Best things to do in San Cristóbal de las Casas (Chiapas, Mexico) [with MAP]: a travel guide with everything you need to know

Considered the intercultural capital of Chiapas and one of the most beautiful cities in Mexico, San Cristóbal de las Casas (SanCris, as it is called when you gain some confidence) was one of the first places to be declared Pueblo Mágico in the country and is an excellent starting point to get to know Chiapas. In addition to getting into the interesting and curious things that the city hides, you can also explore various parts of the Chiapas region in one-day routes, from its biodiverse nature to the villages of communities descended from the Mayas, with their own customs and languages.

In this guide we try to show you everything you can visit in San Cristobal de las Casas and its surroundings with specific itineraries for a day, a weekend or up to 7 days, practical suggestions, where to stay and even where to eat to make your trip as special as ours has been.

Basic facts for traveling to San Cristobal de las Casas

Language: Spanish

Currency: MXN ($) Mexican Peso (1$ equals 20$ MXN approx.). Check the updated exchange rate here

Population: 215874 (in 2020)

When to visit: There are two main seasons (dry and rainy), ideally you should visit during the dry season (November to April) and best from February to April. In addition, there are interesting festivities that you can coincide your trip with. We detail more about when to visit San Cristobal de Las Casas in this section of the blog.

How long to stay: Minimum 3 days for San Cristobal and its surroundings, although in our opinion 7 days (one week) is ideal. In this section we share specific itineraries to help you organize your trip.

How to get there: If you want to get to San Cristobal from other parts of Mexico, the closest airport is Tuxtla Gutierrez. If you are coming from outside Mexico, you should know that there are no direct international flights to Chiapas (the region where San Cristobal is located) so you will always have to fly to Mexico (Mexico City, Cancun, Guadalajara, Tijuana or Merida) and then catch a domestic flight to Tuxtla Gutierrez, the closest airport to San Cristobal. From Tuxtla airport you will take a combi (shared van) to San Cristobal de las Casas which will take about 1:30h (more info here). To find the best flight prices we recommend you to use flight comparators like Skyscanner and Kiwi and to be flexible with dates. We detail more about how to get to San Cristobal de las Casas in this section of the guide.

Visa: With a US, Canadian, European or UK passport it is not necessary to obtain a visa. Upon arrival in Mexico, it will be enough to show your valid passport, and depending on your departure date, you will be given up to a maximum of 180 days. Although Mexico does not require a passport with at least 6 months validity, some airlines do, so it’s better to comply.

Where to stay: Ideally, you should stay in downtown San Cristobal, near the Andador guadalupano. We detail more about where to stay in San Cristobal in this section of the blog.

What to bring: A good travel insurance (in this link we give you a 5% discount on the one we always carry) and here is the list of what you must have in your backpack for this trip

How to get around: The best option is to walk around the center of the city of San Cristobal de Casas and hire tours to explore the surroundings. You also have the option of renting a car to move around freely, although when we went this option was not recommended due to conflictive areas in some parts of the state and police checkpoints. More info on how to get around San Cristobal in this section of the blog.

How much it costs: From 50$/day per person (approx.) for a weekend trip, not including flights to Mexico. More budget information here.

Internet connection: If you are visiting for a few days, your phone supports eSIM and you don’t want to complicate things, we recommend Holafly eSIM (unlimited data, 5% discount with the code RANDOMTRIP) or Airalo eSIM (limited data, but cheaper, 15% discount with the code RANDOMTRIP15). Otherwise, the cheapest way is to get a local SIM (we recommend Telcel). More info here

Vaccines: there are some recommended vaccines if you travel to Mexico, you can check them here

Time zone: UTC -6

When to visit San Cristobal de las Casas

In our opinion, San Cristobal is a destination that is best to visit during the dry season (November to April), since the rest of the year it rains quite a bit, which complicates and/or detracts from the beauty of some of the nearby natural areas. If you can choose, it is usually better from February to April, since from November to January, depending on the year, there is still some rain (that was our case, we were there in early November during the Day of the Dead celebrations).

Weather

San Cristobal de las Casas is at an altitude of 2200 meters, so the climate is cooler and during the dry season (which coincides with winter and spring), at night it cools down quite a bit (minimum temperatures of 6-7ºC).

Here is a table with the weather in San Cristobal de las Casas per month to give you an idea:

San Cristóbal de las Casas weather chart, with temperatures and rainy days per month:

Month	Minimum temperature	Maximum temperature	Rainy days
January	6º	17º	6
February	7º	19º	5
March	8º	21º	5
April	10º	23º	6
May	11º	22º	14
June	11º	21º	23
July	10º	21º	22
August	11º	21º	23
September	11º	20º	24
October	10º	19º	16
November	8º	18º	8
December	7º	17º	6
Month	Minimum temperature	Maximum temperature	Rainy days

Tourism demand

The times of highest tourist demand (and therefore, when we will find more people, more lines, more expensive prices and more complications to go to the most famous restaurants or places) are:

• Christmas (end of December/beginning of January)
• Easter Week (March/April)
• Some holidays in November and December

So we recommend you to avoid those dates if you want to enjoy the city more calmly and with better accommodation prices.

Festivities

If you want to be in Chiapas during the biggest festivities of the year, don’t miss out:

• Fiesta Grande de Chiapa de Corzo: between January 4th and 23rd.
• Foundation of the City of San Cristóbal: March 31st
• Spring and Peace Fair: during the month of April to celebrate the arrival of Spring.
• Feast of San Cristóbal (St. Christopher): from July 16 to July 25
• Cervantes International Baroque Festival: at the end of October, during one week, San Cristobal transships cultural events in its cultural centers, theaters and various public spaces with dance programs, concerts, art and street theater.
• Day of the Dead celebrations: October 31, November 1 and 2: both in the city of San Cristobal (there is a parade of catrinas and catrinos) and in the surrounding areas, in the indigenous towns (Romerillo, Zinacantan and San Juan Chamula).

Also, keep in mind that there are national festivities, transversal to the whole country, which are also celebrated in San Cristobal:

• Easter: between the end of March and the beginning of April, depending on the year.
• Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe: from December 1 to December 12
• Day of the Dead: October 30 & 31, November 1 & 2
• Christmas and New Year’s Eve: December 24 to December 31

Summary: best months to visit San Cristobal de las Casas

Based on the above, if you are looking to visit San Cristobal with less people, good weather and reasonable prices, the best months are usually from November to April, although keep in mind that in the city it is cooler due to its altitude. If you can choose, the best months are usually February, March and April (avoiding Easter week), with better temperatures, less rain and ideal for swimming in its rivers and waterfalls (less flow and more bathing areas) and bluer waters.

How to get to San Cristobal de las Casas

If you want to get to San Cristobal de las Casas from other parts of Mexico, the closest airport is Tuxtla Gutierrez. If you are coming from outside Mexico, you should know that there are no direct international flights to Chiapas (the region where San Cristobal is located) so you will always have to fly to Mexico (to Mexico City, Cancun, Guadalajara, Tijuana or Merida) and then catch a domestic flight to Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of Chiapas, where there are daily flights from Mexico City, Guadalajara, Tijuana, Merida or Cancun (where we fly from). We recommend that you use flight comparators like Skyscanner and Kiwi and be flexible with dates.

How to get from Tuxtla Gutierrez Airport to San Cristobal de las Casas

From the Tuxtla Gutierrez airport, colectivos (shared vans) depart when full, direct to San Cristobal, for 240 pesos per person. The trip takes about 1h30 and you will be dropped off at the bus terminal in San Cristobal (depending on the company), from where cabs will be waiting to take you to your accommodation (50 pesos per cab). You can also take a cab directly to your accommodation from the airport (the price is about 1000 pesos approx., but if you can get 4 people together it is an excellent option).

RandomTIP: If you have a choice, stay on the right side of the plane to get to Tuxtla as you will be able to see the Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl volcanoes from the window.

You can also get to San Cristobal de las Casas by bus (ADO):

• From Oaxaca (night bus), it takes about 11-12 hours.
• From Palenque (day or night bus), it takes about 9h. There is also the option of tours from Palenque that make a few stops and go by a worse but more direct road (the ADO makes a big turn to avoid that road).

Do I need a visa to travel to Mexico?

For people with USA, Canada, UK and European passports it is not necessary to obtain a visa. Upon arrival in Mexico, it will be enough to show your valid passport, and depending on your departure date, you will be given up to a maximum of 180 days.

Although Mexico does not require a passport with at least 6 months validity, some airlines do, so it’s better to comply.

Are there required vaccines to travel to Mexico?

There are some recommended vaccines if you travel to Mexico, you can check them here

How many days to stay in San Cristóbal de las Casas

We would say that the minimum to visit San Cristobal and its surroundings is 3 days (to dedicate 1 day to the Sumidero Canyon, 1 day to the indigenous villages, and another day to enjoy San Cristóbal) although if you can dedicate a week you will not regret it. For the whole Chiapas area we recommend at least 10 days, ideally 2 weeks.

Things to do in San Cristobal de las Casas

Before mentioning all the places to visit in San Cristobal de las Casas with specific information about each place, we leave you the map we created with all these places and an introduction that we think is important before starting the trip.

Map of San Cristobal de las Casas

We leave you the places to visit recommended in this guide on a Google Maps map that you can take with you on your smartphone to use during your trip (the map is centered for the center of San Cristobal, but if you zoom out it also includes nearby plans that you can do on day tours or on your own).

Brief history and curiosities of San Cristobal de las Casas: an introduction before starting to unveil the city.

Before the Spanish colonization, more specifically, before Diego de Mazariegos, an Spanish captain, founded the city as Villareal in 1528, there was already an indigenous population settlement in this valley. The valley was initially known as Valle de Jovel and later, with the arrival of the Toltecs in the 11th century, as the city of Hueyzacatlán, which means “Where the grass grows tall”.

After the name Villareal with which the settlers founded it in the 16th century, the city had several names over the centuries: Villaviciosa, in homage to the Asturian city in Spain, San Cristóbal de los Llanos or Ciudad Real de Chiapas. The name we know today comes from the surname of Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, bishop of Chiapas who earned the respect of a large part of the indigenous population in the first decades of Spanish colonization for his defense of their rights.

The Spanish colonists who took the lands (and, in many cases, the lives) of the native peoples justified the massacre of the indigenous population as an action done to “beings that had no soul” and, according to history, Fray Bartolomé managed to “save” part of the population from death by counteracting this concept (by means of forced evangelization) and, being the only one who mediated with the colonists, demonstrating bravery since he could also have been murdered for his actions.

And so it was how the city came to bear the surname of Fray Bartolomé since 1548 and how in 1551 the religious was appointed “procurator of Indians” having the mission to transmit to the authorities the complaints of the indigenous population. Besides bearing his surname, the city pays homage to him in a monument that we can see near the Market of Sweets and Handicrafts.

