OAXACA · MEXICO · JANUARY
Oaxaca in January runs cool at dawn and warm by afternoon. The valley city at 1,594 m averages a 50.5°F low and an 84.0°F high, and it collects 0.09 inches of precipitation across the whole month, spread over a day or two of rain.
Monte Albán, Mitla and Yagul open at 8 a.m., so the first visit of a January day lands in cool air, and all three close at 5 p.m., well ahead of dusk.
THE MONTH AT A GLANCE · OAXACA
January is the driest of December, January and February in Oaxaca at 0.09 inches, with 50.5°F dawns and 84.0°F afternoons: do the ruins in the morning and carry layers for the evening.
AVERAGE HIGH 84.0°F · AVERAGE LOW 50.5°F · 1.4 RAIN DAYS
Go for: dry days at Monte Albán, Mitla and Yagul, the Tlacolula Sunday market, and mezcal stills open to visitors.
Think twice before: counting on warm evenings. The average low is 50.5°F, and the sites close at 5 p.m., before the 6:13 p.m. sunset.
February raises the average high to 88.0°F, so it is the month to compare if afternoon warmth matters more than cool mornings.
Climate: SMN (CONAGUA) · Sites: INAH · Advisory: U.S. State Department · full sources at the end
On this page
- Oaxaca weather in January84.0°F highs, 50.5°F lows, 0.09 inches of rain, sunset at 6:13 p.m.
- How warm is Oaxaca in January?Morning and afternoon temperatures, frost nights, no sea
- Oaxaca crowds and prices in JanuaryWhat we could not verify on rates and lodging tax, and the 210-peso entries
- Things to do in Oaxaca in JanuaryMonte Albán, Mitla, Yagul, Museo de las Culturas, Hierve el Agua
- Oaxaca 2 day itinerary in JanuaryMonte Albán at 8 a.m., then the Tlacolula, Yagul and Mitla valley day
- Oaxaca in January vs December and FebruaryHighs, lows, rain and rain days for three months
- Is January a good time to visit Oaxaca?Who it suits, the State Department level, and when to pick February
Weighing Oaxaca against other January destinations? Our where-to-go-by-month guides line up the options, and the basics of booking, packing and paperwork sit in Travel 101.
Oaxaca weather in January: average highs, lows and rain days
| Measure | Oaxaca in January |
|---|---|
| Average high | 84.0°F |
| Average low | 50.5°F |
| Precipitation | 0.09 inches |
| Days with measurable rain | 1.4 |
| Daylight on January 15 | About 11 hours 15 minutes |
| Sunrise and sunset, January 15 | 6:58 a.m. and 6:13 p.m. |
Every figure here comes from the Servicio Meteorologico Nacional (SMN), Mexico’s national weather service, using its 1991-2020 normals for station 20079 in Oaxaca de Juárez at 1,594 m. That is an official thermometer in the valley city, not a modeled grid estimate. Villages up in the Sierra sit higher and run cooler, so treat the normals below as the city’s and expect a mountain village to feel colder.
The SMN counts 1.4 days of measurable rain in an average January (its station sheet does not publish the threshold). In practice that means a shower on one day or two, not a wet week, and the month’s 0.09 inches is a light dusting. Plan the ruins without a rain backup and keep the museum for the odd wet afternoon.
The average high and low sit 33.5 degrees apart. Pack a fleece or light jacket for the hours before the 8 a.m. gates and for the evenings, plus a hat and sunglasses for the hilltop stone at midday.
On January 15 the day lasts about 11 hours 15 minutes, with sunrise at 6:58 a.m. and sunset at 6:13 p.m. in local (Mexico City) time. The ruins close at 5 p.m., over an hour before the sun goes down, so golden hour at Monte Albán falls outside the ticket.
How warm is Oaxaca in January?
Monthly averages give the middle of the day, not its edges. We hold no record highs or lows for station 20079, so 84.0°F and 50.5°F are centers, and an individual afternoon can land on either side of them.
A January day runs in stages. Dawn and the 8 a.m. gate call for a sweater. By midday, with highs near 84.0°F, sleeves come up on open stone. After the 6:13 p.m. sunset the plaza cools toward the night’s low.
We found no count of frost nights in our sources, so we cannot say whether the valley touches freezing. The 50.5°F average low sits well above freezing, but Sierra villages are higher and colder, and we have no numbers for them. No sea temperature applies here: Oaxaca is an inland valley city.
How busy is Oaxaca in January? Crowds and prices
We found no occupancy series and no hotel rate data for Oaxaca, so we crown no month cheap or expensive and cannot place January in the year’s price cycle. Compare quotes for the same nights in December, January and February before you book. Their average highs are 84.0°F, 84.0°F and 88.0°F.
We could not verify how many weeks ahead rooms fill, so we give no lead time. Ask any hotel for its cancellation terms before you pay, since that is the one reservation detail you can settle yourself.
We could not verify the lodging-tax rate for Oaxaca, so we give no percentage. When a room price is quoted, ask whether tax is included.
