About eight miles east of the city center is the village of Santa Maria del Tule, where you’ll find what can be seen in most towns and villages in Mexico: a quaint church, a small plaza, and local markets.  However, thousands of Mexican and foreign visitors flock to this village every month to witness something you cannot find elsewhere in Mexico—the remarkable El Tule, a 2,000 year-old living tree.

Getting to Santa Maria del Tule from Oaxaca City is very easy.  You can either take one of the local buses which run to the village every quarter of an hour or so from the city’s local bus station, or you can take a local taxi for a modest fare.  The journey time takes about 20 minutes on the bus.

When you arrive in Santa Maria del Tule, you’ll probably find a crowd of people milling around the churchyard, home to El Tule, the oldest living tree in Mexico and one of the oldest in North America.

There is a nominal entrance fee that will relieve you of just a few pesos, a sum that also includes an entrance ticket on the back of which you can learn about the tree’s characteristics and history.

El Tule is quite an impressive sight, and it’s also quite humbling to stand beside (and under the shade of) a living thing that has been around since Roman times. It’s well worth the short journey from Oaxaca city to the village of Santa Maria del Tule.

Travel Tip: Weekends are particularly busy, so week-day visits are recommended to avoid the biggest crowds.

Learn more about the remarkable colonial city of Oaxaca here on Mexperience.