Oaxaca is a fine colonial city, with colourful markets, winding cobbled streets, leafy plazas and many ornate churches. The surrounding central valleys have a number of well-preserved archaeological sites. Monte Albán soars 400 metres above the plain and the views across to Oaxaca are fantastic. The site was originally settled in around 200BC, when up to 10,000 people lived there and many of their temples and pyramids remain today. An hour to the east, the palaces and buildings at Mitla are adorned with intricate and exquisite stone mosaics.