San Cristobal de las Casas was the capital of Chiapas from 1824 to 1892 (currently the capital is Tuxtla Gutierrez where our flight from Cancun landed) and is located at an altitude of 2300 meters surrounded by forest and villages where several indigenous communities of Mayan descent live. The cultural richness of the state of Chiapas comes precisely from the fact that it is the state where the largest number of indigenous people live with their own customs and where pre-Hispanic languages are spoken, Mayan languages (with their own syntactic structure and vocabulary, not dialects) such as Tzotzil and Tzetzal for the most part, but also Chol, Zoque and, unfortunately in imminent disappearance, the Mayan languages Mochó (or Motozintleco), Cakchiquel, Quiché, Jacalteco, Lacandón and Tojolabal.

The name of Chiapas and, more specifically, that of San Cristobal, jumped to the international media because of the Movimiento Zapatista (Zapatista Movement) in the 1990s. It was precisely in the city of San Cristobal de las Casas that the first public eruption of the EZLN (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional) took place on January 1, 1994. The EZLN moved from the Lacandon jungle to occupy the city and other strategic towns in the region.

San Cristobal de las Casas and Chiapas jumped from anonymity to the world spotlight in their struggle for survival and dignified living conditions, attracting the support of a large part of the international civil society. The struggle for autonomy and self-management of the Zapatista peoples in the face of the Mexican government’s neglect and oblivion of these communities and the harassment and abuse of the paramilitary forces was visible on television news and in newspapers around the world (although, as always, in some more than others).

Comandanta Ramona (an indigenous Tzotzil revolutionary) and Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos, spokespersons of the EZLN, became known worldwide as public figures of a historical, cultural and political movement that gave way to a new and permanent form of struggle that quickly became emblematic of the alter-globalization movement.

The struggle for the life of these indigenous communities, their forms of democratic participation and ways of claiming an indigenous and peasant identity culminated in the creation of “Los Caracoles, centers of Good Government” , self-managed Zapatista autonomous zones, which are found throughout the region. Unfortunately, however, the inequalities, segregation, neglect and oblivion of the indigenous communities of Chiapas persist to this day.

This inequality is, moreover, very visible both in the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas and its surroundings. In the city, segregation is demarcated by streets and “whiteness” (which goes far beyond skin color and must take into account other variables such as class) continues to manifest itself today. Just compare the andador del Carmen (which connects the Zocalo with the Arco del Carmen) in the city, where the house of the “founder” Diego de Mazariegos is located and where there is a concentration of businesses and properties of families with greater purchasing power, with the andador de Santo Domingo (which connects the Zocalo with the church of Santo Domingo) where there is a greater concentration of indigenous population and markets because they were “allowed” (and are allowed) to live there.

The area surrounding the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas, where several communities live, is known as the “misery belt” because many indigenous people have moved there from other areas fleeing internal political-religious conflicts and living in precarious conditions.

Today, the city is experiencing (like so many others in the country and in the world) a new kind of colonization – what we at Randomtrip like to call “coolonization” (if you like the term, don’t forget to mention the source) – as San Cristóbal has attracted many foreign people with a high rate of “whiteness” and gentrification has taken over the place. This makes that the city is becoming impossible to be lived in by local people with rising prices and that places that during the first decades of colonialism were sites of Spaniards, such as houses and palaces, are now, in large part, gentrified commercial premises (here enters, in part, the controversy of the “Pueblos Mágicos” (Magical Towns) (which are already 177 in Mexico as of December 2023), a government initiative to value and protect the cultural heritage of these towns, but which also increases tourism, generating gentrification and price inflation, thus harming part of the population). Meanwhile, a large part of the local population works in precarious and unsafe conditions.

This small introduction, very brief and superficial for such a complex issue as the transformation in the social dynamics of San Cristóbal de las Casas, in particular, and of Chiapas, in general, throughout history, seems to us indispensable before entering the city. A city, and a region, so culturally rich, with a recent (and not so recent) history of oblivion and neglect of its people, with so many nuances and variables, that we consider it essential to have, at least, a basis to begin to unveil, from curiosity and respect, the city and surroundings of San Cristobal de las Casas and those who inhabit it.

Things to do in downtown San Cristobal de las Casas

The following are the points that we consider interesting to include in a visit to downtown San Cristobal, which can be easily reached on foot.

Plaza de la paz (Peace Square) and San Cristóbal Mártir Cathedral

The heart of San Cristobal is Plaza de la Paz, its main square, where the protagonist is the Cathedral San Cristobal Martir of the sixteenth century, Chiapan Mudejar style, whose facade in yellow and reddish pastel yellow tones (representing the identity of the communities) gains a particularly intense color at sunset.

The cathedral suffered several damages with the earthquake that shook Chiapas in September 2017 so it was closed for several years for works, reopening to the public in 2022 so that its interior with valuable baroque altarpieces could be appreciated. It is currently closed to the public again (at least it was closed when we visited the city), apparently because of thefts to the heritage inside.

Also in the plaza is the Atrial Cross, right in front of the cathedral. Atrial crosses are characteristic in the territories that were Spanish colonies, such as San Cristóbal de las Casas. Since the local (indigenous) population was accustomed to outdoor worship, the missionaries set aside a large area in front of the church to congregate the population they were evangelizing while the church was not built. Once the church was ready, processions and other activities were held in the atriums.

Curiosity: In fact, in Mexico, the atrium was a singular architectural solution for the needs of evangelization beginning in 1521. Given the large number of indigenous people to be evangelized, the friars used the atrium space as an extension of the church, using open chapels in the atrium.

It is in this square where the demonstrations that take place in the city are called, for example, the feminist demonstration that takes place every March 8.

Every night in the Plaza de la Paz a market is set up with several stalls, mostly by Tzotzil women, where you can buy handicrafts and some food and drinks.

It was precisely in this square that the free tour we did began and with which we learned a lot with Corina. Remember that although free tours do not have a fixed price and you can pay what you consider right, the work of the guide deserves that you dedicate at least 100 pesos per person at the end of the tour.

Zócalo: Plaza 31 de Marzo (Parque Central)

In Plaza 31 de Marzo the protagonist is its kiosk that is filled with live music on weekends, especially marimba chiapaneca, which is accompanied in the dance by those who dare (when we went there several old and not so old couples were dancing).

This plaza is where the city’s festivities are held and since we were in San Cristobal for the Day of the Dead celebrations (officially on November 1st and 2nd but with celebrations starting on October 31st), the kiosk was dressed for the occasion and it was in this plaza where most of us waited for the parade of catrinas and catrinos that left from the Guadalupe church and ended here.

It is also in this square that is located the Government Palace which houses the MUSAC (Museum of San Cristobal) where we saw a very interesting exhibition about the communities that live in the municipality of San Juan Chamula. We tell you more about our visit to these towns in the section of the guide Indigenous Communities of San Juan Chamula.

Here is the starting point of the three main andadores (pedestrian streets) of the city that we will talk about next: Andador de Guadalupe, Andador del Carmen and Andador de Santo Domingo.

Andadores (pedestrian streets) of San Cristobal

First of all you may be wondering what an andador is. An andador in San Cristobal is a pedestrian street full of bars, small shops, restaurants, cafes, tour agencies and accommodations.

The three main ones are the Andador de Guadalupe (Real de Guadalupe Street), the Andador del Carmen (Miguel Hidalgo Street) and the Andador de Santo Domingo (20 de Noviembre Avenue) and all connect the Zócalo with a monument of the same name as the andador.

Andador de Guadalupe (Calle Real de Guadalupe) and Guadalupe Church

The Andador de Guadalupe or andador guadalupano connects the zocalo with the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, to which we recommend you climb the 80 stairs to enjoy the views of the city. Opening hours of the Church of Guadalupe are from Monday to Sunday: from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm and from 4:00 pm to 2:00 am.

It is one of the streets of the city where there is the highest concentration of stores, travel agencies, restaurants, bars and cafes in colorful colonial buildings that gives it a special charm. It is a street that changes from day to night, with lively nights in places like Mezcalería La Surreal or La Viña de Baco.

There are several interesting places to visit on this street. It is precisely here where you will find Kinoki, an independent movie theater with a weekly Zapatista-themed billboard (50 pesos per person, which includes popcorn), which also has a rooftop where you can have a drink and enjoy the view (you enter through the perpendicular Belisario Dominguez street).

At Randomtrip we attended the documentary “Zapatistas, Crónica de una Rebelión“, a chronicle about 10 years of the Zapatista Movement from before the public irruption of the EZLN on January 1, 1994 in San Cristobal de las Casas until the creation of the self-managed Centers of Good Government, Los Caracoles, in 2003. This documentary, which speaks from the place of the oppressed indigenous peoples, forgotten and ignored by the Mexican government throughout time, seems to us a good summary to understand the particularities of San Cristobal in particular and Chiapas in general.

Also on this Andador is the art gallery Arteria Chiapas and the Espabilo store which we loved with illustrations by local artists, t-shirts and accessories (they also do flash tattoos around here if you are interested). At the end of the street, halfway up the stairs of the Guadalupe Church is the bar La Charcu, ideal for views of the city and a beer at sunset.

Andador del Carmen (Miguel Hidalgo St.) and Arco del Carmen

The Andador del Carmen connects the Zocalo with Arco del Carmen, an arch from 1677 in the Chiapan Mudejar style with the coat of arms of the Spanish crown at the time. In colonial times this arch belonged to the attached convent of the nuns of the Encarnación and served as a gateway to the Ciudad Real. It is said that whoever passes under the arch will stay forever in San Cristobal.

On this andador is the house of Diego de Mazariegos, founder of San Cristobal de las Casas, in a colonial building that you can (and should) enter as they usually have a market with several stalls with crafts and typical local products such as chocolate and pox liquor.

A curiosity: the roof tiles, although they have a thermal function and channel rainwater, became a symbol of poverty during the colonization, and for that reason they were disguised, covered with the facade so that they could not be seen from the street, although they were behind anyway. In the Casa de Diego de Mazariegos the same thing happens, so take note of this detail. The “hidden tiles” are also visible in several of the buildings along the andador de Guadalupe.

Next door, on the same street, is the Kikimundo cultural center, store and café. Kikimundo was the first cultural center in the city, founded in 1979 by Kiki Suarez, a German psychotherapist and artist who fell in love with and in San Cristobal and has been living here since the 70s. The center has artwork, crafts, jewelry and small details that awaken our consumerist vein to take as souvenirs of how beautiful they are.

If you look at the type of houses and stores on this andador you will see some differences with respect to the surrounding streets, because this is where most of the settlers lived, the people with more “whiteness” and more purchasing power. Today this segregation still exists and the truth is that you will not see so many indigenous people here as we told you in the introduction (History and Curiosities of San Cristobal de las Casas)

At the end of the andador, after the Arco del Carmen, is the Centro Cultural del Carmen, a haven of peace with a garden that reflects concern for the environment and pollination awareness since flowers were planted thinking of the animals that will pollinate them. The type of construction of the cultural center, an old colonial building, is made of adobe, which fulfills both a thermal and anti-seismic function (since this is a seismic zone with a lot of movement, the impact is less in this type of construction). There is also a water well that served the family that lived here.

