Mexico - Birds & Culture of Oaxaca

Summary

Mexico is a fascinating and vibrant country, a colourful land steeped in history, myth and legend. This was the home of the ancient Aztec and Maya civilisations, whose great pyramids rival those of Egypt, and landfall for the first of the Spanish conquistadors as they searched for the fabled Cities of Gold. Today, Mexico is a modern, vibrant and welcoming country, full of natural history and scenic and cultural contrasts. Oaxaca state in particular is one of the most unique and fascinating parts of the country. It was the stronghold of the Zapotec and Mixtec peoples and therefore has plenty of archaeological sites to discover, the most impressive of which is Monte Albán, which was the capital of the Zapotecs and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The crafting heritage of these pre-Columbian peoples is very strong to this day, with the region renowned for its pottery, exquisite textiles and alebrijes – brightly painted wooden animals. It is also a hotbed for distinctive and delicious cuisine, which we will be sampling a lot of throughout this holiday. However, the primary focus of our holiday will be the wildlife and birds in particular. The variety in habitat, from the scrubland plains to densely forested mountains and coastal wetlands, means that it has the highest recorded number of species of any state in Mexico, with this figure almost at 750. It has two species that are found nowhere else, the exquisite Blue-capped Hummingbird and Oaxaca Sparrow, and dozens of other species that are only found in southern Mexico, plus even more countrywide endemics. It is also at the top or bottom of the range of many species that are much more common throughout the Americas, plus it is on the migratory route between North and Central America. This is a special region for many reasons and a visit here will live long in the memory. You can make it even more special by doing our 5-day extension to neighbouring Chiapas, which holds even more avian and cultural delights!