma Sur.
2. Gran Plaza
The main square is called Gran Plaza and offers an insight into what the city centre may have been like. Wander around at leisure reading the information in 3 languages and admire the buildings, including one for astronomy.
In front of the astronomical building in Gran Plaza.
3. Patio Hundido
This hidden patio is sunken into the ground and not visible until you climb the steps up to the main part of the city. Above the Patio Hundido are many more view points and ruins.
Patio Hundido – the sunken patio.
4. Galeria de Los Danzantes
This custom built mini display of rocks has inscriptions and carvings on them. They have been moved from their original position to form a gallery.
Galeria de Los Danzantes
5. Monte Alban Museum
The Monte Alban Museum gives a good insight with a lot more detail and writing into what happened here at the settlement of Monte Alban. People lived here for hundreds of years and then stopped and nobody seems to know why.
Monte Alban Museum.
It is also essential to enjoy the fantastic views that Monte Alban offers while you are here. You get a great view of the mammoth-ness of Oaxaca de Juarez as well as over the immense Mexican countryside.
View of countryside from Monte Alban.
View of Oaxaca from Monte Alban.
Monte Alban is at an elevation of 1,900 metres above sea level.
Once you’ve done your 3-4 hours here head back on the bus to Oaxaca de Juarez (the price of 50 Mexican Pesos includes the return).
Walking through Monte Alban.
While I don’t sit and count the UNESCO World Heritage Sites I have visited like some arrogant travel bloggers out there, I must be somewhere near 200 by now and I am keen to visit more of them as they are listed on UNESCO for a reason!
Here are my videos from touring Monte Alban in Mexico:
Enjoy touring Monte Alban! Safe travels!
Great that you enjoyed your visit to Monte Alban, although yes it is on the UNESCO list I don’t think as many people come to appreciate it as could be. It isn’t quite as photogenic as Manchu Pichu, though just as important from a historic point of view. And after all these years there is still so much debate over how it was used, from the interpretation of the Danzantes through to the ball court. I started to write a website about it to introduce it, but not got too far at the moment, still it’s an interesting project to learn more about the place and it’s significance, even if it’s mostly guesswork at times!
Thanks for the comment Raymond – yes we loved Monte ALban and hope more tourists can go there in future! Regards, Jonny
Great article Jonny, just watching your videos from the tour – The place looks much bigger than I expected. The views of the countryside look stunning! GLad you are enjoying your time in Mexico!
Thanks for the comment Paul – loving it but as usual I have about 20+ articles on Mexico to write and just not the time – we are in Guatemala now and moving fast at the moment! Safe travels. Jonny