When we went, the Centro Cultural el Carmen was hosting an interesting photographic exhibition called “Memorias de Orgullo y Disidencia (Memories of Pride and Dissidence)” with works by six artists and activists who have documented actions of visibility of the LGTBIQAP+ population and allied people since 2016, the Pride marches that occurred between 2017 and 2023 and other activities to make the demand for rights, justice, respect and recognition in the city of San Cristobal de las Casas visible. Very interesting. When you go to the city stop by to see what exhibition they have at that time.

Photographic exhibition “Memorias de Orgullo y Disidencia” at the El Carmen Cultural Center.

Andador de Santo Domingo (Av. 20 de Noviembre) and Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán

The Andador de Santo Domingo connects the Zocalo with the church of Santo Domingo Guzman. From the XVI century, this church of carved wood covered with gold layer is one of the maximum expressions of the colonial baroque in Chiapas. It is worth stopping at its facade of high reliefs and bas-reliefs that reflect the religious syncretism, that is to say, the fusion of the Christian religion and pre-Hispanic religions.

The congregation that managed these churches were the Dominicans, somewhat more friendly with the population (as opposed to the Franciscan congregation for example) so their intention was (at least) to make the native peoples they evangelized feel that they were part of the church and that is why, despite the baroque style, there are elements that refer to these peoples such as corn, the snake or the jaguar, a sacred animal in the Mayan culture.

There are 18 churches in San Cristobal and each church has its own festivities and customs. The communities invest a lot of time for their parish festivities. At each festivity they set up stages with live music, pyrotechnics and some can last up to 2 weeks. So if you hear pyrotechnics in town on a regular basis you know there is a festivity happening somewhere

In the ex-convent of Santo Domingo you will find the Center of Textiles of the Mayan World (upper floor) and the Museum of the Highlands of Chiapas (first floor). In the first one you can find a wide and complete exhibition of Mayan textiles from the Tojolabales, Choles, Tzeltales and Tzotziles communities of Chiapas; the Quichés, Ixchiles, Cakchiqueles, Mames and Kekchíes of Guatemala. There are more than 2,500 pieces to help us understand their creation, origin, techniques and who makes them today (spoiler: we saw them being made live by the Tzotzil women in the community of Zinacantán that we told you about in the section on Indigenous Communities of San Juan Chamula). In the second, on the first floor, you can learn about the history of the city through a tour of various pre-Hispanic pieces. Admission is free and they are open every day (except Mondays) from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Next to the church of Santo Domingo there is a handicraft market that opens its stalls daily (and with better prices than the physical stores on the street) where you can find the famous Chiapan amber (even in necklaces and bracelets) and jade (there is a museum in the city dedicated to the most valuable material for the native peoples).

We mentioned previously that the segregation in San Cristobal is visible between the andadores and if we compare this andador with the andador del Carmen, which we talked about before, the difference in who occupies the buildings and streets is contrasting. Here we see much more indigenous population, more market stalls and more handicrafts.

On this street is the Café Bar La Revolución with live music and salsa on Tuesdays. It is also at the end of the andador de Santo Domingo where you will find the combis (shared vans) that go to San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán in case you want to do it on your own although, in this case, in Randomtrip we went on a half day tour that we liked very much. We tell you about it in the Indigenous Communities of San Juan Chamula section .

San Cristobal Markets

If there is one thing we like to do when visiting a place, it is to explore its markets. The smells, colors and flavors that we perceive when we enter a market, with its particular soundtrack, observe its dynamics and taste its products still seem to us something essential to learn more about the cultural traits of a destination. Here are three markets in San Cristobal that deserve a visit.

Mercado de Dulces y Artesanías (Sweets and Crafts Market)

Mercado de Dulces y Artesanía (Sweets and Handicrafts Market): as the name suggests, in this market you can buy and taste typical Chiapas sweets, as well as T-shirts, dresses and other handicrafts (at Randomtrip we bought a small zapatista doll, something that is hard to find in other parts of Mexico).

Outside the market there are several stalls where you can try good traditional food, although at Randomtrip we recommend the best cochinita tacos we have tasted in all of San Cristóbal, at the taqueria El Charrito, which is very close by.

It is precisely in front of this market that you will find the park and the monument that pays homage to Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, bishop of Chiapas who gave his name to the city for his defense of the indigenous population in the first decades of the Spanish colonization. We detailed more in the History and Curiosities of San Cristobal de las Casas.

If you want to go on your own to Cañón del Sumidero (Sumidero Canyon), here is the OCC stop where you can take the combi to go on your own, although the price will be similar to the one they ask for in the tours that go to the Sumidero Canyon and, keep in mind that this way you will not get to the viewpoints. We explain it better here

Santo Domingo Market

In the Santo Domingo square, before reaching the church of the same name, is the Mercado de la Caridad y Santo Domingo where every day you can find various pieces of handicrafts, such as the important amber (which we’ll tell you about in a moment) or jade (the most valuable material for the native peoples which we told you about in the city’s Jade Museum), with more competitive prices than in the physical stores on the walkways.

Old Market

Behind the Church of Santo Domingo is the Old Market. Here the stalls are no longer of handicrafts but of vegetables, fruit, meat and spices. A more chaotic and local market that contrasts with the city center.

Important: We understand how photogenic markets can be, but never forget to ask permission before taking a picture of a person, especially when it comes to indigenous people.

San Cristobalito Temple

To get to the Templo de San Cristobalito you need to climb 200 stairs but the good news is that, if you don’t want to get to the top, the views are really best from halfway up the steps, when you have completed a hundred stairs or so.

However, try to visit this area during the day because the dynamics change at night and it is not recommended to walk around the area after sunset.

Amber Museum

In the Convent of La Merced, the first Mercedarian establishment in America, from the 16th century, is the Amber Museum. Amber is a fossilized vegetable resin from trees that existed more than twenty-five million years ago, family of a guapinol tree that exists today in Chiapas and is precisely what makes it so unique.

The museum exhibits more than 300 pieces and has a store, an amber workshop and a metalwork workshop where you can learn about amber from its origin, about the countries where there were and are deposits, how it was formed, how it is extracted, and all the pre-Hispanic and current uses.

Admission fee: 50 pesos (students and seniors over 60 years old – INAPAM, 30 pesos). Open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00h to 14:00h and from 16:00h to 19:00h.

Kakaw Museo del Cacao y Chocolateria Cultural

Do you like chocolate? I’m guessing that the probability of you answering this question with a yes is high. If so, don’t miss the Kakaw Museo del Cacao. Cacao is of utmost importance in Mexico in beverages and gastronomy and has a huge historical and cultural legacy in the State of Chiapas. In theory, Mexico was the first country in the world to cultivate cocoa and, specifically in Chiapas, it was shown that cocoa was already growing wild ten thousand years ago! In the museum we are taken on a tour of the evolution of cacao to what we know today as chocolate, and in the cultural chocolate shop we are taught the culinary qualities of cacao over time through pre-Hispanic and modern-day drinks and gastronomy. In addition, of course, the visit includes tasting…

Admission fee: 30 pesos (students and seniors over 65, 50% discount). Open daily from 11:00 am to 9:30 pm (closed on Sundays at 7:00 pm).

Mesoamerican Jade Museum

Jade was considered by the peoples who inhabited the entire region of Mesoamerica, until the Spanish colonization, the most valuable material that existed (yes, more valuable than gold and silver), a symbol of eternal love. It is not surprising, then, that the city of San Cristobal has dedicated a museum to it. This mystical precious stone was a symbol of immortality and eternity , so it is not surprising that King Pakal of the important Mayan city of Palenque was buried with Jade jewelry.

In the Mesoamerican Jade Museum of San Cristobal you can see a replica of the Tomb of Kinich Janab Pakal , since the original tomb is located in the Temple of the Inscriptions, inside the archaeological zone of Palenque (although it was not open to the public when we went to the beautiful archaeological city of Chiapas). At Randomtrip we saw both the replica of the tomb and the original jade mask in which King Pakal was buried at the National Museum of Anthropology in CDMX (a museum we highly recommend you to visit if you are in the country’s capital).

In addition, in the Mesoamerican Jade Museum it is possible to admire objects and jewelry carved in jade related to eight of the main cultures of the Mesoamerican area; Mocaya, Olmeca, Teotihuacan, Mixtec, Zapotec, Maya, Toltec and Aztec.

Admission fee: 30 pesos (students 50% discount; children free admission). Open Monday to Saturday from 9:30 am to 8:00 pm and Sundays from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Na Bolom

Founded in 1950 by Danish archaeologist Frans Blom and Swiss photographer Gertrude Duby, the Casa Na Bolom, which they bought and where they both lived, was created with the aim of protecting, preserving and disseminating the indigenous culture of Chiapas. He explored and studied Mayan ruins (Palenque, Toniná, Chinkultic…) and she studied, photographed and fought to protect the jungle and the Lacandon communities.

Na Bolom is housed in a beautiful 19th century building surrounded by botanical gardens and a nursery. Here you can learn about Maya archaeology, Lacandon ethnography, Chiapas folk art, and Chiapas and Guatemalan sacred art. In addition to the permanent exhibit, it also has temporary exhibits.

As a curiosity, “Na Bolom” means “House of the Jaguar” in Tzotzil. Since Frans’ last name “Blom” sounded like “Bolom” to several people in the Lacandon communities, they referred to his house as the House of the Jaguar, that is, Na Bolom. Since the jaguar is also a sacred animal in pre-Hispanic culture, this is how Frans and Trudy’s house came to be, a house open to artists, scientists, explorers and researchers who met here after their expeditions and shared their results.

Entrance fee: 60 pesos (students, teachers and INAPAM, 50% discount). Tickets are purchased across the street, in front of the entrance, where there is also a restaurant and a store with handicrafts. Na Bolom is open daily from 09:00h to 18:00h (on Sundays it closes at 19:00h).

San Cristóbal de Las Casas on the Day of the Dead

At Randomtrip we had the privilege of visiting San Cristobal de Las Casas during the Day of the Dead celebrations that started on October 27th and lasted until November 2nd.

Randomtrip and its transformation into catrina and catrino

These celebrations take place all over the country, which dresses in Cempasuchil, the orange flower that guides souls back home and fills the streets of cities and towns with color and its characteristic smell. In addition, altars of two levels (world of the living and underworld; earth and heaven), three levels (heaven, earth and purgatory) or up to seven levels (corresponding to the 7 steps to reach heaven and rest in peace) are set up paying homage and welcoming their beloved souls.

On 10/27 the souls of deceased pets are received; on 10/28 the souls of people who died in an accident or in a tragic way; on 10/29 people who died by drowning; on 10/30 the souls of the deceased who are already forgotten or who have no family; on 10/31 the souls who are in limbo, children who were not born or were not baptized; on 11/1 “All Saints Day” the souls of baptized children under 12 years old and adults who had an exemplary life; and on 11/2, the “Day of the Dead” when all the souls arrive.

