From the time we walk up the stairs to buy our tickets to come inside this amazing archeological site, I can already feel the energy in the air of this majestic place.  This is our second time here, this time around it is a bit more special as we have our daughter with us.  This is one of the many archeological sites that she studied while attending college (her major is in anthropology).  We are excited to have our own personal “history guide” explaining a lot of what we are seeing here.  

Monte Albán originally named Danipaguache, which in zapotec means “sacred mountain of life” and it’s located on a low mountainous range rising above the plain in the central section of the Valley of Oaxaca.  Besides being one of the earliest cities of Mesoamerica, Monte Albán’s importance stems also from its role as the pre-eminent Zapotec socio-political and economic center for close to a thousand years.

We spent about 4 hours exploring the ruins and also hiked on the beautiful trails that lead you to other partially excavated ruins and burial grounds.  You will enjoy some breath taking views of the mountain’s, valley’s and also the city but I prefer the views of the green mountains.  While I was standing on top of an upper plat form of the ruin, I can see the entire archeological site and if you use your imagination you can get an idea of what it looked like when it was inhabited.  If you are ever in Oaxaca you must come to Monte Albán, I know that we will return to this sacred mountain of life again.