Guide · Oaxaca

Mountain biking in Oaxaca: Ixtepeji and the Sierra Norte.

Oaxaca's Sierra Norte is dense, humid pine and oak forest, with some of the longest trails in Mexico. The centre of it all is Ixtepeji, an hour from the city.

A small rider on a berm, between tall trunks and forest mist

Ixtepeji's trails

Most are blues: Jabalí, Tierras Negras, Corralito and Ola Hawaiana. Very long singletracks with flowing and technical sections, natural berms and great grip. From the summit, at about 3,200 meters, you can descend more than two thousand meters in a single day.

To finish the day, there are the blacks. Llano Carreta is an endless descent. Peña Prieta is Ixtepeji's other legendary descent: technical, long, natural and demanding.

El Toro

Oaxaca's signature trail: endless, technical, natural, steep, with several possible lines and the city of Oaxaca below. Around it are Puma, Lince, Carbonera, Martínez and Herradura. A day there can add up to more than two thousand meters of descent in under fifteen kilometres.

The level they ask for

These are two-thousand-meter descents, sometimes two days in a row. They ask for good descending technique, good fitness and brakes in perfect shape. If you ride blues with confidence and the odd black, you will love it.

What to bring

After the ride

Oaxacan food between rides, and yes, tlayudas. Forest cabins with fireplaces. And a traditional temazcal to sweat, breathe and recover before the last days.

Going with a guide

Tlayuda Ride and Connect is six days in Ixtepeji with everything handled: airport transfers, shuttles to the summit, guides, cabins, every meal and the temazcal. Two departures in 2027, in March and May, for 5 to 12 people.

See Tlayuda Ride and Connect More guides