Cody Copeland - Moon Oaxaca

busy pedestrian street in Oaxaca Citys historic center.

Ill start with a confession: I am madly, absolutely head-over-heels in love with Oaxaca. And I believe in magic. If Im not careful, the hyper-excited six-year-old inside of me will break through the stiff layer of grown-up Ive built around it and let loose a stream of superlatives: Its a magical place with gigantic flowers and purple trees and clouds for seas and...

I am not alone in using the word magic in relation to Oaxaca. It describes the allure of the colors, flavors, festivities, and everything else thats wholly unique to the region. But I believe that when we say it, there is also a tacit understanding that real, unexplainable magic does exist here. How could it not in a place with so many living connections to the ancient past? Certain customs, such as the weekly da de plaza (market day), have been practiced continuously here for thousands of years. People in and around the town of Tlacolula have gathered there every Sunday for millennia, and to this day, many agricultural products are still bartered, rather than sold there. The creativity and humor of the Oaxacan people are apparent in everything from their food and their dances to the art they create and the way they dress. A traditional Oaxacan huipil (embroidered garment) not only dazzles with its colors and designs, it also tells a story about the place where it was embroidered.

the ancient rbol del Tule

demon dancers at La Muerteada

Tuxtepecs crowd-pleasing Flor de Pia dance

I have no problem believing that thousands of years of interaction between this rich collective imagination and the unusual geography here resulted in magic. Oaxaca showed me that the world is not as terrestrial as Id believed it to be. The otherworldly calcified waterfalls at Hierve El Agua and the megadiverse cloud forests of the Sierra Norte make science fiction seem obsolete. The earth in parts of La Mixteca and the Valles Centrales boasts enough colors to fill a box of crayons. The orchids in the Sierra Mazateca look like fireworks and tentacled creatures, and the Laguna de Manialtepec glows purple at night with the bioluminescent phytoplankton that live there.

No matter how you define it, Oaxaca has a special something that youll find hard to put into words that dont have metaphysical connotations. It will not cease to surprise you, no matter how much time you spend here. Come and see for yourself. Even if you dont return home believing in magic, you definitely wont go back the same person you once were.

a typical Oaxacan street parade called a calenda

orchids in Huautla de Jimnez.

the baroque facade of the Baslica de Nuestra Seora de la Soledad in Oaxaca City

Celebrate

Explore : The energetic capital city teems with bustling markets, art galleries, hip cafs and bars, and excellent restaurants. Dont miss the top-notch museums and colonial architecture.

Journey into the Past: Travel back in time at pre-Hispanic sites such as the mountaintop capital , the Place of the Dead (pictured).

Go , made from the agave plant.

the Pacific Coast: Oaxacas beaches boast world-class swells, including the famous Mexican Pipeline off Puerto Escondidos Playa Zicatela.

: Nestled in the misty, pine-scented peaks of the Sierra Norte, these remote mountain villages host some of the best ecotourism activities in the state.

Feast on Oaxacan Cuisine: Venture into bold landscapes of different from anywhere else in the world.