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Tule Tree

Landmarks ·Santa María del Tule
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About

The Tule Tree is a Montezuma cypress, also called ahuehuete, growing in the church grounds in central Santa María del Tule, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.

More photos 11

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Tule Tree — The enormous multi-trunk base of the Tule Tree behind its low fence

Tule Tree — The enormous multi-trunk base of the Tule Tree behind its low fenceTule Tree — Broad view of the Tule Tree's huge trunk and spreading rootsTule Tree — Sunlit interior space beneath the giant tree's thick trunkTule Tree — Close view of the Tule Tree's deeply furrowed trunks and branchesTule Tree — Visitors looking up at the vast trunk from behind the fenceTule Tree — The tree's massive trunk with visitors gathered along its fenceTule Tree — Visitors viewing the shaded interior beneath the Tule TreeTule Tree — The Tule Tree's broad trunk and leafy canopy from belowTule Tree — Interlacing branches and foliage filling the tree's broad canopyTule Tree — Tall, deeply ridged section of the Tule Tree's trunkTule Tree — The Tule Tree's wide canopy and trunk seen across the square

Why go

  • Its trunk measured 42.0 m around and 14.05 m across in 2005.
  • Scientific estimates place its age at about 1,433–1,600 years.
  • Its shade can shelter about 500 people.

Don't miss

  • Figures in the trunkLook for the forms locals call a deer head, crocodile, elf and dolphin in the tree’s contorted trunk.Around the trunk.

Interesting facts8

1/8
  1. 2005

    A 2005 measurement recorded a trunk circumference of 42.0 m and a diameter of 14.05 m.

    Árbol del Tule - Wikipedia

  2. DNA tests established that it is one tree; it may have multiple trunks belonging to the same individual.

    Árbol del Tule - Wikipedia
  3. 2005

    A laser measurement in 2005 put its height at 35.4 m.

    Árbol del Tule - Wikipedia
  4. 636 tonnes

    Its estimated weight is 636 tonnes.

    Árbol del Tule - Wikipedia

  5. Regular watering and pruning began in the first quarter of the 20th century.

    Árbol del Tule - Wikipedia
  6. 1990

    By 1990, water shortages, pollution and traffic were damaging its roots.

    Árbol del Tule - Wikipedia
  7. 1996

    Ten tonnes of dead wood were removed in 1996.

    Árbol del Tule - Wikipedia
  8. 2011

    A 2011 technical report found its overall health good and recommended protective measures.

    Árbol del Tule - Wikipedia

Shorts

History

Zapotec tradition credits Pechocha, a priest of the wind god Ehecatl, with planting the tree about 1,400 years ago. A Mixe legend instead tells of King Condoy thrusting his staff into the ground. Its Zapotec names, Yaga aguitz and Yaga guichiciña, mean “paper tree” and “shining tree”. The tree has long been a local symbol of identity and religion.

  1. 1590José de Acosta described dances and ceremonies around the tree.
  2. 19th centuryA French traveller recorded that the community refused a merchant’s offer to cut the tree down.
  3. 1862Désiré Charnay reported daily sweeping beneath the tree and protection of its branches.
  4. 1921Cassiano Conzatti published a detailed scientific monograph on the tree.
  5. 2001–2013The tree was a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage recognition but did not become a World Heritage Site.

Tips for your visit

  • You may also encounter the name ahuehuete, meaning “old man of the water” in Nahuatl.

How to get there

  • On footSanta María del Tule is about 9 km east of Oaxaca, on the road to Mitla.

Sources: Árbol del Tule - Wikipedia · Árbol del Tule - Wikipedia · Árbol del Tule - Wikipedia · Árbol del Tule - Wikipedia · checked 28 Sep 2026

Where
Calle dos de Abril 2, Santa Maria del Tule

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Questions and answers

What is the Tule Tree’s scientific name?

Taxodium mucronatum.

How old is the Tule Tree exactly?

Its exact age is unknown; estimates vary.

What distinction has the Tule Tree received in Mexico?

Semarnat recognised it as the country’s largest ahuehuete.

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