Sierra Norte

As you probably know, we love a good walk/hike. We booked a 3-day/2-night hike in the Sierra Norte mountains northeast of Oaxaca. The area consists of eight Pueblos Mancomunados, a collection of eight communities (villages) that are self-governing. They help support themselves through tourism, offering guided treks between villages.

We left Oaxaca City’s 5000 ft elevation and mid-70s temperatures and arrived about 90 minutes later in Cuajimoloyes. The temperature was now in the 40s and we were now at an elevation a bit over 10,000 ft. We did a short hike upon arrival to a viewpoint over the town. We learned about some of the native vegetation and about the community.

The village of Cuajimoloyes:

934DFA75-AE67-406D-8ED2-E4CDDAF7A043

C3BE0626-4A35-4281-8E1D-C1E996AB6104

137082F8-2183-424E-8215-C5855323D5BE

After the hike we were taken to our cabin for the evening and shown the nearby restaurant where we had a delicious dinner. The cabin had a fireplace and they brought wood at 8p so we could start a fire and heat the cabin before retiring. The low that evening was about 30F, but there were plenty of blankets and the fire did a decent job of warming up the cabin.

The view from our cabin.

B2EE0C51-BCF7-4B2A-8C6A-F56B9700D94D

We awoke to a beautiful morning for Day 2. The hill in the right of the frame is the viewpoint we hiked the previous evening.

5636E947-0303-4B4A-B11B-6FBB85534693

On Day 2, we hiked to Latuvi through dense pine forests. Here’s Leena and our guide.

E01715FB-5342-409B-A5D3-2E9AC2FC4726

6E6034DA-2498-4C04-AAE7-42E7F48211C8

We came to a mirador (viewpoint) at mid-day and stopped for the lunch they’d bagged for us. Not a bad spot for a picnic.

D98C29BA-25C1-455F-BE48-281C2D3E4F35

1D6BD981-B141-426C-8DD4-789ADD0D1881

We had frequent views of the valley through the forest as we descended to the valley floor.

98D35030-A020-4F39-A198-FEA45D2D2A96

87FAACE5-1C40-4871-ACE0-567BDE9B3E89

Orchids.

0BDE02BF-FF7F-4BB0-8D21-0833284BDB73

FF0ED44B-0BFD-41BC-8848-25B529BCEDB8

We came to a stream at the valley floor and had to “walk the planks” to cross.

A292EF90-1758-44A8-8CE8-5A01F8A69324

Just after the stream was a trout farm. They divert water from the stream into pools and grow the fish. The largest trout are in the pool in the foreground.

E1E5D5EB-26CD-4474-89FC-9899658B5765

Remember how we’d stopped for a picnic lunch? Well, that sandwich was just a snack. We were served trout for lunch. The trout was steamed in aluminum foil along with tomatoes, squash and onions. Fortunately, I have a big appetite.

6689405B-A7A0-44A3-A85E-7FBB9AF67B19

After a decent climb, we stopped at a woman’s house to sample pulque and tepache. Pulque is fermented from the sap of agave plants. It’s an alcoholic drink, though generally a bit weaker than beer. The version we tried used the wood in the foreground for additional flavor. It was tart and yeasty. Tepache is pineapple rinds fermented with cane sugar (that’s a chunk in the middle of the frame). Sounds sweet, right? Indeed, it was sweet and thick. We both preferred the pulque.

C2F32914-31D8-4521-B753-4A071D5CFB58

We completed our climb to Latuvi. At an elevation of just over 8000 feet, we’d had a net descent of 2000 feet on the day. But it wasn’t all downhill. Though my Garmin watch says we descended 300 flights of stairs on the day (!), we also climbed 61.

145B77C0-014E-4052-92F2-4810194DBA47

The view from our cabin. Oh, yes, they had some Modelo Especial at the store.

9F750C70-D62E-4564-972B-0481F6EC254A

On Day 3, we hiked to Amatlán. This was also downhill, though only about half as much as Day 2. As we continued to descend, the foliage changed. We passed by a number of farms with cows, horses, chickens, dogs and cats. We passed fields of corn, dormant after a December harvest. We passed beautiful rustic farmhouses.

9871AF5A-3DCC-4DA4-884F-9D83ECF65A2F

525A0E12-6A38-4403-B647-E4E1988F0DCC

A5B6D35D-FE94-4124-91EC-946853A5F9F3

09D3A565-E26E-4008-B437-1B0B25DCF095

CDE14748-0825-4672-AA37-FA1AC8AAE7DC

The trees were soon covered in Spanish moss, and I may have become obsessed with finding a picture to capture how it was everywhere.

B972684F-9C17-4B16-B85D-D6F110F4DD98

Careful, low clearance!

46A88212-678C-4EE9-9164-F8D92303D5A9

291BB53E-07CD-40B3-B019-A200D957E58A

We enjoyed some stunning vistas in the early afternoon.

AD9786D0-F728-43E8-85FD-236CB702CD5F

A537D43A-3E4E-4482-9A80-DC18FC6DE87D

49D21541-684F-4958-9C04-9DA6F10EB472

1C97BD9C-4296-4368-82A1-E1902D7CE677

The edge of the village of Amatlán is in the right side of the frame. Our hike ended just behind the hill you can see.

C58F42BA-2ABE-4357-B467-7856F3A7884E

Though Day 1 was a small hike to a viewpoint, we covered a bit over 15 miles on both Day 2 and 3. We were plenty tired by the end!