At the risk of sounding Ixtpeji-Obsessed, we headed back up there again last week!

This time, a late start saw us dash across the valley in the midday heat, then winch our way up to the Pueblo Mancomunado settlement of Benito Juárez, chasing the afternoon light into the shade of the treeline. We camped in a glade below the Centro Ecoturistico, our tent pitched at the foot of a broad tree covered in mosses and miniature ferns, from where we could hear big old water trucks rumbling by at dawn, heading down the mountain in their endless quest to quench the thirst of the city.

The following morning, we rode up to the community’s spindly mirador at a-little-past-sunrise for #coffeeoutside, ate to our fill at the village comedor, then traversed west to Santa Catarina Ixtepeji, the parque ecoturístico known for its interlacing enduro trails, chicanes of pine trees, and old growth oaks weighed down by legions of bromeliads. It’s a while since I’ve ridden this particular, connecting dirt road, given that it’s been closed for so long during the pandemic. Largely bereft of vehicular traffic – bar an aged pickup truck or two loaded high with chopped wood, leaving scattered limbs behind – it’s wide and well-packed in places, singletrack for a few tantalizing moments, and cosily overgrown in between. Caveat: if you’re reading this with the intention of tracing this route, it’s actually less ‘traverse’ and more ‘drop down and then climb back up’.

For our second night, we camped near a madrone at a favourite spot in Ixtepeji, a slender saddle between two dips in the pine forest, setting us up for another just-past-sunrise climb to the Pelado Chico mirador – a short trail ride and hike away. Then, with a round of memelas in our bellies from a roadside restaurant – the tortillas especially fresh, thick and perfect in their imperfection – we dropped down to Estudiantes, on the apex of one of the many wiggles in the paved highway that connects the Oaxacan valley with the Sierra Norte mountains and the thousand lakes that lie beyond.

From there, we dived down a blink-and-you-miss-it trail onto Tres Molinos, finishing up with an easy cruise back into town, kicking up dry season dust in our wake. For any locals who love Tres Molinos, so named for the rubbly remnants of the three mills that it passes, it’s with sadness that I report that it is – singletrack-wise at least – no more. What was once a fun, alluringly thin, riverside trail that clung cleverly to the hillside and was shared with hikers and mules alike, is now a broad dirt road, its edges marked with the fresh scars of a digger that likely pushed and heaved its way noisily through. There appears to be the intention to concrete it too, or at least develop it in some way, judging by the bricks stacked neatly every few hundred metres.

Also, there was no Huesos to run alongside and cavort in the forest on this trip, as he was on a staycation with Virginia and Logan. Lucky boy!

I love this new Zapotec-language mural. Shortly beyond, we bumped into Richard, aboard his speed machine. Note the tyre size difference with my Magic Carpet!

After cutting across the Mitla valley, we started the climb from Teotitlán del Valle to Benito Juárez at about 3pm, chasing the late afternoon light.

The next morning, we rode to the Benito Juarez mirador and clambered up to its spindly lookout tower…

A flowering agave, releasing its seeds across the valley with the morning, blustery wind.

The Puente Colgante, a swinging, steel swing bridge anchored between two jagged outcrops covered in giant agaves and wildflowers.

Coffeeoutside! (not quite sunrise, but still, the early morning light was glorious)

Ever the opportunist: quick Bedrock Mountain Clog photoshoot (thanks Emma!) You can read my review here.

Killer Chilaquiles in Benito Juárez and Oaxaca’s own delicious Mama Pacha chocolate for nibbles….. Add in orchids, flowering bromeliads, giant blue agaves, pine-covered dirt, and a butterfly chrysalis for the full Sierra Norte experience!

The top! So close I can (almost) reach out and touch it. This route takes you from 1500m to over 3100m, via a whole bunch of ups and downs.

(Yet another) Too Cute Puppy.

Late afternoon memelas and a jar of local apricots… Plus, big wheels and an aspirational haircut.

(Yet another) Idyllic Camping Spot. Washed down with sweet apricots.

Morning Ixtepeji singletrack (insert heart emoji).

Mountain Clog photoshoot…or just a casual Coffee Outside? Can it be both?!

Another ‘nearly sunrise’.

And back down again, via flowy trails, teething puppies, and roadwork hike-a-bikes…

Gotta have a couple of rig shots to wrap this post up…

The Route

This route makes a fun 2-nighter, though on Day 3, you’re best off dropping down to Huayapam from Ixtepeji (as we did last week), given the roadworks on what was once a dirt road to Estudiantes, and the ongoing widening/concreting of Tres Molinos trail. You can pay for camping at the Centro Ecoturístico in Benito Juarez (the camping area is just behind the office) and at the entrance to Parque Ecoturístico La Cumbre Ixtepeji, which gives you free rein to pitch your tent where you wish (though fires are only allowed at the Centro Ecoturístico).

The route as we rode it, roadworks and all:

And this could be a final version that maximises dirt. Technically, it would best to ask the Huayapam community permission to use their forest road first, though. Locally, it’s known as La Reina.

For more routes like this, and longer trips, see this post. For instance, Doble Mirador would make a fun extension to the Vuelta de los Pueblos Mancomunados, using Huayapam as a way of dropping down into the valley again.