How We Define Activity Levels
We rate each trip from Level 1 (Easy) to Level 5 (Challenging)—from fully accessible experiences to adventures best suited for experienced hikers/adventurers.
Whether you prefer a relaxed stroll or a rewarding trek, there’s a pace—and a place—for you.
Interest-Free Payment Plans Available
Get the detailed itinerary here.
Trip Highlights
- Experience a traditional machucado ritual in the Sierra Mixe, connecting with ancestral food, communal values, and farm to table ingredients.
- Join a natural dye and textile workshop in Teotitlán del Valle, learning from Zapotec artisans about land-based craft and color.
- Swim at Hierve el Agua after a light acclimatization hike, taking in the mineral springs and surrounding valley views.
- Hike to Zempoaltepetl, the sacred mountain of the Mixe people, and learn about its spiritual significance through stories and rituals.
- Engage with Mixe artists and musicians in Tlahuitoltepec and Totontepec, exploring the region’s living cultural heritage.
- Learn about traditional medicine with Doña Juanita in Santa María Huitepec, gaining insight into Indigenous healing practices and land connection.
Our Itinerary at a Glance
Day 1: Welcome to Oaxaca City
- Arrive in Oaxaca, a city alive with creative energy—where every cobblestone street bursts with color, every market hums with flavor, and every plaza carries the rhythm of centuries-old traditions. At the airport, you’ll be warmly greeted by your private driver for a seamless transfer into the heart of the valley.
- Begin your stay with an intimate introduction to regenerative travel, guided by local collaborators dedicated to protecting Oaxaca’s cultural heritage and ecological balance. Through their stories, gain insight into how your journey supports artisans, farmers, and communities working to keep ancestral knowledge alive in a rapidly changing world.
- Settle into Niyana Casa Biocultural, your home for the next few nights—a thoughtfully designed retreat built from natural materials, blending traditional techniques with modern sustainability. Surrounded by native gardens and mountain views.
- In the evening, gather for a welcome dinner at Levadura de Olla, where celebrated Chef Thalía Barrios weaves together the flavors of her Mixteca roots with seasonal produce sourced directly from local farmers. Each dish is a love letter to Oaxacan cuisine—deeply rooted in tradition, yet vibrantly alive on the plate.
Day 2: Natural Wonders & Living Traditions
- Begin the day with a traditional Oaxacan breakfast in Emelia’s kitchen, where the scent of freshly ground corn and simmering beans fills the air. Using produce sourced from the valley—ripened under the warm Oaxaca sun—Emelia prepares each dish with the kind of care and flavor that only comes from generations of passed-down recipes.
- Set out for Hierve el Agua, a breathtaking natural wonder where mineral-rich springs spill over the cliffs, creating the illusion of cascading waterfalls frozen in stone. Hike along scenic trails with panoramic valley views, then cool off with a swim in the turquoise pools, whose healing waters.
- Continue to Teotitlán del Valle, a Zapotec weaving village where textile artistry is a way of life. Here, families have been spinning, dyeing, and weaving for generations, preserving ancient techniques in every loom and thread.
- Join a hands-on natural dye workshop, learning how plants like cochineal, indigo, and marigold transform raw fibers into vivid hues.
- As evening falls, gather for an intimate mezcal tasting led by local maestros, pairing each pour with stories of its origins. Your night comes alive with the brassy rhythm of a local band, laughter, and shared toasts—a joyful celebration of culture, craft, and community.
Day 3: Into the Sierra Mixe – Ancestral Flavors & Mountain Welcome
- Journey deep into the remote Sierra Mixe, a rugged mountain region known as the land of the “never conquered” Mixe people. Here, centuries of resistance have safeguarded their language, traditions, and way of life, creating a living cultural tapestry untouched by outside conquest.
- Participate in a sacred machucado ritual, an ancient culinary tradition where corn and other ingredients are prepared in a large communal vessel. Guided by local women, you’ll learn how each step—pounding, mixing, sharing—is an act of humility, connection, and reciprocity.
- Visit local pulque producers, meeting the stewards of this ancient agave-based beverage. From harvesting the maguey to fermenting the sweet aguamiel, you’ll gain insight into the role pulque plays in Mixe history, celebration, and sustenance.
- Settle into the mountains at Rincón Mixe Hotel, where a warm welcome dinner awaits beside a crackling fire. Under a sky scattered with stars, share stories, music, and quiet moments with your hosts—an evening of presence, gratitude, and connection in one of Oaxaca’s most resilient and remarkable communities.