There are places in Mexico with more deeply rooted traditions such as Pátzcuaro (Michoacán), Oaxaca or San Miguel de Allende (Guanajuato). In San Cristóbal de las Casas we loved participating in these celebrations, painting ourselves as catrina and catrino (a friend from CDMX, Miriam, told us that the purpose of doing so is not to “scare” the souls when they return from the underworld and that they feel more “familiar”), contemplating the decorations, the altars and participating in the parade of catrinas and catrinos that took place on October 31 in the afternoon/evening.

Day of the Dead celebrations in San Cristobal de las Casas. Photos by Randomtrip. All rights reserved.

Although we had a great time at the celebrations in the city (above all, we found them very local, there were hardly any foreign tourists here, and it seems that most of them prefer Oaxaca), we found very interesting the way the indigenous communities live these days in the outskirts of San Cristobal, celebrations full of symbolism of ancestral beliefs and religious syncretism, in a mixture of indigenous rituals with Catholic tradition. We will tell you more about this in the section we dedicate to our visit to the Indigenous Communities of San Juan Chamula.

RandomTIP: If your trip to Mexico coincides with these dates, don’t forget to try the Pan de Muerto, a delicacy they only make during these dates. This sweet bread is a representation of the pre-Hispanic traditions of sacrifices on these dates and, apparently, it was born precisely to avoid such sacrifices. During the Spanish colonization, the priests, seeing the sacrificial rituals that were performed, chose to try to represent this fact in another way, creating a bread covered with red sugar (symbolizing blood) and offered as a tribute to the gods. Over time this piece of bread changed its shape, until it reached what we know today.

At RandomTrip we tried several (it is delicious, reminiscent of the coca de San Juan in flavor but not in texture, and similar to portuguese “folar de Páscoa”), both plain and filled (with pastry cream, chocolate, pumpkin jam or even dulce de leche) but the most original we tried was at the restaurant Tierra y Cielo where they coated the Pan de Muerto with powdered totomoxtle (corn leaf), imitating ash. A delight.

Things to do in the surroundings of San Cristobal de las Casas

Besides getting to know the beautiful SanCris, you can and should explore its surroundings where you can meet communities descended from the Mayas or get into the breathtaking nature of Chiapas in 1 day or even half day visits. Here we propose you the best plans and we get wet at the end, telling you our favorites or the ones that impacted us the most.

Cañón del Sumidero (Sumidero Canyon)

Of all that we saw of Chiapas nature, the Sumidero Canyon National Park was what impressed us the most. The canyon is located on a tectonic fault and rises above the course of the Grijalva River (250 meters at its deepest part) whose walls reach more than 1000 meters high. Its relevance is such that the canyon is part of the coat of arms of Chiapas.

The Grijalva River feeds four dams and crosses the states of Chiapas and Tabasco, flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. At its southern mouth, the canyon begins in Chiapa de Corzo, and flows into the artificial reservoir of the Manuel Moreno Torres hydroelectric dam, popularly known as Chicoasén Dam. In fact, it is possible to navigate the riverbed precisely from the construction of the Chicoasén hydroelectric dam, one of the largest Mexican works of hydraulic engineering, with a 32-kilometer long reservoir that covers the entire canyon. As a curiosity, 70% of the energy produced here is sent abroad (Honduras, Belize, Guatemala…).

Before the Grijalva River was not navigable and for that reason it is called Cañón del Sumidero: since the river was born in Guatemala and was submerged (hidden) because it was subway and 6/7 meters wide, it was given the name of the subway river, Sumidero.

Although it made river navigation possible, the construction of the dam affected the town of Osumacinta (where the wharf is located) whose only income was from corn and livestock. The town of Osumacinta was located on an island that you will see on the right on the boat ride.

The canyon has 21,789 hectares in five municipalities of the state of Chiapas, a few kilometers from its capital, Tuxtla Gutiérrez. In fact, the first time we saw it was on the way from the Tuxtla airport to San Cristóbal, and since then we knew we wanted to see it up close.

Its ecological value led it to be declared a National Park in 1980 and a Ramsar site in Mexico in 2004. The light and heat on the cliff walls, as well as its runoff have facilitated the emergence of several microclimates and variety in the flora and fauna at different heights of the canyon. Some of its endemic species are the Lengua Hongueada salamander, the Mexican cuija, the Canelo chupaflor, the Marbled toad, the Chiapa de Corzo mojarra and the Dwarf oak, although at Randomtrip we saw several birds (such as the heron), spider monkeys and crocodiles up close.

To admire the Sumidero Canyon, there are two ways: from above (from the viewpoints) and from below (on a boat ride).

Sumidero Canyon Viewpoints

From one side of the canyon, there is a road that leads to several viewpoints from which you can contemplate the immensity of the Sumidero Canyon from above.

IMPORTANT! The viewpoints are closed on Tuesdays, so if you want to visit them, choose another day to visit the Sumidero Canyon.

The viewpoints are, in order of appearance as we enter the road:

1. La Ceiba Viewpoint
2. La Coyota Viewpoint
3. El Roblar Viewpoint
4. El Tepehuaje Viewpoint
5. Cañón del Sumidero Viewpoint

The tours usually stop at only 2 (at La Coyota and at the Sumidero Canyon viewpoint). The views from the top are incredible, you will see the very small boats and the curves of the river as it passes through the canyon.

Sumidero Canyon boat ride

After seeing the Sumidero Canyon from above, there is nothing better than seeing it from below, navigating the Grijalva River for 32km. There are several piers in Chiapa de Corzo, and also in Osumacinta. In our case, the tour took us to the Osumacinta pier, and then the driver took the van to the pier in Chiapa de Corzo, where he waited for us while we took the boat ride through the canyon.

During the walk we contemplate its flora and fauna, and we feel minuscule before the immensity of the canyon walls.

On the boat ride we highlighted an authentic “Christmas tree” that makes up the moss of a 250 meter waterfall whose water rejuvenates (so they say), a “cave of colors” where they saw the form of Jesus Christ and now lives a virgin who goes out every year to Chiapa de Corzo in a procession, and an aquatic supermarket (which we baptized “AquaOxxo“, since Oxxo is a famous chain of convenience stores in Mexico) that consists of a boat that sells you, among other things, micheladas for 50 pesos to see crocodiles in 3D (the people on the boats are really fun and charming).

The boat ride lasts about 2 hours. During the ride, in addition to the stops at the places mentioned, the driver and guide will explain what we see, as well as trying to show the fauna of the place. As soon as we leave, we pass by a small island, a bird sanctuary (cormorants, herons, pelicans…). Further on we also see several crocodiles and several groups of spider monkeys.

Unfortunately, in one area we also see a lot of garbage in the water. The guide tells us that the currents drag the garbage into the river, and that although there is still garbage there, it used to be much worse, since there have been several projects to remove the garbage in recent years.

At its deepest part, the river is currently about 240 meters, and the canyon walls exceed 1000 meters in height in the highest areas.

How to get to Sumidero Canyon?

From San Cristobal de las Casas, it takes about 1h30 to the area of the viewpoints, and from there 1h30 more to the Osumacinta pier. You have 3 options:

• Public transportation: in case you want to go by public transportation, it is easier to go to the pier in Chiapa de Corzo. You have to go by combi or bus to Tuxtla (the area where you can catch them is in front of Mercado de Dulces y Artesanías), and from there by local bus or cab to Chiapa de Corzo. For the viewpoints, you also have to go by bus to Tuxtla and from there another bus drops you off at the entrance of the road to the viewpoints, but there is no transportation to them, so you would have to hitchhike, pay a cab, or walk. Considering that you will also have to pay for the boat tour through the canyon, in this case the tour is worth it.
• Own/rental car: if you have your own vehicle or in case you rent a car, simply go to this point to access the road to the viewpoints, and this one to the Osumacinta pier, or this one to the Chiapa de Corzo pier. Remember that it is not advisable to drive at night in Chiapas.
• By tour: this is the most common option, and in this case, the most comfortable and the most profitable. The price is about 450 pesos per person.

Although at Randomtrip we usually advocate exploring destinations on your own, in this case (and in the case of tours around San Cristobal in general), we believe that it is not worth doing it for price reasons (the difference between doing it on your own and on a tour is minimal, since you will still have to pay 250 pesos per person for the boat tour through the canyon), for security reasons (there are usually several checkpoints, both from the police and the local communities) and because you will not see the canyon from above at the viewpoints on your own and the views are really impressive and worth it. Of course this will depend greatly on how the situation is in Chiapas when you visit and if the prices have not changed. At Randomtrip we finally did it with the agency Paxial Tours and we liked it very much.

The tour includes: stop at two viewpoints of the Sumidero Canyon, boat ride through the Sumidero Canyon one way (from Osumacinta to Chiapa de Corzo) and visit to Chiapa de Corzo.

Price of the Sumidero Canyon + Chiapa de Corzo Tour: from 450 pesos/person. Departure from San Cristobal de las Casas at 9:00 am and return at 6:00 pm. You can hire the tour with Paxial Tours when you arrive in San Cristobal as the agency is located here, in the middle of the Andador de Gualalupe, or, if you prefer, contact them by Whatsapp at +52 967 312 8471 or +52 961 458 6362.

Sumidero Canyon tour from San Cristobal:

• Between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m. you are picked up at San Cristobal
• 1h30 drive to the area of the lookout points
• 11:00 we arrive at the viewpoints, where we stop at 2 (La Coyota and Mirador del Cañón del Sumidero). In total 1 hour is dedicated to the viewpoints, between travel and time in them.
• 12:00 we continue on to Osumacinta (1h30 drive).
• At 13:30 we arrive at the Osumacinta dock, where we are given life jackets and are assigned a boat.
• 13:45 boat leaves for a 2 hour tour of the Sumidero Canyon to the pier in Chiapa de Corzo.
• 15:45 we arrive at the pier in Chiapa de Corzo and normally go to a restaurant for lunch.
• After lunch, you can visit Chiapa de Corzo on your own.
• 17.00 departure back to San Cristóbal de las Casas, 1h drive.
• 18:00 arrival at San Cristóbal

If you prefer to go to the Sumidero Canyon on your own, without an organized tour, the OCC stop is in front of the candy and handicrafts market. In addition to the bus fare to the Sumidero Canyon pier (150 pesos round-trip bus fare), you will have to add the 250 pesos for the boat ride through the Canyon. Also, keep in mind that you will not see the Canyon from the viewpoints because the bus goes directly to the pier, so in the end the tour is worth it…

You can also hire the tour online in advance here which includes the same (viewpoints, boat ride and visit to Chiapa de Corzo)

Chiapa de Corzo

Our boat ride through the Sumidero Canyon ends in Chiapa de Corzo, a magical Chiapas town on the banks of the Grijalva River and the first urban center founded by settlers in the region.

It was also Diego de Mazariegos who founded it in 1528 as Villa Real de Chiapa although, prior to the Spanish colonization of America, this was one of the main settlements of the Zoque culture, until the arrival of the Soctones or Chiapanecas, who founded their political capital, Napiniacá. In fact its name comes from the soctona ethnic group that originally populated it, called by the Aztecs as “Chiapas”, which in Nahuatl means “water that runs under the hill”.

