Our Tours

Nuu Savi: Textiles of the Mixteca
(For tour price and other information, please see the Trip Details sidebar on this page)

Two of the most richly robed indigenous villages in Mexico and a peek into a seldom visited corner of Oaxaca.

This tour is run in partnership with the Museo Textile de Oaxaca.

Well off the beaten track and well worth visiting, the upper Mixteca is home to some of the most colorful textile villages in Mexico, rare towns where the old ways of traditional dress, indigenous vogue and ethnic chic are alive and well. We take you inside of these and other villages, introducing you to weavers, embroiderers, basket plaiters and paper makers. We also visit two of the grandest churches in Mexico, long forgotten by time and recently being gloriously restored. We'll also visit a restored textile mill turned into and art school, stay in the thriving market center of Tlaxiaco and travel far beyond the guide books and tourist routes. For textile lovers and explorers curious about how people live and what's around the next corner, this short journey is the perfect fit.

Tour Itinerary by Day:
B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner included in tour price.

Day 1, (LD) Meet this morning at 9AM at the Museo Textile de Oaxaca (Hidalgo 917) where we'll enjoy a private tour of the museum before heading out into the Oaxacan outback. Then it's time for a bit of time travel. As we drive into the upper Mixteca region we will pass through the territories of what were once important Mixtec kindoms: Yanhuitlan and Teposcolula. The kingdoms are long gone, destroyed by the Spanish conquest of the 1520's. Most of the people are gone as well, the population of the Mixteca never recovered from a century of epidemics in the 16th century. But we will see relics of those more prosperous times and monumental reminders of that era of conquest. In both Yanhuitlan and Teposcolula stand some of the finest churches and monasteries in Mexico, built on wealth generated by the silk boom of the 1500's and the free labor of conscripted Mixtecs. We'll visit these places today and learn a little about the tumultuous history of this region. We'll spend the evening in the bustling Mixtec town of Tlaxiaco.

Day 2, (BLD) We travel to the land of the indigenous Trique communities this morning, and a village full of women who wear laboriously woven and brocaded full length red huipiles, or gowns. We'll visit a family of weavers in a log cabin on the edge of the mountain and see why it takes months to make one of these huipiles. This is one of the last regions in Oaxaca where almost all the women still dress traditionally. Then on to the small, hillside village of Cuquila which dates back over 1,500 years. Above the town are still to be found the stone temples and foundations of the old city. Where stopping here for lunch. But it's no ordinary lunch. We'll eat at the home of a traditional corn farmer and backcountry renaissance man. His father was an old time potter, his wife spins and weaves, he tans leather and makes sandals, along with raising fish, doing woodwork, planting beans and living the way people have lived for ever; using the skill in their hands and the creativity of their minds to house and feed themselves. For a moment we will immerse ourselves in another pace, another time, and enjoy a simple, old fashioned peasant meal. Evening in Tlaxiaco.

Day 3, (BL) Oaxaca is full of secrets and surprises. The Mixtec village of San Pablo is one of the grandest for textile lovers. While almost unknown and unheard of beyond this region and never visited by tourists, the traditional dress of the women here is perhaps the most spectacular in Oaxaca. And everyone uses it every day. White blouses with colorful embroidery, pleated skirts, bright beaded necklaces and almost florescent head shawls are the look of the decade. While the women only make blouses for themselves, one can often find people willing to sell one of their extras. We'll explore the village with this simple quest and enjoy being in this garden of human flowers. From here we'll visit Tlacotepec where a special basket is made from plaited yucca leaves and decorative belts are woven on backstrap looms. Evening in Tlaxiaco.

Day 4, (L) Biding farewell to the Mixteca and returning to Oaxaca we'll stop enroute in a foothill village where a local villager-run cottage industry creates a fine assortment of handmade papers and paper products, including paper jewelry. This is also the home of a beautifully restored 19th century textile factory that has been turned into an arts school. A wonderful place to wander, take photos and enjoy fine architecture. We'll arrive in Oaxaca in the afternoon. Lodging this evening is not included in tour price, please have arrangements made.

All itineraries subject to change without notice.