Hierve el Agua — Attraction in Oaxaca

21,000 reviews. Not sure if this is going to help anyone. Kind of piling on. Yes it's great. Maybe I can give some information to help. People are very friendly here. Make sure to ask if you have any questions. Just stop someone on the street and they will look out for you most likely. Get up around 5:30 6:00 and walk over to the vasconcealos baseball stadium. Get there a tad before 7:00 a.m. and look for one of the green buses that will take you to mitla. Walk around the stadium ask where to get the bus someone will show you. Bus at the time we traveled was 25 pesos a person to mitla. Buses were packed and we stood pretty much the whole way. Not a problem. Once you get into mitla they will either drop you off at the bus station or if you are aware of where the collectivos gather you can get off about a few hundred yards prior to the bus station. A three-wheeled motor taxi charged us 20 pesos to go a couple hundred yards if that. People at the colectivo are very very nice and helpful. They wait till they get about 12 people. If they don't they charge you more so instead of 70 pesos it'll be 90 pesos or you sit and wait. I think the amount that they charge includes a 15 peso per person shakedown through one of the villages. When you get to the park they will ask you for 100 pesos a person in cash. No cards here. Bring hiking shoes and hiking socks. Bring a towel and a change of clothes. Bathrooms are acceptable and they also have showers. They may or may not charge when you're there. We brought Crocs also for the pool. Unfortunately we couldn't go into the pool because of personal reasons but other people with us did go and they went after the hike and it was very refreshing and recommended. My daughter says she doesn't recommend the hiking but it's a difficult hike especially if you're out of shape. She's a volleyball and swimming athlete and I'm a heavy set old guy. We both did the walk and lived. Don't go down the steps and decide to turn around and go back up because that's the hardest period if you go down those steps continue all the way around. Don't even think about it if you are not in shape. Don't think about it if you have bad knees or hips. Make sure you have some water with you. Make sure you take your phone or camera because it's beautiful. The walk around takes about an hour if you are relaxed. Again, don't even think about going down those steps if you're not prepared to go all the way around and it is not easy no matter what anybody will say. Maybe if you take 3 hours to do it you can do it easily. keep in mind that the people you go on the bus with determine really when you return. Share your number with them or your WhatsApp so you could all get together and get the bus back at the same time. Once you finish walking all the way around you will go back down towards the pools. The walk back up to where you were dropped off where all the restaurants and stalls are is up the hill and it's a tough hike up especially after you are hike. Make sure to use the pool and relax a little bit and then take your time walking back up the hill. Get some coconut. Get some mango. Get something to eat. Support these people here. A coconut is about 50 pesos and the same for the mangoes. We unfortunately didn't eat because we were at the mercy of the people we traveled with. To return home it was the same deal with the 70 pesos turning into 90 pesos cuz we were missing two people. The ride is fine. The ride back was air conditioned peered the ride up was in the back of a truck. Not saying this is going to happen for you. Your colectivo will drop you off at the mitla bus station and you get the same green bus back from mitla to Oaxaca. You can stop in the village on the way back. I think the cost will be half. Again, it's 25 pesos a person to get from mitla to Centro Oaxaca. You put in your hotel or b&b into your Google maps and follow along and decide when to jump off the bus. People that ride the bus are the most friendly helpful people and they will look out after you. Believe it or not they're always...

A beautiful place, which needs better preservation.

We went to Hierve el Agua as part of an organised day trip from Oaxaca city. My impression of it from spending just over 2 hours there is that it’s a place of great natural beauty and worth visiting, but it hasn’t adapted to the demands of the current levels of tourism in Oaxaca.

We started with a 45 minute hike around the site to get all the best views from all the angles. It was poorly signposted but we had spoken to a local to make sure we knew the way. The route was a beautiful walk with some stunning views and unique photo opportunities along the way - bring plenty of water because it is HOT and humid but absolutely worth the time investment!

The hike ended at the bathing pools at the top of the petrified waterfall, which have formed over hundreds of thousands of years from mineral-rich spring water flowing down the mountain. This is the main attraction, and only two such petrified waterfalls exist globally.

In this context it was quite painful to see the lack of protection that this natural wonder has.

There were plastic items and cigarette butts floating in the water of the bathing pools, a layer of sunscreen on the water’s surface, and visible signs of erosion on the unique rock formations from the human footfall. from what I’ve read tourist numbers have doubled in the last year alone, we went on a weekday in the off season.

There also wasn’t anyone managing the area, cleaning up or advising tourists where to go or what to do. I went for a quick swim because I could - but it wasn’t a 100% pleasant experience. (As an aside, there is also no real safety infrastructure; during our visit a woman broke her ankle slipping on a rock at the pools, and there wasn’t any medical help immediately available. Take care!)

The site is worth visiting for its uniqueness and beauty. But in my opinion, it needs to be managed more carefully. Bathing should be banned here to preserve the location’s natural features, so that future visitors can continue...

The Hierva El Agua is one of the most beautiful sightseeing places you can visit in Mexico. It's a collection of lakes that you can swim in with magnificent views of the mountains. The entrance fee is only 25 pesos per person. We took a ride from Mitla to this place for 50 pesos per person. This is the recommended way of doing it - go to Mitla - find men screaming 'Mitla!' all the time - and you're set to go - it's that easy. You'll most probably sit in the back trunk of the car together with a mix of a few tourists and locals. The ride takes a little more than an hour and is full of bumps caused by the rough steep mountain road, don't take this ride if you're having back problems. The lake is full of tourists so I would recommend to go as early as possible for the best solo experience - preferably before 10:00 o'clock in the morning. Once arrived at the entrance of the lake, you'll walk across a lot of tourist selling vendors along the road. The toilets are very clean and only cost 3 pesos per person. Theres so many food being sold out here that you won't have to worry about getting hungry at all. To return back to Mitla, simply head back to the entrance of the lake again and you'll probably be approached by many drivers requesting to drive you back to Mitla. Just keep in mind to pay no more than 50 pesos per person since this is the normal fare for this specific ride. I would recommend this place to anyone visiting Mexico, wether you're traveling alone, with friends or with family. The overall quality of the complete Hierva El Agua experience is definitely worth a 5/5...