Chiapa de Corzo is 15 km from the capital of Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutierrez, and 50 km from San Cristóbal de las Casas.

What stands out most in Chiapa de Corzo was the Mudejar ensemble of the sixteenth century formed by La Pila or La Corona, a Moorish-inspired fountain made of brick that was consecrated as one of the best examples of Hispano-Arabic art in colonial America. Also noteworthy is the ancient ceiba tree known as “La Pochota” that shelters hundreds of birds that provide the soundtrack to the square along with the occasional chords of marimba.

If you have time during your walk through the city, visit the temple of Santo Domingo and the convent building annexed to it, now home to the Armando Duvalier Lacquer Museum (with pieces of ancestral craftsmanship) as well as the ruins of the temple of San Sebastián Mártir.

Also, if your visit to Chiapa de Corzo coincides between January 8 and 23 you can enjoy the Fiesta Grande de Chiapa de Corzo (celebrated since the 18th century) with music, floats, confetti warfare and dance of the Parachicos (name of the dancers and the type of dance) and chiapanecas (with their colorful dresses) that go all over the town of Chiapa de Corzo visiting places of worship. The great celebration is in homage to Our Lord of Esquipulas, San Antonio Abad and San Sebastián Mártir (especially the latter) and the Parachicos are distinguished because they wear a mask carved in wood that is the central element of their costume along with the montera, a headdress made of natural fiber.

How to get to Chiapa de Corzo?

From San Cristobal de las Casas, it is 1 hour drive to Chiapa de Corzo. You have 3 options to go:

• Public transportation: in case you want to go by public transportation, you have to go by combi or bus to Tuxtla (the area where you can catch them is in front of the Mercado de Dulces y Artesanías), and from there by local bus or cab to Chiapa de Corzo.
• Own/rental car: if you have your own vehicle or in case you rent a car, simply go to this point. Remember that it is not advisable to drive at night in Chiapas.
• By tour: the most common is to visit Chiapa de Corzo as part of the Sumidero Canyon tour. The price of the tour is about 450 pesos per person.

Price of the Sumidero Canyon + Chiapa de Corzo Tour: from 450 pesos/person. Departure from San Cristobal de las Casas at 9:00 am and return at 6:00 pm. You can hire the tour with Paxial Tours when you arrive in San Cristobal as the agency is located here, in the middle of the Gualalupan walkway, or, if you prefer, contact them by Whatsapp at +52 967 312 8471 or +52 961 458 6362.

In case you do the tour, here is a word of caution. When you arrive in Chiapa de Corzo you will have time to eat and walk around. Although the whole group decided to go to eat at the same place recommended by the driver, this buffet, at Randomtrip we found it pretty bad (bad value for money) and we would recommend you to go somewhere else or take a snack with you, since you don’t arrive in Chiapa de Corzo until 15:30 / 16:00.

Indigenous Communities: San Juan Chamula, Zinacantán and Romerillo

The visit to the indigenous communities of the municipality of San Juan Chamula is one of the most interesting visits in the state of Chiapas because you can learn first hand the languages and customs of people descended from the Mayas.

San Juan Chamula is the capital of the municipality of Chamula, which is made up of 150 villages (almost all of them autonomous, receiving little help from the government in terms of schools, for the rest they do not want help) and in the tour of indigenous communities we visited, in addition to San Juan Chamula, Zinacantán and Romerillo. Chamula, in fact, is used to name several Mayan ethnic groups that inhabit the highlands of Chiapas such as Tzotziles (who we met on this occasion), Tzeltales, Mames, Tojolabales, Choles.

Sheep are sacred in the municipality of San Juan Chamula so you will not see this animal or its derivatives as part of their gastronomy and we were even told that in pandemic times they used to put masks on the sheep, but this is an unusual fact that we have not been able to confirm.

Their hair is used in their clothing as a status symbol. Women wear a Nagua (black sheep wool skirt) and men wear a chujo (sheep wool vest). Only the mayordomos, the local authority (the religious leaders of each community), can wear the black chujo, in addition to a cloth on their head and the baton in their left hand. It is important that you know how to tell them apart since it is forbidden to take pictures of them. Those who have a certain religious or civil rank wear a white chujo.

The only church in the municipality is located in San Juan Chamula and here San Juan Bautista is venerated. It is one of the most curious temples we have been to in our travels and of enormous ethnographic importance due to its religious syncretism, a mixture of Christianity with native cultures. Rituals and cures are performed here, including animal sacrifices, and you will see lots of Coca-Cola – we tell you more about the curious and perverse relationship between Chiapas and Coca-Cola in this section of the guide: Chiapas and Coca-Cola: a toxic relationship.

In the Church of San Juan Bautista de Chamula there is no lectern or pews to kneel on. There are no luxurious gold carvings, stained glass windows or paintings. Instead of an imposing vaulted ceiling, colorful fabrics hang, making the place more intimate. There is no shiny marble floor but the rustling of pine leaves that cover it. The soundtrack is the sound of prayers and confessions in Tzotzil and the smell is of incense. All around the temple, dozens of small stained glass windows with saints and, in front, the image of San Juan Bautista.

You can observe all this in silence, with respect, from a distance and complying with the rules. For example, inside the temple it is not allowed to take pictures or videos, under penalty of a fine of 4200 pesos (220$ approx.) or worse (we have been told of cases in which some people were arrested, both them and their cameras). The feast of San Juan Bautista (June 24) and carnivals are important moments for the people so if you go on these dates, book your tour in advance.

In addition to the church, we also visited the Plaza de la Paz (on Sundays there is a market), the town hall (in the same square, in an ochre color) and the cemetery of San Juan Chamula with several Coca-Cola bottles buried next to the graves. It is located on the outskirts, next to the ruins of the church of San Sebastian and takes on a special symbolism during the Day of the Dead celebrations when family members are there waiting for their loved ones.

Zinacantán, which means House of Bats in Tzotzil, is located in an elevated area dedicated to floriculture and includes more than 70 sites. It is possible to see the large greenhouses full of flowers (ponpon, chrysanthemum, sunflowers…) of one of the main flower commercialization points of all southern Mexico. They have a catholic religious patron saint, San Lorenzo, whose feast day is August 10th.

Here we visited a textile workshop , the house of the artisan Toñita, where we saw two Tzotzil women weaving by hand, with the pre-Columbian loom (or waist loom, because it goes precisely around the waist) and controlled ourselfes not to buy everything. In addition to having the possibility of taking some handmade souvenirs (it is all very flowery, also representing the floriculture, to which they are dedicated in the community), they also offered us some handmade tortillas and a delicious Chiapaneco coffee.

On the left, a Tzotzil woman weaving with the backstrap loom in Zinacantán (Photo by Randomtrip. All rights reserved). On the right, representation of the same in an acrylic on canvas that we saw in the Collective Exhibition ‘Xkuxlej Chamo’ on the culture, life and daily life of Chamula, at the Musac (Museum of San Cristobal).

Be careful! You have to pay a tax to enter the village of Zinacantán (it is included in the tour) and say exactly how many people we are when we enter so that no one stays in the village without authorization.

On the left, two Tzotzil women making corn tortillas in Zinacantán (Photo by Randomtrip. All rights reserved). On the right, representation of the same in an acrylic on canvas that we saw in the Collective Exhibition ‘Xkuxlej Chamo’ on the culture, life and daily life of Chamula, at the Musac (Museum of San Cristobal).

Day of the Dead in the indigenous communities of San Juan Chamula, Zinacantan and Romerillo

At Randomtrip we had the privilege of visiting these towns during the Day of the Dead celebrations on November 1st, and we were able to observe, from a distance and with respect, how they celebrate the arrival of the souls of their loved ones. Contrary to San Cristobal de las Casas where catrinas and catrinos parades abounded, the celebrations of the native towns are symbolic of ancestral beliefs.

In addition to the abundance of the orange cempasuchil flower, a flower that dresses the whole country on these dates since it is the one that indicates the path of the souls back home, we could see how families gather in the cemeteries, with music, food and, of course, Coca-Cola(we tell you more about this curious obsession in this section of the blog) to join their loved ones who return these days from the underworld. In fact, it is for this reason that the tombs in this community do not have cement and that on the 31st the wooden boards in the pantheons are lifted so that the souls can leave, returning to be placed again on November 3rd.

While we were able to see the celebrations at the Romerillo and Zinacantán cemeteries, with dances by the Mashes and many bottles of Coca-Cola included, the church in San Juan Chamula was quite empty as most of the people were at the cemetery waiting for the arrival of the souls of their loved ones.

While in the Romerillo pantheon the Day of the Dead celebrations include Ferris wheels and even verbenas, in Zinacantán, the celebration in the pantheon is more solemn. The cemetery is located at the top of a hill, because for these communities their ancestors are the guardians of the community. This is precisely what they are dedicated to, flowers.

How to visit the indigenous villages of San Juan Chamula?

You can get to San Juan Chamula on your own or on a tour. In this case we did not contemplate any other option than taking a tour because we wanted to soak up everything we were seeing and the explanations of our guide Miguel Angel (who speaks both Tzotzil and Tzeltal) were essential for this.

At Randomtrip we did it with Paxial Tours and the tour included a visit to the indigenous communities of San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán and, in addition, since we went during the Day of the Dead celebrations, the tour also included a visit to the Romerillo cemetery.

In San Juan Chamula you will visit the cemetery and the famous church of San Juan Bautista de Chamula (one of the highlights of the tour) and in Zinacantán you will be able to enter a textile workshop and meet several Tzotzil women.

Romerillo is not normally included in the tour (in our case it was a special edition for the Day of the Dead).

Price of the tour Indigenous Villages Zinacantán and San Juan Chamula (Romerillo is included only on 30/10, 31/10, 1/11 and 2/11): from 300 pesos/person with Paxial Tours. Departure from San Cristobal at 09:30h and return at 13:30/14:00h. You can hire the tour with Paxial when you arrive in San Cristobal as the agency is located here, in the middle of the Gualalupan walkway, or, if you prefer, contact them by whasap at +52 967 312 8471 or +52 961 458 6362.

If you prefer to go on your own to San Juan Chamula, the combi (collective transport) leaves a few blocks from the Santo Domingo temple and costs 18 pesos each way (36 pesos round trip) just to go to San Juan Chamula (not to Zinacantán). There is no schedule, the van leaves when it is full. If you choose this option, ask beforehand (for example, at your hotel) what the situation is like when you go because you should avoid scheduling your visit with political events. We were also told that Wednesdays are slower days, i.e., the faithful do not usually go to the temple as much. When you arrive it is important to look for a guide to learn more about what you are seeing.

And if you want to go with the tour booked online, book your excursion to San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán online here

El Chiflon: five impressive waterfalls

El Chiflón is the name given to a group of 5 waterfalls (one of them, the best known, tallest and most impressive, is called El Velo de la Novia), fed by the San Vicente River.

