The Dominican Missions of Oaxaca

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Rates

• Adult | 1-2 People (Ages 13+): $3,450 MXN | Approx. $192 USD
• Adult | 3-5 People (Ages 13+): $2,300 MXN | Approx. $128 USD
• Adult | 6-8 People (Ages 13+): $1,725 MXN | Approx. $96 USD
• Adult | Child (Ages 6 -12): $805 MXN | Approx. $47 USD
• Adult | Infants (Ages 5 and Under): Free!

The USD price is approximate, and the checkout will be in MXN pesos.

Duration

10 Hours

About

A day-long voyage through the Mixteca region will offer the chance to see the Dominican Route of Oaxaca, named as such due to the religious order of friars that arrived in the area in 1529. Our trip will cover the church and monastery of Santo Domingo Yanhuitlan, the church and open chapel in San Pedro & San Pablo Teposcolula, and the church of San Juan Bautista in Coixtlahuaca.

Itinerary

• We will meet at Casa de las Bugambilias B&B or the front desk of your hotel, from where we will drive 59 miles northeast on Highway Cuacnopalan-Oaxaca 135D to Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán.

• We will drive approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes to arrive in Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán, where we will visit the museum and the temple. The museum preserves beautiful pieces of religious worship: Christs made of varied materials, angels, saints, a copy of the Yanhuitlán Codex, land grants, and architectural elements recovered from various phases of the intervention of the enclosure.

• The temple and former convent of Yanhuitlán is a sixteenth-century colonial construction with typical characteristics of the Dominican Order in Gothic and Plateresque styles. It was built on a pre-Hispanic platform. It has two floors: the first has a gatehouse, cloister, chapter hall, dungeon, refectory, and ante-refectory. From the outside, you can see the orchard and the inn. On the top floor, you can appreciate the cells, terraces, restrooms, and library and have access to the church choir.

• The temple has an impressive facade, baptismal font, choir, roof, many fine colonial-era statues of saints, various altarpieces on the sides of the church, and the main altarpiece constructed like a folding screen.

• After we visit the museum and temple, we will drive 30 minutes southwest on Highway 125 to arrive in San Pedro and San Pablo Teposcolula. Here, we will visit the town’s temple and cloister, a real Dominican treasure and one of the most relevant works of sixteenth-century New Spain. Latin America's largest open chapel is 15 meters high, 43 meters long, and 11 meters deep.

• Inside the temple, you can admire various elements of great historical value, such as the monumental wind or bellows organ, the main altarpiece designed in Churrigueresque Baroque style, a confessionary carved out of a single piece of wood, as well as an old chest of drawers in the sacristy. The cloister is composed of the pilgrim’s portal and the Santa Gertrudis chapel, which shows a series of vaults in a unique style. Around 2 p.m., we will have lunch in a traditional restaurant in San Pedro & San Pablo Teposcolula.

• After lunch, we will drive 1 hour and 15 minutes to San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca to visit the temple and the ex-convent. Coixtlahuaca was one of the major political centers of the Mixteca region in the post-classic period. Now, it is famous for its Dominican architecture: one of the most peculiar examples of sacred art and sixteenth-century architecture of New Spain. The town also stands out for its natural sites, such as the sanctuary of marine fossils and pre-Hispanic vestiges.

Included

• Transportation
• English-speaking tour guide
• Soft drinks
• Bilingual driver

Not Included

• Tips

Additional Cost

• Admission fees
• Lunch
• Additional beverages