Sierra Norte de Oaxaca

La Sierra Norte de Oaxaca is a heavily-wooded area 62 km from the city of Oaxaca on Federal highway 175, heading towards Tuxtepec.cite journal |last= Quintanar Hinojosa |first=Beatriz |year=2007 |month= August |title=La Sierra Norte |journal=Guía México Desconocido: Oaxaca |volume= 137 |pages=36–37 |url= www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx ] This region is divided into 3 districts: Ixtlán, which has 26 municipalities, Villa Alta, which has 25 municipalities and Mixe, which has 17 municipalities.cite web |url=http://www.e-local.gob.mx/work/templates/enciclo/oaxaca/20reg07.html |title=Enciclopedia de los Municipios de México Estado de Oaxaca |accessdate=2008-02-18 ]

This is an area with one of the best-preserved biospheres in Mexico, as well as a number of interesting towns and villages. The region promotes ecotourism to help preserve the biosphere with various enterprises offering cabins, camping, access and guides for hiking and mountain-biking trails, horseback riding, bird-watching, and cave exploration. It is also one of richest zones of biodiversity in Mexico, with 400 species of birds and 350 species of butterflies. It also contains, seven of the nine types of vegetation indigenous to the country.

There are a number of towns located within this area. Ixtlán is the political and economic center of the region.cite web |url=http://www.cdi.gob.mx/ini/monografias/zapotecossn.html|title=PUEBLOS INDÍGENAS DE MÉXICO ZAPOTECOS / BENE XON DE LA SIERRA NORTE DE OAXACA|accessdate=2008-02-18 ] Itis noted for its Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle (Iglesia de Santo Tomás Apostal), which is a baroque style church known for its portals, façades and sculptures. Capulálpa is 9 km east of Ixtlán, and also has a church, Church of Saint Matthew (Iglesia de San Mateo) with altars representative of Mexican Baroque style. It also has the Centro de Medicina Indígena Tradicional (Center for Indigenous Traditional Medicine) which it sponsored by the Mexican Secretary of Health. It is open to the public, including tourists and offers native herbal medicines, massages, temascals and ritual cleansings.

Indigenous peoples of the Sierra Norte

Various peoples of the region include the Zapotecs, Mixes, Chinantecs, Tlaxcaltecs and the Nahuas.

The Zapotecs of the Sierra Norte, who call themselves the "bene xon," are one of 3 major Zapotec regions in southern Mexico. The other three reside in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, el Valle and the Sierra Madre Oriental. Most Zapotecs are found in the Villa Alta district with some in Ixtlán and a few in Choapan. The "bene xon" divide into four sub-cultures: Cajonos, El Rincón, Ixtlán and Choapan.

References

External links

* [http://www.sierranorte.org.mx Sierra Norte]
* [http://www.ecoturixtlan.com Ecoturixtlan]