To access the waterfalls, there are two options, in both cases through ecotourism parks that control access and provide tourist services: on the left side, there is the Centro Ecoturístico Cascada Velo de la Novia; on the right side, the Centro Ecoturístico Cascadas El Chiflón. The one on the right side is the most visited and where the tours take you, where you can get closer to the waterfalls, although from the left side you have a wider view of them. In our case we visited the right side.

Price: To visit the center, you will have to pay an entrance fee of 80 pesos per person (about 4$).

Although the site is prepared for tourism (with a paved trail to the Velo de la Novia, food stands, zip lines, cabins to sleep there, etc.), which takes away some of the charm, the place is incredible and worth the visit.

The 5 waterfalls of the Chiflón, in order of appearance from the entrance to the ecotourism center, are the following (with the height of each one):

• El Suspiro Waterfall (25 meters high)
• Ala del Ángel Waterfall (30 meters high)
• Velo de la Novia Waterfall ( 120 meters high)
• Arcoiris Waterfall ( 50 meters high)
• Quinceañera Waterfall (60 meters high)

To give you an idea of the time, from the entrance to the Cascada del Velo de la Novia it takes about 30 minutes on foot (always uphill, with lots of steps), passing through the Suspiro and the Ala del Ángel. If you dare to visit the other two, the climb is a bit steeper and more “rustic”, but it is totally worth it. From Velo de la Novia to Arcoiris it takes 20 minutes, and from there to Quinceañera 10 minutes more. In other words, it takes about an hour to go up to the last waterfall (Quinceañera Waterfall). It takes about 30-40 minutes to descend, depending on your pace.

In some areas you can take a dip, depending on the time and weather. You can also do a part of the descent (from the Velo de la Novia) in a zip line: there are 3 sections, and you can do just one of the sections or buy a package. Here are the 3 zip lines (from top to bottom), with their length and price:

• First stretch: 400m, 250 pesos
• Second stretch, 600m, 300 pesos
• Third stretch, 300m, 200 pesos

If you want to do all 3, you can save 100 pesos since the package costs 650 pesos.

How to get to El Chifón Waterfalls from San Cristóbal?

From San Cristóbal de las Casas, it takes about 2h30 to El Chiflón Waterfalls. You have 3 options:

• Public transportation: you have to go by colectivo (small vans that connect different points) or ADO to Comitán de Domínguez, and from there wait for another colectivo to El Chiflón, with this option it will take you longer but it is much cheaper.
• Own/rental car: if you have your own vehicle or in case you rent a car, simply go to this point. Remember that it is not advisable to drive at night in Chiapas.
• By tour: this is the most common option, although the tour also includes the Montebello Lagoons, so the time in each place is a bit limited. The price is about 400 pesos per person.

At Randomtrip we did it on tour, with Paxial Tours and the tour includes, besides the visit to the waterfalls, a visit to the Montebello Lagoons and the border with Guatemala.

If you have time, and in our opinion, the recommended option would be to sleep there in the ecotourism centers (or in Comitán de Domínguez), and dedicate a full day to visit the waterfalls of El Chiflón and enjoy them, and do the same with the Lagunas de Montebello, which we will talk about next.

Price of the tour El Chiflón + Lagunas de Montebello from San Cristóbal: from 400 pesos/person with Paxial Tours (does not include lunch, nor the Chiflón zip lines or the boat ride in Lagunas de Montebello). Departure from San Cristobal at 08:00h and return at 22:00h. You can hire the tour with Paxial when you arrive in San Cristobal since the agency is located here, in the middle of the Guadalupan walkway, or, if you prefer, contact them by Whatsapp at +52 967 312 8471 or +52 961 458 6362.

Tour to Chiflón and Lagunas de Montebello (may vary depending on traffic and stops):

• 8:00 Pick up between 8 and 9 am at your accommodation in San Cristobal de las Casas.
• 2h30 drive to El Chiflón Waterfalls Ecotourism Center.
• 11:30: Arrival at the Ecotourism Center and 2h of time (until 13:30) to visit the waterfalls.
• 1h30 drive to the Montebello Lagoons.
• 16:00: Arrival at Lagunas de Montebello and wooden boat ride through the lagoons (not included, price 250 pesos per person + tip). It is agreed with the group whether to eat before the boat ride or after. There is a viewpoint next to the lagoons from which to contemplate the lagoons.
• 17:30: Arrival at Tziscao, where the International Lake (half Mexico, half Guatemala) is located.
• 18:30 departure back to San Cristóbal
• 3h30 drive back to San Cristóbal
• At 22:00 we are back in San Cristóbal.

What should you bring to Cascadas El Chiflón?

• Comfortable walking shoes
• Comfortable and light clothing (in El Chiflón it is much hotter and more humid than in San Cristóbal).
• Insect repellent
• Sunscreen and hat or similar
• Water
• Some snacks to eat during the visit (or you can also buy them there).
• Swimsuit and towel if you are going for a swim

And if you want to go with the tour booked online, you can hire this tour that includes both Cascadas de El Chiflón and Lagunas de Montebello.

Montebello Lagoons

The Lagunas de Montebello National Park is formed by a group of about 60 lagoons (the number varies according to the weather and the time of the year), which acquire different shades of color (turquoise, green, blue, black…) depending on what is in their bottoms. Theoretically, these lagoons were formerly cenotes, which erosion and time “destroyed” until what we have today, and which are known as “uvalas”.

Some of the lagoons are accessible by road, while the rest (most of them) are accessible only on foot through trails.

Price: To visit the Lagunas de Montebello park, you will have to pay 30 pesos per person to the community that administers it + 54 pesos per person for the entrance fee to the national park (84 pesos, about 4$).

Some of the lakes that are usually visited:

• Cinco Lagos: five lakes that are now linked together, where you can ride on a traditional cork raft and see the views from the roadside lookout.
• Lago Pojoj: lake with various shades of colors, where you can also take a ride on the cork boat, sailing to the Orquídeas Island and take a bath.
• Lago Montebello: the lake from which the park gets its name
• Lago Tziscao: the largest and deepest lake in the national park, it is right next to the small International Lake.
• Lago Internacional: small lake on the border with Guatemala, which is in fact half Guatemalan, half Mexican.

In our case, when visiting the Lagunas de Montebello on a tour that also included the El Chiflón Waterfalls, we were only at Cinco Lagos (with the traditional cork raft ride), Lake Tziscao and Lake Internacional.

In Cinco Lagos we did the traditional cork boat ride (250 pesos per person + tip); in our boat we were 4 people (Randomtrip and another couple) plus the boatman and guide. It is important to wear waterproof footwear (such as water shoes or similar) as the boat is made of logs and some water gets in (as we didn’t wear any, we took off our shoes and went barefoot). The ride lasts about an hour, and there is a stop to go up to a lookout point and see a cenote. After the walk, there are some food stands, restrooms and stairs to a viewpoint with incredible views of the Cinco Lagos.

From Cinco Lagos we went to Tziscao, a small town between Lake Tziscao (the largest and deepest lake in the national park) and Lago Internacional (a small lake that is right on the border with Guatemala and is shared by both countries.

There you can appreciate Lake Tziscao, border the International Lake to cross into Guatemala (there are no border posts or checkpoints), see the sculpture that marks the change from one country to another and buy Guatemalan handicrafts on both sides of the lake.

How to get to the Montebello Lagoons?

From San Cristobal de las Casas, it is about 3h30 drive to the Montebello Lagoons. You have 3 options:

• Public transportation: you have to go by colectivo (small vans that connect different points) or ADO to Comitán de Domínguez, and from there take another colectivo to the Lagunas or to Tziscao (from where you will have to pay a cab or similar), with this option it will take you longer but depending on the plan it can be cheaper. It is important to note that the lakes are at considerable distances from each other, so once you get to one you will have to hitchhike (or pay a cab to take you to several, but there the price goes up and the tour might be a better option).
• Own/rental car: if you have your own vehicle or in case you rent a car, simply go to this point (Cinco Lagos) or to one of the other lakes listed above. Remember that it is not advisable to drive at night in Chiapas.
• By tour: this is the most common option, although the tour also includes the El Chiflón Waterfalls, so time at each site is limited. The price is about 400 pesos per person.

At Randomtrip we did it on tour, with Paxial Tours and the tour also includes a visit to the El Chiflón Waterfalls.

If you have time, and in our opinion, the ideal would be to enjoy the Montebello Lagoons staying at least one night, for example in the Cabañas Islas de Tziscao, and dedicate a full day to visit the Montebello Lagoons.

Price of the tour El Chiflón + Lagunas de Montebello from San Cristóbal: from 400 pesos/person with Paxial Tours (does not include lunch, nor the Chiflón zip lines or the boat ride in Lagunas de Montebello). Departure from San Cristobal at 08:00h and return at 22:00h. You can hire the tour with Paxial when you arrive in San Cristobal since the agency is located here, in the middle of the Guadalupan walkway, or, if you prefer, contact them by Whatsapp at +52 967 312 8471 or +52 961 458 6362.

Tour to Chiflón and Lagunas de Montebello (may vary depending on traffic and stops):

• 8:00 Pick up between 8 and 9 am at your accommodation in San Cristobal de las Casas.
• 2h30 drive to El Chiflón Waterfalls Ecotourism Center.
• 11:30: Arrival at the Ecotourism Center and 2h of time (until 13:30) to visit the waterfalls.
• 1h30 drive to the Montebello Lagoons.
• 16:00: Arrival at Lagunas de Montebello and wooden boat ride through the lagoons (not included, price 250 pesos per person + tip). It is agreed with the group whether to eat before the boat ride or after. There is a viewpoint next to the lagoons from which to contemplate the lagoons.
• 17:30: Arrival at Tziscao, where the International Lake (half Mexico, half Guatemala) is located.
• 18:30 departure back to San Cristóbal
• 3h30 drive back to San Cristóbal
• At 22:00 we are back in San Cristóbal.

Some things you should bring for the Montebello Lagoons

• Comfortable walking shoes
• Water shoes or flip-flops, because if you do the ride in the traditional boats you will get your feet wet (at Randomtrip we didn’t have them with us so we took off our shoes).
• Comfortable and light clothing
• Insect repellent
• Sunscreen and hat or similar
• Water
• Some snacks to eat during the visit (or you can also buy them there).
• Swimsuit and towel if you are going for a swim

And if you want to go with the tour booked online, you can hire this tour that includes both Lagunas de Montebello and Cascadas de El Chiflón.

Comitán de Domínguez

Comitán de Dominguez is one of the 177 (as of December 2023) Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns) of Mexico, with colonial architecture, where it is advisable to get lost in its historic center, visit the Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, in the Central Park, the House Museum Dr. Belisario Domínguez or the Cultural Center Rosario Castellanos.

How to get to Comitán de Domínguez?

