Oaxaca is No. 5 of Places to Visit in 2018

National Geographic puts state near the top of Best Trips 2018.

In Mexico, the place to visit next year is Oaxaca, according to National Geographic.

Ranked fifth in the publication’s Best Trips 2018 list, Oaxaca is the only Mexican state to be included. Readers are advised that “tourists are welcome more than ever in the color-rich Mexican state of Oaxaca, shaken by two powerful September earthquakes.”

The article then goes to describe the local markets found throughout the state, where tourists and shoppers alike can find “dazzlingly vibrant wool rugs and other handmade textiles dyed using fruits, insects and other natural colorants.”

The publication also remarks that “more than a dozen indigenous groups once inhabited the southern region of Mexico now known as Oaxaca,” making the state “one of the most ethnically diverse in the country.” In the capital city alone, visitors can “discover the confluence of 1,500 years of history and culture.”

Interviewed by the news website e-oaxaca, the mayor of Oaxaca city agreed that “Oaxaca’s got it all, whoever visits falls in love with it, gets hooked by its music, folklore, art, culture, gastronomy and identity…” “Those who visit us are fascinated by the 17th-century architecture, the gardens and the shady zócalo,” added José Antonio Hernández Fraguas.

Despite the complications caused by the socio-political idiosyncrasies of the city and the state, National Geographic’s recommendation is the second to be published this year.

Over the summer, Travel and Leisure magazine named Oaxaca city the sixth best city in the world for its “thriving culinary scene and cultural depth.”

Source: Mexico New Daily