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Visiting Tree of El Tule in Oaxaca, Mexico: Widest Tree in the World
Today we’re going to be talking about the widest tree in the world outside of Oaxaca, Mexico. Are you guys ready for an adventure? Let’s begin.
Arbol de Tule, or tree of Tule is literally the widest tree in the world. It is one of the funniest day trips that you could do outside of Oaxaca, because firstly, it’s pretty close. You could do it in several hours, depending on how you go. I will tell you that in just a few seconds. It’s a big surprise when you get there.
Visiting The Tree Of Tule on Bike
We arrived in Oaxaca. I knew that I wanted to go and see the widest tree in the world. You know, usually, when they’re really wide trees, chances are it’s a pretty old tree. And we also had our friends that came at the same time to Oaxaca. It was a family of five. So all together we were eight people. I love to look through different tours and airbnb experiences. I noticed that there is a tour that is offered to go to El Tule on a bicycle. Furthermore, I was like, oh, we could do this on our own.
We don’t need an actual tour. So my husband and my son are huge bike lovers and whenever my husband can get on a bike, he is all over it. So the second I mentioned this, this is probably like his biggest highlight other than climbing in Oaxaca, which I have an entire podcast on. Make sure you check it out.
How to Get There?
We rented bikes. The eight of us rented bikes. I have an entire podcast about biking in Oaxaca. Please go and check it out because you’ll be really surprised about biking in Oaxaca. So we ended up getting bikes and we took the bike lane that leads all the way into Tule. It’s about 10 km, but it’s really flat.
It’s really easy to get to. I figured we’ll get there, you know, probably like a 45-minute ride, get some lunch, check out the tree, and head home. But when we arrived to see the tree, the tree is located in Santa Maria del Tule.
Public Bus or Taxi
If you don’t take a bike, it is super easy to get to either by public bus or if you take a taxi, it will not cost you more than like $10 each way. Super easy to get to. If you’re taking a bike, it’s about 45 minutes.
If you’re going by car, it’s about 20 minutes. Probably by bus is the same as a bike because they stop along the way. Really easy, really fun trip. Then after we checked out the tree, the village was teeny tiny. They have this tiny little outdoor market where you could buy some food at the food stalls.
Santa Maria del Tule
It’s an actual little town, and in many places in Mexico, you could find these pueblos magicos, meaning magic villages. This was probably the most magical of all because firstly, it’s tiny. It is so perfectly manicured that it’s almost surreal. You feel like you just entered into a world like a cartoon land because it is just so perfectly manicured to the point where, and I am not kidding that there are guards, but not really like police, but guards are telling you no one can go on the grass or touch the plants. It’s absolutely the weirdest thing.
It’s absolutely beautiful, but grass is meant to be walked on and enjoyed. And this is outside of where the actual tree is. So the way it is done is that there’s this huge, beautiful, very manicured plaza and at the other end of it is where the tree stands. And of course, right next to the tree is a church. The church obviously is claiming the tree.
The Tree of Tule
But to get inside, to see the tree you need to pay 20 pesos which is around a dollar. And when you go in, I have to admit this tree is impressive. I mean, it is so wide. It’s huge. It’s not tall as it is wide.
It is a Montezuma cypress tree. And they say that it is aged at around 2500 years of age. I mean, this tree is impressive. It is incredible really. Like if you go to Oaxaca, if you could take a few hours out of your day to go to this little place, first of all, the village, it’s so cute, it’s just mind-blowing.
Where to Eat?
We found this really cool restaurant called Reynita a couple of blocks off the main street. But it is this really colorful, beautiful Mexican-style restaurant. It was actually impressively tasty and very affordable. Mexico overall I have found to be incredibly affordable. Overall, it’s probably one of the cheapest countries south of the US. Not touching South America by far.
Conclusion
Anyways, so I cannot even tell you how much I recommend going and checking out El Tule, the tree and making it just a fun time. Go there for lunch or just a coffee or just a nieve. One of the popular things around Oaxaca to eat is like this ice flavored ice, but they make really interesting flavors for it as well.
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