From San Cristobal de las Casas, it is about 2 hours to Comitán de Dominguez. You have 3 options:

• Public transportation: you have colectivos or ADO from San Cristobal to Comitán de Dominguez, a fast, cheap and comfortable option.
• Own/rental car: if you have your own vehicle or in case you rent a car, simply go to this point (the Central Park) or to your lodging in case you are staying there. Remember that it is not advisable to drive at night in Chiapas.
• By tour: you also have the option of hiring a tour from San Cristóbal, such as this tour that includes the magical town of Comitán Dominguez and the Cascada de las Nubes waterfall.

In our opinion, if you have time, it is advisable to spend at least one night in Comitán de Domínguez, and take the opportunity to visit the Chiflón Waterfalls and the Montebello Lagoons from there.

Las Nubes Ecotourism Center

Las Nubes Ecotourism Center (also known as Causas Verdes Ecotourism Center) is an access point to visit waterfalls on the Santo Domingo River in the Lacandon Jungle. You can admire the Cascadas Las Golondrinas, take a dip in its turquoise water pools, climb to the Vista Hermosa viewpoint as well as other activities (rafting, hiking…) and they also have lodging and restaurant.

Relatively nearby there is another ecotourism center called Las Guacamayas, which owes its name to the fact that there they do conservation work for the Red Guacayama. If you have your own car and you are on the road, you can visit both places and stay overnight in one of them.

How to get to the Centro Ecoturístico Las Nubes

From San Cristobal de las Casas, it is about 5h30 to Las Nubes (3h30 to Lagunas de Montebello and 2h more to the center). You have 3 options:

• Public transportation: it is not easy and will take time. You have to go by colectivo (small vans that connect different points) or ADO to Comitán de Domínguez, and from there take another colectivo to Las Lagunas or to Tziscao. From there you will have to hitchhike or look for a cab or similar to make the trip to the Ecotourism Center.
• Own/rental car: if you have your own vehicle or in case you rent a car, simply go to this point. Remember that it is not advisable to drive at night in Chiapas.
• By tour: there is this option, although you have to take into account that due to the distance (5h30 from San Cristobal de Las Casas), you will not have much time to enjoy, so it is not a highly recommended option. If you still want to visit the place and you don’t have time to sleep there, you have this tour to the Cascada de las Nubes or this other tour that includes the magical town of Comitán Dominguez and the Cascada de las Nubes.

In our opinion, it is not worth going and returning from San Cristobal, the ideal is to go and sleep there or in the surroundings to enjoy the place calmly, something that is only possible with your own car or looking for transportation from closer places.

Rancho Nuevo and Arcotete Caves

The Rancho Nuevo Caves are an ecotourism center where you can enter into caves formed over the years and appreciate their stalactites and stalagmites and their whimsical shapes. The center also has other activities such as zip lines or jumping down the giant slide.

The Arcotete is a natural stone arch formed by the Fogótico River, around which an Ecotourism Center has been created to access the arch and other activities offered.

How to get to Rancho Nuevo and Arcotete?

From San Cristobal de las Casas, the Rancho Nuevo Caves are about 20 minutes away, and Arcotete is also about 20 minutes away. You have 3 options:

• Public transportation: there are buses that can drop you off at both places. In theory there are several near the ADO terminal in San Cristobal and also behind the Church of Santo Domingo, ask which ones can drop you off and ask them to stop at the entrance of the corresponding ecotourism center.
• Own/rental car: if you have your own vehicle or if you rent a car, simply go to this point for Grutas de Rancho Nuevo or to this point for Arcotete. Remember that it is not recommended to drive at night in Chiapas.
• By tour: you also have the option of hiring a tour from San Cristobal, such as this tour that includes a visit to both ecotourism centers (Rancho Nuevo and Arcotete).

And if you want to go with the tour booked online, you can hire this tour that includes a visit to Rancho Nuevo Ecotourism Park and El Arcotete .

Amatenango del Valle

Amatenango del Valle is a small town 2h30 from San Cristobal de las Casas famous for its pottery made by women. They are the ones who learn the trade from a young age, with pre-Hispanic techniques, and make different works of art, where the clay jaguars stand out for example. You can follow artist Juana Gómez Ramírez on Instagram if you want to learn more about her work.

How to get to Amatenango del Valle?

From San Cristobal de las Casas to Amatenango del Valle it takes approximately 1h30. You have 3 options:

• Public transportation: we were unable to find information about buses that go to or pass through Amatenango del Valle, but we are sure there are, just ask the locals.
• Own/rental car: if you have your own vehicle or in case you rent a car, simply go to this point to visit the workshop and gallery of Juana Gómez Ramírez (although there are also others). Remember that it is not advisable to drive at night in Chiapas.
• By tour: you also have the option of hiring a tour from San Cristobal, such as this tour that, in addition to the visit to the pottery community, includes a visit to the Vertedor, a turquoise water lagoon.

Sima de las Cotorras

The Sima de las Cotorras is a land subsidence (a very large hole), the result of erosion and tectonic processes. There are several in the area, and in fact some larger ones, but this particular one became more famous because the local population created an ecotourism center next to it, to facilitate the visit and create a source of income. The name comes from the fact that it is home to many parrots, which with luck can be seen at sunrise or sunset (the best time is said to be from March to November, especially from March to May).

The hole is about 160m in diameter and 140m deep, and on its walls you can see cave paintings and stalactites. Another curiosity is that inside the hole there are species of trees not present above, up to 30m high.

As the parrot “show” is short (only at dawn when they leave or at dusk when they return), the ecotourism center has other activities such as rappelling and hiking to better observe the hole.

How to get to the Sima de las Cotorras?

From San Cristóbal de las Casas to the Sima de las Cotorras it takes approximately 1h30. You have 2 options (unfortunately, there is no public transportation to take you there):

• Own/rental car: if you have your own vehicle or in case you rent a car, simply go to this point. Remember that it is not advisable to drive at night in Chiapas.
• By tour: you also have the option of hiring a tour from San Cristobal, such as this one to rappel in the Sima de las Cotorras or this one that does not include rappel but also includes a visit to the waterfall El Aguacero.

Arco del Tiempo (Arch of time)

Arco del Tiempo (Arch of Time) is an incredible and little known place in Chiapas, and is nothing more and nothing less than the highest natural arch in the world, with 158 meters high, formed more than 80,000 years ago.

Visiting this place is not easy and is an adventure in itself: it can only be visited during the dry season (from November to June, depending on the year as the weather is not 100% predictable, since the rains make access dangerous and the agencies do not offer the tour for safety reasons), and you must hire an authorized local guide in General Cardenas.

Although if conditions are good you can visit Arco del Tiempo in one day, the minimum recommended is 2 days/1 night.

How to get to the Arco del Tiempo?

From San Cristóbal de las Casas to Arco del tiempo it takes approximately 3h30/4h (2h30/3h to Cintalapa and another hour to General Cárdenas, from where the guides leave). You have 3 options:

• Public transportation: from San Cristobal, you have to go first to Cintalapa (you have OCC bus). From Cintalapa, you have to go by combi to General Cárdenas (in theory there are only a couple a day, check to calculate the times). In General Cárdenas you can hire a guide.
• Own/rental car: if you have your own vehicle or in case you rent a car, simply go to this point and there you can hire the guide. Remember that it is not advisable to drive at night in Chiapas.
• By tour: you also have the option of hiring a 2-day tour from Tuxtla and some agencies also sell it from San Cristobal, although it is much more expensive.

Palenque: Archaeological Zone

The archaeological site of Palenque was our first contact with a Mayan city and one of the visits that impressed us the most. If you don’t have much time, you can visit this archaeological site, along with two impressive waterfalls on the way – Agua Azul and Misol-ha – on a day tour from San Cristobal.

In Randomtrip, besides the archaeological site of Palenque, we were also interested in going to two other impressive Mayan cities near Palenque: Yakchilán and Bonampak. We have to take into account that Palenque is far from San Cristóbal de las Casas, and even more so because of the speed that the vans have to go due to the number of speed bumps on the road. In this case, what we did was to hire the tour and not return to San Cristobal, but stay in Palenque to continue exploring the area and continue on our way. We tell you everything in detail in our guide to Palenque.

Palenque + Agua Azul + Misol-Ha tour price: from 700 pesos/person with Paxial Tours. Departure from San Cristobal at 04:00h and return at 23:00h. You can hire the tour with Paxial when you arrive in San Cristobal since the agency is located here, in the middle of the Gualalupan walkway, or, if you prefer, contact them by whasap at +52 967 312 8471 or +52 961 458 6362.

What are the best tours from San Cristobal de las Casas?

In Randomtrip if we had to choose, in terms of nature, we would undoubtedly do the Sumidero Canyon. If we had one more day, we would prioritize the waterfalls of El Chiflón and the Lagunas de Montebello although the latter, more than to go on a tour (besides the tour arrives late to the lagoons), the ideal would be to enjoy them staying, at least, one night as for example in the Cabañas Islas de Tziscao. Something complicated to do on a tour (you would have to see if the agency would be willing to pick you up on the return of the tour the next day) but feasible if you have your own car.

Please note that in this decision we have to take into account that we did not go to Arco del Tiempo

Finally, on a cultural level, to visit the communities of San Juan Chamula and, above all, the Church of San Juan Bautista de Chamula and its religious syncretism seems to us essential to get to know Chiapas closely and something unique that you will not be able to see anywhere else in the country. What you will experience inside you will hardly ever experience in another trip.

In any case, in our itineraries section we recommend how you can organize your days depending on whether you come to San Cristobal for one day, 2, 3, 4 or 5 days.

Disclaimer: Paxial Tours helped us explore the surroundings of Chiapas with their tours but all opinions and information expressed in this post are our own.

Get inspired with stories from our visit to Chiapas

You can see the featured Instagram stories about our visit to Chiapas here.

Chiapas and Coca-Cola: a toxic relationship

You may know that Mexico is the country in the world that consumes the most Coca-Cola, but did you know that Chiapas (specifically the municipality of San Juan Chamula) is, nothing more and nothing less than the region in the world that consumes the most Coca-Cola (2.25 liters/person per day, vs. the average of 1.7 liters/person per day in all of Mexico)?

In the municipality of San Juan Chamula, Coca-Cola went from being a simple beverage to something sacred, part of the offerings (that is why we saw so many Coca-Cola bottles next to the tombs) and part of the religious syncretic rites, where they venerate Christian saints and virgins under pre-Hispanic ceremonies in which even shamanism is practiced (something visible inside the Church of San Juan Bautista in Chamula). The drink commonly used for these rites (pox, a distillate of corn and sugar cane), was substituted in part by coca-cola, due (in theory) to the negative impact of alcohol and its association with the devil.

Moreover, the municipal president of San Juan Chamula is, in many cases, the same as the Coca-Cola distributor or someone close to the distributor and, when the truck arrives, it is of enormous responsibility who distributes it because he is, after all, the one who holds their most precious asset.

In addition, all religious, civic or commercial dealings involve the delivery and drinking of coke. For example, a Randomtrip follower who spent some time in Chiapas collaborating with an NGO (thanks Marta!) told us that when there is a conflict between indigenous communities, if the parties do not bring coca-cola on the day of the mediation, there is no resolution.