Dylan, Oaxaca's Regional Director
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Where We Stay
At Heart of Travel, we believe your home away from home should feel as authentic as the places you explore. That’s why we seek out premium boutique lodging owned and run by local entrepreneurs whenever possible. Rather than focusing on star ratings, we seek out properties that blend sustainable practices with one-of-a-kind character, heartfelt service, and genuine warmth. From thoughtfully restored heritage houses to eco-minded retreats, each stay is chosen for its ability to tell a story, support small-business communities, and create memorable moments.
The Heart Experience
What makes this journey special isn’t just where we go—it’s how we go. From women healers and temazcaleras in the highlands to textile artists in Tlahuitoltepec, pulque makers in Totontepec, and kitchen guardians of ancestral dishes like machucado, each detail connects you with the heart of the Sierra Mixe—its traditions, living culture, and spiritual rhythm.
Meet Dylan
Oaxaca’s Regional Director & Regenerative Travel Expert
Dylan co-designed this journey through Oaxaca and the Sierra Mixe to revealthe soul of a territory where ancestral wisdom, ecological resilience, and cultural memory are deeply alive—felt in shared rituals around fire and food, in the mountains that still speak to their people, and in the quiet strength of communities who have never been conquered.
Some of his favorite highlights include:
- Learning about the Mixe philosophy of “never conquered”—how their resilience shapes daily life, communal values, and resistance through culture.
- Tasting rare regional ingredients during the machucado ritual, like roasted chilies and hand-foraged herbs.
- Experiencing pulque facilitating a deeper understanding of its spiritual and communal significance beyond just the drink.
- Evening storytelling by the fire, where local hosts share oral histories that have been passed down for generations.
This is travel with heart—where impact and experience go hand in hand.
How We Define Activity Levels
We rate each trip from Level 1 (Easy) to Level 5 (Challenging)—from fully accessible experiences to adventures best suited for experienced hikers/adventurers.
Whether you prefer a relaxed stroll or a rewarding trek, there’s a pace—and a place—for you.
What is included:
Our prices reflect the true cost of creating regenerative, respectful, and thoughtfully curated travel experiences. That means fair wages for our local guides and partners, carbon-conscious operations, and deep-rooted collaborations with community-based projects.
Interest-Free Payment Plans
We know that meaningful travel is an investment—and we’re here to make it doable. That’s why we offer interest-free payment options designed to work for you—no hidden fees, no credit checks, and no third-party financing.
Pay in Full & Save
Save $100 when you pay in full at the time of registration.
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Standard Plan
Pay a larger deposit + two installments, due 210 and 150 days before departure.
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Interest-Free Plan
Pay a smaller deposit and start making interest-free monthly payments—trip is due in full 91 days before departure.
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Travel plans can change - and that’s okay. With Heart of Travel Trip Protection, you get the freedom to protect your investment while staying flexible.
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What to expect when booking!
Reserve Your Spot
Lock in your adventure with a deposit and a few quick details about who’s traveling. Choose the payment plan that fits your life—pay in full, split it in three installments, or spread it out monthly—and start counting down the days for your next adventure!
Get Trip-Ready
As we get closer to departure, we’ll drop a Welcome Packet in your inbox loaded with need-to-knows: packing lists, weather tips, local customs, currency info, and any visa or entry forms you might need. You’ll also get steady pre-departure emails and the option to attend a pre-trip Zoom call with your Tour Leader to answer questions big or small—so you can show up confident and stress-free. Call recordings will be made available to all trip participants.
Travel & Connect
A few weeks before our departure, you’ll be invited to a private WhatsApp group and PhotoCircle where fellow travelers, Heart of Travel Tour Leaders, and local guides start swapping intros, answering last-minute questions, and sharing playlists. Once on the ground, the Whatsapp group becomes your real-time hub for insider tips, updates, and reminders, and sharing the moments that make each trip unforgettable.
Keep the Journey Going
We keep every trip’s WhatsApp thread open long after the farewell hugs—because the stories, photos, and friendships shouldn’t end when the plane lands. Drop your best shots into our PhotoCircle, stay in the loop for alumni perks, and (coming later this year) join our online community designed to keep travelers and local partners connected between adventures.
How We Define Activity Levels
We rate each trip from Level 1 (Easy) to Level 5 (Challenging)—from fully accessible experiences to adventures best suited for experienced hikers/adventurers.
Whether you prefer a relaxed stroll or a rewarding trek, there’s a pace—and a place—for you.
Have more questions?
We’re here to help. Whether you’re unsure about flights, packing, affordability or picking the right trip—just reach out.
No question is too small!