Admission is fixed. Monte Albán, Mitla, Yagul and the Museo de las Culturas each list 210 pesos general admission, or 105 pesos for Mexican nationals and foreign residents in Mexico. The one line where paying more could change your January is the bed, and there we hold no rate to name.
Things to do in Oaxaca in January
January’s 0.09 inches of precipitation keep the outdoor list wide open: hilltop ruins, a valley market, mineral pools and mezcal stills are all within reach of the city on a dry day.
Monte Albán crowns the Cerro del Jaguar above the valley, was the Zapotec capital for some 1,500 years, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. It opens daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., last entry 4 p.m., at 210 pesos. Mitla charges the same, with last entry at 4:30 p.m. Yagul charges 210 pesos too, last entry 4 p.m., just past Tlacolula on the Panamerican Highway. The Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, in the former Santo Domingo convent, is 210 pesos, Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Hierve el Agua’s petrified waterfalls and mineral pools lie east of the city near San Lorenzo Albarradas. The local community manages them and collects its own entrance fee on site. We could not verify the amount, and we have no water temperature for the pools, so the seasonal change we can measure is the air: cool at the start of the day, warm by afternoon.
Our sources list no free-admission days for the sites, so budget the ticket prices above. The Zocalo, shaded by laurel trees and framed by the cathedral and the state government palace, needs no ticket. Tlacolula’s Sunday market (local food and crafts) and the small mezcal palenques that open their stills to visitors are the other valley stops. We have no prices or hours for them, so ask locally.
Oaxaca itinerary for January
Day one: be at Monte Albán for the 8 a.m. opening, with a sweater over your shirt. Last entry is 4 p.m., but the hilltop is exposed and afternoons reach 84.0°F, so finish by midday. Spend the afternoon at a small mezcal palenque in the valley (call ahead), then walk the laurel-shaded Zocalo once the sun sets at 6:13 p.m.
Day two is the valley. Tlacolula’s market runs on Sunday, so on any other day go straight to Yagul, just past town on the Panamerican Highway (last entry 4 p.m.). Finish at Mitla, where last entry is 4:30 p.m. If a shower turns up (1.4 days in an average January), swap in the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, open Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Oaxaca in January vs December and February
| Measure | December | January | February |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 84.0°F | 84.0°F | 88.0°F |
| Average low | 51.8°F | 50.5°F | 52.9°F |
| Precipitation | 0.35 inches | 0.09 inches | 0.18 inches |
| Days with measurable rain | 2.4 | 1.4 | 1.1 |
January and December share the 84.0°F average high. January’s low is 1.3 degrees cooler, and it gets 0.09 inches of precipitation against 0.35, on 1.4 rain days against 2.4. February pushes the high to 88.0°F, 4.0 degrees above January, lifts the low to 52.9°F, and falls between the two on rain at 0.18 inches. All three months come from the same SMN station and the same 1991-2020 period.
Moving four weeks earlier to December buys nights 1.3 degrees warmer and costs rain, 0.35 inches over 2.4 days. Moving four weeks later to February buys nights 2.4 degrees warmer and the fewest rain days of the three, 1.1, and costs afternoons 4.0 degrees hotter on open stone.
Is January a good time to visit Oaxaca?
Yes, if dry days and ruins top your list: 1.4 rain days and 0.09 inches leave Monte Albán, Mitla and Yagul easy to plan around. The U.S. State Department’s Mexico advisory, issued May 29, 2026, rates the state of Oaxaca at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, the same baseline as most of the country. Think again if warm evenings matter: lows average 50.5°F and the sites close at 5 p.m.
If the answer is no, take February. The average high climbs to 88.0°F, the low to 52.9°F, and rain days fall to 1.1. Expect hotter midday hours at the hilltop ruins.
Among December, January and February, January has the lowest rain total, 0.09 inches, alongside the same 84.0°F afternoons December has.
The last word
The decision that matters is the alarm clock: be at Monte Albán’s gate for 8 a.m. with a layer you can shed by midday. Then take the road toward Mitla and stop in Teotitlán del Valle, where wool rugs are woven and dyed by hand.
Sources & data for this guide
- Temperature, precipitation and rain days for December, January and February · Servicio Meteorologico Nacional (CONAGUA), normales climatologicas 1991-2020, station 20079, Oaxaca de Juárez · checked Sep 30, 2026
- Sunrise, sunset and daylight on January 15 · sunrise-sunset.org, converted to America/Mexico_City · checked Sep 30, 2026
- Monte Albán, Mitla, Yagul and Museo de las Culturas admission and hours · INAH and INAH museum pages · checked Sep 30, 2026
- Monte Albán World Heritage listing and history · INAH, Lugares INAH · checked Sep 30, 2026
- Safety level · U.S. Department of State, Mexico Travel Advisory of May 29, 2026 · checked Sep 30, 2026
- Hierve el Agua, Tlacolula market, mezcal palenques, Teotitlán del Valle and the Zocalo are described from general knowledge. We could not verify the Hierve el Agua fee, hotel rates, occupancy, booking lead times or the lodging-tax rate, so none appears. Hours and fees change · check operators when you book.