Monte Alban is built at the junction of three broad valleys, across from the Atoyac stream, lays a series of large hills. The largest of these hills is nearly 400 meters above sea level. It was on the top of this mountain, which the Zapotecs leveled off and built into a great ceremonial city in about the year 500 ad. This center once ruled the entire region and collected tribute from the surrounding cities. The city is now known as Monte Alban. Monte Alban, or "White Mountains" in Spanish, was formerly called Danibaan (Sacred Mountain). No visit to Oaxaca can be considered complete without visiting Monte Alban. Monte Alban was first occupied in about 500 B.C. and it was inhabited until about 850 A.D. when it bacame slowly abandoned. After it was abandoned it remained sacred to the Zapotecs and then later on to the Mixtecs who setttled in the area after the Zapotecs declined in power. The entire city of Monte Alban is laid out on a NS and EW Alignment except for Building J which is an arrow shaped structure probably laid out with astronomical alignments. The path that most visitors follow takes you through the main gate near the Visitors Center then along the Northeast side of the ruins to the NE corner of the site along the eastern back of Building A and the eastern back of the North Platform which starts your tour at the Ball Court. We have written the word ENTER on the site map where most people actually enter the ruins. However, some people enter by going up to the top of the North Platform and then down into the ruins. INAH has placed many restrictions upon where you can walk at Monte Alban since our last trip in December of 1982 and unfortunately you can not get the full view of many of the structures that we had in 1982. Our last page will show many of those views for your enjoyment. A word about the restrictions. I don't like it, but if I were the director of INAH, I would do the same thing. First, the stones are of soft material and it is easily damaged by acid rain. Second, the tourists just love these sites to death and they need the protection. So, we just live with it, but I do miss the old days when the real artifacts were on the sites and you could walk anywhere you wanted to walk. This Ruins Has Access To Those With Wheelchairs!
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The Xoxocotlán International airport (IATA: OAX, ICAO: MMOX) Is the international airport located at Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico. It handles the national and international air traffic for the city of Oaxaca. We have links on this page that will connect you with flights into and out of the Xoxocotlán International airport and allow you to book any of several of the best hotels in Oaxaca. We suggest getting a hotel and then letting them arrange either a car or a tour of Oaxaca. If you call their Concierge Services ahead of your arrival, all of this can be pre-arranged for you. We do this all the time, when traveling in Mexico. It is safe and it works!!! We have never experienced a problem, doing it this way! We have used the services of Adan Fernando Castaneda and his taxi for three days in Oaxaca Mexico. We have found that Adan knows how to get around Oaxaca in a safe and effecient manner. Adan Fernando Castaneda is also an excellent guide. He is polite and very caring about his passengers. We found that he treats you as his friends and not as simply customers. We highly recommend that you contact Adan and that you use his services to tour Oaxaca. Adan can be reached at: Sitio Reforma Taxi Numero 576 Sr. Adan Fernando Castaneda Tel. sitio 51-5-56-38 Tel, cel. 044-951-113-66-35 You can also contact Adan through the Holiday Inn Express in Oaxaca City. We used this driver in January of 2005. Our comments are as of that date. We recommend this fine driver. We receive nothing from Adan for our comments and only place them here as a service to people who view our pages. Situations can always change, so we can assume no responsibility if this driver no longer performs according to our recommendation. If you find that this driver has changed and can no longer be recommended, we would appreciate hearing from you. You can see a web page that we made for Adan at: http://www.delange.org/Adan/Adan.htm We have placed links to Expedia.com on this page so you can arrange your flights into and out of Oaxaca; as well as your hotel, when visiting this area. We found that generally speaking, they provide the best hotel and air flight prices into Oaxaca.
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| Monte Alban Archaeological Ruins Site Map |
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| Monte Alban Archaeological Ruins Parking Lots, Visitors Center. Looking South Photo Taken From Tomb 105 Area. North Side Of North Platform In Background. |
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| Looking SW At VG Complex Monument | South East Side Jewelled Building |
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| East Side Jewelled Building Next To East VG Complex Monument "Jewels" Above The "J" | Jewelled Building "Jewels" For Which It Is Called The Jewelled Building |
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| Wheel Chair Lift On South East Corner Of North Platform | Ball Court & South Platform From East Of North Platform |
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| East Side Building A With North Platform In Background | East Side North Platform |
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| East Side North Platform | East Side North Platform North Side Ball Court |
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| North Side Ball Court | North Side Ball Court |
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| Ball Court Looking SW | Ballcourt Looking SE |
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| Standing On Building Two, Lookin At South Platform In Background, Buildings G, H, I, J On Right Side | Standing On Building Two, Lookin At Building Four In Background |
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| East Side Building G, H, I. | Lookin At South Platform In Background, Buildings G, H, I, J On Right Side |
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| Looking Back NE At Buildings 2, P, The Palace, & Q. | Looking SW At Building G |
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| Looking SW At Building H | Looking SW At Building I |
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| Looking SW At Building J, Called "The Observatory" Contains Several Astronomical Alignments! | Looking SW At The Tunnel Complex, Called "The Chapel" Building H In Background |