★★★★★
An excellent day with our guide Margarita — knowledgeable, funny, and good at keeping everyone informed. Hierve el Agua and then very good mezcal is a hard combination to beat.
Jackson · United Kingdom · Couple · July 2026
From Oaxaca de Juarez: Hierve el Agua and Mezcal Distillery
From $64 per person
- Duration: 8 hours
- Time at Hierve el Agua: 3 hours
- Departs from: Cosijoeza 110A, central Oaxaca de Juárez
- Operator: Oaxaca by Locals
- Cancellation: Free up to 24 hours before departure
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead — you are not charged today.
Two stops, not five
The springs and a palenque. Nothing else competes for the day.
Three hours on the terrace
The same time on the rock as the eleven-hour circuits, in an eight-hour day.
Site entry in the fare
The gate at the springs is settled before you arrive.
A tasting at a working distillery
Free pours, and how mezcal is actually made.
Back for the evening
Eight hours, so Oaxaca's evening is still yours.
Why two stops beats five
Most day trips out of Oaxaca are valley circuits: the tree, the ruins, the weavers, the distillery, and the springs somewhere in the middle. They are good value and they are a long day, and the springs get whatever is left over — often ninety minutes.
This one inverts that. The springs are the destination and the palenque is on the way home, which buys you three unhurried hours on the terrace inside an eight-hour day. If you came to Oaxaca having seen a photograph of those pools, this is the trip that matches the reason you are going.
It runs at 4.9 from 690 reviews, and the recurring word in the feedback is pacing.
Your eight hours, in order
- Early morning — Cosijoeza 110A. A short walk from the zócalo, in the centre.
- The valley road east (about 1 h 45). Out through Mitla and up into the Sierra.
- Hierve el Agua (3 h). Terrace, pools, the descent if you want it.
- A mezcal palenque (about 1.5 h). The mill, the stills, the tasting.
- Back to the city centre in the late afternoon.
Who this suits, and who should book something else
Book this if
The springs are the point of the day, you want time to swim and walk, and you would like your evening in Oaxaca back.
Book something else if
You want Mitla, the Tule Tree and the weavers in the same day. The eleven-hour valley circuit covers all of them with the entrances included.
What the fare covers
In the fare
- Round-trip transport from central Oaxaca
- Hierve el Agua entrance fee
- Three hours at Hierve el Agua
- Mezcal distillery visit
- Mezcal tasting
Paid separately
- Guiding inside the park (community guides only)
- Food and drinks
Where it leaves from
Cosijoeza 110A in the historic centre, a few minutes' walk from the zócalo. The operator's own name is on the door, and the same address is used for the drop-off at the end of the day.
Know before you go
- Carry pesos for the road charge. Site entry is covered; the community checkpoint fee is collected separately in cash.
- Guiding inside the site is by community guides only. Plan the three hours as your own time.
- Swimwear underneath. The changing cubicles are basic and queue at midday.
- Sun cover from the start. The terrace has almost no shade at any hour.
- Do the walking first. Descend early while the rock is cool, swim afterwards.
- Free cancellation at 24 hours. The road up has closed at short notice before.
What travellers said
★★★★★
Well paced from start to finish, and the mezcal tasting was more generous than I expected. Three hours at the springs was exactly right.
Lachlan · Australia · Solo · April 2026
★★★★★
Three unhurried hours at the terraces made this trip. We swam, walked down to the lower viewpoint and still had time to sit with a drink before the van left.
Rebecca · United States · Couple · March 2026
Read all Hierve el Agua tour reviews
Questions about this day
Is the entrance fee included?
The site entry at Hierve el Agua is in the fare. The small community road charge collected at a checkpoint on the way up is not, so carry a little cash.
Is there a guide at the springs?
Only guides from the local community may work inside the site, and this operator states plainly that its own guides cannot. You are briefed before you go in and have the three hours to yourself.
How much mezcal is involved?
A tasting at a working distillery on the road back, included in the fare, with the production explained. Buying anything is optional.
Can I do this and still see Mitla?
Not on this trip — it deliberately keeps to two stops. For the archaeological sites in the same day, the eleven-hour valley circuit covers Mitla and the Tule Tree with admissions included.
What time does it get back?
Eight hours door to door from an early-morning departure, so late afternoon. It leaves an evening in Oaxaca intact, which the eleven- and twelve-hour circuits do not.