The Copalita Trail is 100 kilometers long — 70 kilometers of walking and 30 of rafting — and includes five nights of camping “in a million-star hotel.”
It starts in high mountains at 3,200 meters (10,500 feet), passes through five ecosystems, takes you down the Copalita River, and ends at sea level on a gorgeous Pacific Coast beach.
Developed by biologist Marco Antonio González 14 years ago, the trek is a project of nine Zapotec communities in Oaxaca and has much to do with environmental education and conservation.
Visiting Zapotec villages
The Zapotecas consider the trekkers collaborators rather than clients, and refer to them as “visitors.” At no point during the experience does money change hands and it is unthinkable that a trekker would tip anyone.
These caminatas are fully orchestrated. Six local guides accompany the trekkers at all times and the route they follow varies according to the circumstances of the moment, in a very Mexican fashion.
A couple from Guadalajara, Paulina Ascencio and Arturo Sánchez, signed up for the trek in October.
“It started in Oaxaca City,” Arturo told me. “Marco Antonio gave us an orientation and we were then driven seven hours to San Sebastián Río Hondo, where we enjoyed a meal prepared over a wood-burning stove: carne asada, frijoles and handmade tortillas … delicious! Then we were driven to our campsite near San Juan Ozolotepec, which had tents and dry toilets.”
Paulina continued the story: “The next day, we walked 16 kilometers through an area simply bursting with biodiversity. The variety of mushrooms we saw was astounding.
“As for the food on this trip, it was incredibly good: guacamole, cottage cheese, yellow mole, frijoles with avocado leaves, grasshoppers, bananas roasted on hot coals and delicious wild-mint tea! And throughout those six days, not a soul had stomach problems!”
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