Mexico Special Tour: Conquest and its consequences - INTI Tours

Departure from Stuttgart in the morning and day flight to Mexico City. Reception at the airport in the evening and transfer to your hotel. On the way you will get your first impressions of the metropolis. Hotel overnight stay in Mexico City.

An extensive city tour awaits you today. Among other things, you will see the Palace of Fine Arts, the Zócalo, the Cathedral, the government seat Palacio Nacional and the remains of the Templo Mayor, the religious and spiritual centre of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán. Drive through different parts of the city to the Anthropological Museum, which gives an excellent overview of ancient Mexican civilisations. The adjacent Chapultepec Park with the castle of Maximilian von Habsburg invites you to take a stroll afterwards. Return to the hotel in the late afternoon. Hotel overnight stay in Mexico City.

Mexico City is the headquarters of SERAPAZ (Misereor and Bread for the World support this organisation), which is politically committed to the poor and disadvantaged population. SERAPAZ engages in positive transformation of conflicts in the areas of territorial conflicts as well as the care of victims of "disappearance". In doing so, SERAPAZ works in direct contact with the social actors of the various resistance movements. SERAPAZ itself describes its actions as "service and advice for peace". Today, a visit to the premises of SERAPAZ is on the agenda, with an exchange with representatives of the organisation planned. The rest of the day is at leisure. Your tour guide will provide tips and guidance depending on the interests of the participants. Hotel overnight stay in Mexico City.

The pyramids of Teotihuacán, located about 60 km northeast of Mexico City, are the imposing legacy of one of Mexico's most important advanced civilisations, Teotihuacán. Founded over 2000 years ago, the city was the cultural centre par excellence and the largest city in ancient America (UNESCO World Heritage Site). You will climb the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon and visit the Quetzalcóatl Palace. After lunch in a typical local restaurant, you will drive to the world-famous Basilica of Guadelupe with the Black Madonna. In the afternoon return to the hotel. Hotel overnight stay in Mexico City.

Passing the proud five-thousand-metre peaks Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, you will drive to Puebla, where you will have lunch in a restaurant serving traditional cuisine. From Puebla you will drive for about four hours on the highway to Oaxaca. The drive goes through the beautiful landscapes of the Sierra Madre. Hotel overnight in Oaxaca.

In the morning, you will go shopping at the local and colourful Benito Juárez market and buy food. After the visit to Monte Alban, you will eat this together with a Zapotec family in the form of a tasty dish. On the artificial platform above Oaxaca, the Zapotecs built the imposing ceremonial centre Monte Albán with more than 20 buildings and pyramids almost 2000 years ago. You will have plenty of time to visit the entire complex. The afternoon is at leisure. Explore the city on your own and take a short city walk through the listed old town of Oaxaca (UNESCO World Heritage Site). The cathedral and the church of Santo Domingo are particularly impressive. Hotel overnight stay in Oaxaca.

Only about 70 kilometres from Oaxaca lies the indigenous community of Capulálpam. - Since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into force in 1994, Mexico's indigenous communities have come under increasing pressure. Transnational mining companies want to extract raw materials from their territories. They are favoured by the Mexican government, which generously grants concessions to mine gold, silver and other minerals. The foreign companies hardly have to pay any taxes, and the local people usually go away empty-handed. Often they even lose their homes. The small community of Capulálpam in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca shows that things can be different. For many years, the indigenous population of Capulálpam de Méndez has successfully defended their right to water, a clean environment and self-determined development. In the last decades, the local population has successfully resisted the mining activities of the big companies and today focuses on ecotourism and sustainable local economy. You will visit the village community, meet those responsible and learn how the concepts came about and are currently being implemented locally. A discussion with Knut Hildebrandt, author and expert on the region, is planned. Overnight stay in cabanas run by the village community.

Drive to Tehuantepec. On the way, you will visit the over 2000-year-old cypress tree of Tule, the traditional weaving village of Teotitlán del Valle and Mitla, which, along with Monte Albán, is considered the most important centre of Zapotec culture. Visit to the excavation site and lunch in a rustic restaurant, where you will learn interesting facts about the high-proof speciality Mezcál. In the afternoon, continue through the Sierra Madre del Sur to Tehuantepec. Hotel overnight stay in Tehuantepec.

