Hierve El Agua

Hierve El Agua, Oaxaca, Mexico

Hierve El Agua which literally means ‘The Water Boils’ is a natural wonder situated 70KM south east of Oaxaca.

The site is made of two rock shelves rising 50 and 90 meters from the valley below. From these shelves two white rock formations extend out, looking like waterfalls.

These formations are created by a fresh water spring loaded with minerals, depositing sediments over the past thousand of years.

One of these cliffs, called ‘cascade chica’ contains a main water pool where swimming is possible and a series of smaller pools.

The site is very isolated and the terrain around (including the roads) is very rough.

Hierve El Agua, Oaxaca, Mexico

The best way to get there is to arrange a taxi ride (book it trough your hotel for a block of hours). There are two reasons for this:

1) Getting to to the site requires driving on an unpaved road which is better to be left to the locals, unless you know what you’re doing.

2) The surrounding areas are considered ‘Area de conflicto’, disputed areas. Basically the two neighboring municipalities are disputing over who should administer entrance to the site. So you might find yourself stopping at an improvised  checkpoint (or two), managed by the locals, asking for a transit fee (or two!) . All this is easier when managed by a local driver.

The locale is stunning, surrounded by beautiful valleys full of cacti, maguey plants (a form of agave used to produce Mezcal) and dwarf palm trees.

There are two possible roads leading to Hierve El Agua, ask the driver to go up the mountain using one and come down using the alternate one, both slopes are beautiful and completely different.

Mavic drone shot, Herve El Agua, Oaxaca

This is probably one the best natural infinity pools on the planet so bring a bathing suit!

Near the parking lot there are a few basic food stalls, where we eat really good quesadillas.

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