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OAXACA

Pluma Hidalgo
by Ron Mader

OAXACA WIKI
MEXICO FORUM

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PHOTO GALLERY: Pluma Hidalgo

Coffee connoisseurs are familiar with Pluma Hidalgo (elevation: 1,300 meters) located the Sierra Madre Sur in the state of Oaxaca. Tourism development is one of the priorities of the current municipal government. Recent changes include the construction of anew highway connecting Pluma to Santa María Huatulco.

In the planning stage are a coffee festival and the development of a network between the coffee farms (fincas).

COFFEE TOWN

Pluma Hidalgo has an excellent reputation for its organic coffee and the harvest season (November-January) is one of the most interesting times of the year to visit.

There are several organizations of coffee producers, including the Union de Communidades Indigenas Cien Anos de Soledad named after the novel by Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Nearby fincas offer walking tours, including Finca Margarita and Finca Pacifica.

BANANAS

Pluma Hidalgo also has significant banana production as coffee plants prefer shade and bananas grow in full sun.

Banana species cultivated in Pluma Hidalgo include Morado, Tabasco (also called 'Roatan'), Piña, Guineo (also called 'Costa Rica'), Manzano and Peron.

TIP -- Try a guanabana, a fruit grown to shade the coffee plants. Harvest season for the fruit runs from December-May.

CULTURAL WORLD

Visitors to the town square (zócalo) will find city hall (palacio municipal), church and a few businesses. The city hall is fairly new, having been re-constructed after the 1985 earthquake.

Market day is Sunday.

VISITING?

LOCATION -- Pluma Hidalgo is located in the Sierra Madre Sur in the state of Oaxaca.

TRANSPORTATION -- From Oaxaca City, a suburban van -- Autotransportes Turisticos Huatulco 2000 -- leaves Oaxaca City several times a day from Trujano #600. From Santa María Huatulco, the vans leave from Díaz Ordaz and J. Ortiz de Dominguez.

DINING -- There are several small restaurants, including Comedor Tere, Lubia and Flor de Cafe.

ACCOMODATION -- There is one small hotel in town outside of town on the highway to Huatulco. Look for El Refugio at Kilometer #19. In town, the Lubia and Flor de Cafe rent rooms.

TIP -- In Oaxaca City, you can buy Pluma Hidalgo coffee at several markets, including Benito Juárez Market and Fridays and Saturdays at the Pochote Market.

SERVICES -- An internet cafe is located on the zócalo.

AUTHOR

Ron Mader is the Latin America correspondent for Transitions Abroad and host of the award-winning Planeta.com website.

REFERENCES

Pluma Hidalgo Coffee Farms
Prioridades para el desarrollo del turismo: un manual para Pluma Hidalgo
Ultima obra carretera de José Murat, destruída - Noticias