In the morning departure to Sumidero Canyon. At noon you will take an impressive boat trip through the Sumidero Canyon, which is up to 1000 metres deep. Afterwards lunch in Chiapa de Corzo. Traces of settlements of a post-Olmec regional culture over 3,500 years old have been discovered here. Today's last destination is San Cristóbal de las Casas, a melting pot of local indigenous cultures. Hotel overnight in San Cristóbal de las Casas.

Morning visit to OMIECH: The organisation of indigenous doctors OMIECH is an association of indigenous "healers" from the highlands of Chiapas. Within the Mayan culture, they are not only doctors, physicians and midwives, but also priests and priestesses in the communities. OMIECH was founded in the 1980s to collect, protect and preserve the knowledge of many indigenous healers and midwives of the Tzotzil from the highlands of Chiapas. Their centre and also the Mayan Medicine Museum built there are located in San Cristobal de las Casas. They work together with 13 communities, some of which are three hours away by car, and the midwives there. The Maya Museum offers a good insight into the Maya medicine of the region and the Cosmovision Maya (We humans are only a part of the fabric of life and nature that surrounds us. We must live in harmony with the laws of nature, otherwise we and nature will become ill). Visit to the Mayan Medicine Museum, meeting, exchange. Afterwards lunch in San Cristobál de las Casas. In the afternoon, visit the church of Santo Domingo and then have time for a tour on your own. Hotel overnight in San Cristóbal de las Casas.

Today you leave the highlands of Chiapas for Palenque. On the way, you will visit the dreamlike turquoise-blue waterfalls of Agua Azul in the middle of the jungle and Misol Há, a beautiful cascade. The cool water offers wonderful refreshment. Upon arrival at the hotel, you will have plenty of time for a dip in the pool. Hotel overnight stay.

Today, an absolute highlight of this trip awaits you: Palenque. The Mayan site of Palenque had its heyday in the 7th century and is one of the most beautiful and best renovated archaeological sites in the country. The Temple of the Inscriptions and the palace complex are particularly impressive. After the extensive visit, drive to the Gulf Coast. On the way, enjoy a swim in the sea and fresh seafood specialities at a beach restaurant. In the charming colonial town of Campeche, you will stay in a beautiful hotel directly in the historic centre. Hotel overnight stay in Campeche.

In the morning, city tour of Campeche (UNESCO World Heritage Site). The goods stored here for shipment to Europe (including silver, cocoa, jade) attracted many pirates in the 16th and 17th centuries. For protection, the Spanish built a huge city wall and metre-thick defensive bastions in 1686. Continue to Uxmal, the most important Maya site in the Puuc region (UNESCO World Heritage Site). Apart from pyramids, Uxmal is characterised by so-called cuadrángulos, large rectangular squares around which buildings in the Puuc style are erected. Unique in the Maya world are the "Pyramid of the Magician" with its oval ground plan and the Nuns' Quadrangle (North Temple). At noon, the journey continues to Mérida. Caribbean joie de vivre awaits you here. Enjoy the colourful hustle and bustle at the Zócalo. Hotel overnight stay in Mérida.

West of Mérida is the Celestún National Park, a paradise for flamingos and pelicans, which you can admire in their natural habitat on a two-hour boat trip. Afterwards, you have the opportunity to enjoy fresh sea specialities on the beach. In the evening you return to Mérida. Final evening. Hotel overnight stay in Mérida.

Visit to the most famous archaeological site in Yucatán - Chichén Itzá. The Mayan and Toltec site is dominated by the nine-tiered temple of Kukulkán - the "Mayan Quetzalcóatl" - symbolised by two mighty serpent heads. The architecture of the site was strongly influenced by astronomical-astrological ideas. Afterwards, drive to the Caribbean coast to Tulúm. Here you will make a short photo stop. The small but quite extraordinary Mayan fortress of Tulúm proudly presents itself on a rock above the turquoise-blue Caribbean Sea. Afterwards, drive to the airport. Return flight to Germany.

Optionally, there is the possibility of an individual bathing extension.

You will arrive back home full of memories.
Or you can enjoy a bathing extension according to your wishes. Please feel free to contact us!