Monte Alban

Around 500 BC the Zapotecs did something audacious: they levelled an entire mountaintop above the meeting point of Oaxaca's three valleys and built their capital in the sky. Monte Alban's Gran Plaza still runs its vast flattened length between pyramid platforms, ballcourt and the arrow-shaped Building J, often read as an observatory, while the famous Danzantes - carved stone slabs of contorted figures - are among the oldest monuments of the Zapotec world. The city dominated the region for over a millennium before fading around 800 AD, leaving tombs, stelae and terraces spilling down the slopes. It was inscribed by UNESCO in 1987 together with Oaxaca's historic centre, and the pairing makes the point: from the plaza's edge the whole valley system spreads below, and you understand at a glance why power lived up here.

What you actually see

• The Gran Plaza - the levelled summit esplanade between pyramids.
• The Danzantes - contorted carved figures from the city's dawn.
• Building J - the arrow-shaped observatory askew to everything else.
• The valley panorama - all three Oaxaca valleys from the platform tops.

When to go

October to March for dry, clear days; come at opening for cool air, empty plazas and the long morning light across the valleys. Afternoons can haze over.

Honest expectations

There is almost no shade and the sun at altitude is fierce - hat, water and an early start are the whole strategy. The site museum is modest; the on-site carvings are mostly replicas with originals in Oaxaca's museums. It pairs perfectly with the city, twenty minutes below.

Nearby

Oaxaca's old town, the craft villages of the central valleys and the ruins of Mitla.