To understand how this point was reached we have to go back to the 1970s, when Governor Luis Echeverría Álvarez enacted the distribution of land and subsequent exploitation and colonization of the Lacandon Jungle and it was there that the Cola-Cola company (more specifically FEMSA, the food and beverage giant that owns the rights to bottle and sell Coca-Cola throughout Mexico and much of Latin America) bought a reserve with access to a spring (towards the Huitepec hill, the highest hill in Chiapas). As a curiosity (and so that you can start connecting the dots), Femsa is one of the most powerful companies in Mexico and one of the former CEOs of Coca-Cola in Mexico, Vicente Fox, was president of the country from 2000 to 2006.

In communities with so few resources and infrastructure and so little access to quality drinking water as those of San Juan Chamula, the entry of these companies led to the opening of roads connecting populations with each other and, in the meantime, they gave away lots and lots of Coca-Cola. To those who were never given anything (quite the contrary) it was a matter of time before this drink became sacred and part of their collective identity.

This exploitation of the land by Coca-Cola has also caused the water around San Cristóbal de las Casas to become contaminated. Apparently, it all arose from failures in the drainage and water purification process, since the contaminated spring water to which the company has access joins with the wastewater used for irrigation and generates this serious effect in San Cristóbal with bacteria.

In fact, they usually warn in the lodgings not to drink tap water under any circumstances and to choose well where to eat in the city because the bacteria and the lack of hygiene in this city are increased by the lack of water quality.

The truth is that in Randomtrip, despite trying to be careful, Chris fell ill because of some irresistible tacos and ice cubes. You can take probiotics such as kombucha , which helps protect the intestinal flora, or an infusion of chilchahua, a plant you can buy at the market.

The Femsa Coca-Cola bottling plant continues to have permits to extract 419,774.3 cubic meters of water per year (1,150,065.75 liters per day) as part of a contract with the federal government signed several decades ago, excessively favorable to the factory’s owners. Meanwhile, the water continues to be polluted.

As a consequence, in addition to the scarcity of drinking water that causes many inhabitants to hydrate themselves with Coca-Cola, since it is easier to obtain it than drinking water and at a similar or even cheaper price than bottled water, diabetes and tooth decay are multiplying in these communities.

Such is the addiction and normalization of drinking Coca-Cola on a daily basis that we were told that it is even given to babies from a very early age.

Where to stay in San Cristobal de las Casas

The truth is that the whole center of San Cristobal de las Casas is ideal to stay and make a base to explore the city and its surroundings. At Randomtrip we stayed in an apartment on a street parallel to the Andador de Guadalupe (Calle Real de Guadalupe) close to many restaurants, bars, street music and general liveliness and it seems to us the best option if you can stay close to the street itself.

There is a lot of lodging in San Cristobal de las Casas, here we propose a few accommodations of all price ranges, all with excellent reviews, and in the middle of the Andador de Guadalupe or very close (keep in mind that prices vary according to season):

• Hostal Ikal: from 8$/night in bunk bed or from 20$/night double room

• Casa Zenia: from 24$/night for a double room
• Hotel Neutro San Cris: from 34$/night for a double room
• Noma Bed&Breakfast: from 37$/night for a double room
• Yox Hotel Boutique: from 42$/night for a double room

• Casa Cafeólogo: from 58$/night the suite for up to 5 persons
• Casa Lum: from 126$/night for a double room

Not what you are looking for? Find more accommodations in San Cristobal de las Casas here.

Where to eat and drink in San Cristobal de las Casas

Before recommending specific restaurants, we would like to tell you that you have to try two drinks: Pox (pronounced posh, medicine, in Tzotzil), a corn liquor (although in many places it is made with sugar cane) and Pozol, a thick drink based on cocoa and corn. As for food, the most typical things you can try in this region are mole chiapaneco, tamales chiapanecos, sopa de pan, caldo or sopa de chipilín and cochito horneado.

For specific restaurants, we leave here our recommendations and the prices we paid in the ones we tried):

• Taqueria El Charrito: the best cochinita tacos we tried in San Cristobal (6 tacos and a coke, 100 pesos – about 5$).
• Taniperla: gastronomy of the Lacandon jungle and live music, we loved the food, the service, everything (two plates of quesadillas and two beers, 385 pesos, about 19$).

• Belil Sabores de Chiapas: here we tried the pozol, bread soup and mole chiapaneco, all delicious (two tasting menus, a beer and a pozol 550 pesos, about 30$).

• La Lupe: we had breakfast here a couple of times and very tasty tacos for dinner (two breakfasts – with bread, coffee, etc. – 170 pesos, about 8$; for dinner, two courses and two beers – 376 pesos, about 20$).
• Sarajevo Café Jardín: it is not very local, but it has a menu of the day for 120 pesos with soup, main course and water of the day that we loved and that we repeated several times, what are we going to fool ourselves. Besides, the space is, dare we say it, one of the nicest in San Cris.

• Tierra y Cielo: the best restaurant we went to during our stay in SanCris, with a renowned chef who won several awards. Delicious and more chic locale (better to reserve), and also more expensive prices (we ordered several things to try (tacos al pastor, tamal, quesadillitas and mole coleto), 2 glasses of wine (165 pesos each), 1 sparkling water and the special pan de muerto for dessert, and paid 1419 pesos, about 75$).

• Cocoliche: restaurant with somewhat more western food, and many days with live music. We ordered 2 courses, 1 glass of wine and 1 sparkling water and paid 463 pesos, about 25$.
• Fogón de Jovel: one of the most famous restaurants to try typical Chiapaneca gastronomy but we ended up not going (better to book).
• Las Pichanchas, perfect to taste typical gastronomy such as mole, bread soup, asado coleto, chipilín soup and empanados or chiles de relleno. It also has typical dances at night (best to book).
• Yo’o Moc: the best tamales in SanCris are said to be in this tamalería. Yo’o Moc means corn tamale in Zoque (there are tamales coated with mole and saffron).
• Ciao Coleto: both chiapanecan and international flavors
• Plaza Libertad: cultural space with a terrace with an art gallery, pizzeria, craft beers and cocktails.

• Esquina San Agustín: in the middle of the andador del Carmen, more posh and 100% aimed at “coolonizadora” people and 0% at locals (the way things are), around here are concentrated different, modern and good international restaurants but also with local gastronomy. We tried Mazorca, with local gastronomy, where we ordered 2 plates and 2 margaritas and paid 517 pesos, about 27$).

• Cacao Nativa: in addition to tasting their chocolates, here you can eat the best bread in the area, in the neighborhood of San Ramon.
• Cafeología: You have to taste coffee in Chiapas (it is a coffee region, 60% of Mexico’s coffee is produced here) and we drank one of the best espressos we tasted in SanCris here. Of course, at a premium price (compared to others in the city), as it costs 45 pesos each espresso (plus tip), about 2.40$.

• Carajillo Expendio: Delicious espresso coffee

• Mezcalería La Surreal and its famous botanas (tapas that accompany the drinks and get better and better depending on the amount of drinks you order). We ordered 6 beers (each with a snack) and paid 230 pesos, about 12$

• La Viña de Baco: one of the best value-for-money places to have a wine on the Guadalupe walkway and, perhaps for that reason, it is always full. We ordered 3 glasses of wine and paid 100 pesos (about 5$).
• Bandera Negra: heavy metal bar if you want to escape from the reggaeton of most places.
• Café Bar La Revolución: live music and a lot of salsa
• La Poshería: a SanCris place to try the pox/posh, in the middle of the Andador de Guadalupe, although, apparently, this pox is made mostly of sugar cane, not corn like the traditional one, so although we recommend you try it, both for the taste and for the project behind it, we also recommend you to go to La Espirituosa, which we will tell you about next.

• La Espirituosa: if you want to try Pox/Posh, this is the place. Pox/Posh means medicine in Tzotzil and it used to be used ceremonially in the Mayan populations. Nowadays, in the communities of San Juan Chamula, it is still common to see a bottle of Posh along with a bottle of Coca-Cola in their ceremonial rites. Behind La Espirituosa there is a project called Poxna, which is the posh you can taste in Chiapas because they have recovered the fermentation process (with corn) and not with sugar cane. They told us that pox is drunk for 3 reasons: ceremonial, festive and medicinal. At La Espirituosa we tried the natural posh (70% corn), the posh distilled with hibiscus flower, very smooth, and the posh distilled with cocoa (denser and more intense). In addition, the lovely Sofi, the woman behind the project that started 13 years ago, also does Chiapaneca cooking classes called Cooking with Sofi. You can learn more about the Poxna project here.

If you prefer, you can book a mexican cooking class here

San Cristóbal de las Casas itineraries

As we indicated at the beginning of this guide, SanCris has a lot to see and offer, especially in its surroundings, so ideally you should be able to dedicate 7 days (one week). As you don’t always have that much time, here are some suggestions for itineraries based on our experience.

Things in San Cristobal de las Casas in one day

If you only have a full day, know that it will not be enough! We recommend that you dedicate it to get to know and enjoy SanCris or that you dedicate part of the day to the Sumidero Canyon, which in our opinion is one of the most impressive landscapes in the area.

Option 1: one day in San Cristóbal de las Casas

• Have breakfast in one of the places we recommend to taste Chiapas coffee.
• At 10:00 take the free tour, which departs from the Plaza de la Paz, lasts about 2 hours and will allow you to have an overview of SanCris and see some places.
• Eat at one of our recommended restaurants
• In the afternoon, stroll along the promenades and visit some of the museums that interest you the most (such as Na Bolom).

Option 2: Sumidero Canyon and San Cristóbal de las Casas

• Have breakfast in one of the places we recommend to taste Chiapas coffee.
• Look for a tour that takes you to the Sumidero Canyon first thing in the morning, without the viewpoints (if you want to have some time for SanCris), to try to be back around 14:00.
• Eat at one of our recommended restaurants
• In the afternoon, you can take the free tour mentioned in option 1 at 16:00 but only in English.
• Stroll along the walkways and enjoy the atmosphere of SanCris.

Things to do in San Cristobal de las Casas in 2 or 3 days (a weekend)

We consider that 3 days should be the minimum time you should spend in San Cris and its surroundings, to enjoy this magical town and do a couple of interesting tours. Here is a suggested itinerary (you can change the order of the days).

3-day itinerary in San Cristobal de las Casas:

• Day 1: Tour to the Sumidero Canyon (with viewpoints and Chiapa de Corzo) during the day, enjoy SanCris in the evening.
• Day 2: Enjoying SanCris (option 1 of the previous section)
• Day 3: Tour to the indigenous communities (San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán) in the morning, enjoy SanCris in the afternoon.

We have included the two tours that we consider the most impressive/interesting, but you can change days 1 and 3 for other tours that interest you more.

Things to do in San Cristobal de las Casas in 4 or 5 days

With 4 or 5 days you can get to know more things around SanCris and get a good idea, if you make the most of the days. Here is a suggested itinerary.

5-day itinerary in San Cristobal de las Casas:

• Day 1: Tour to the Sumidero Canyon (with viewpoints and Chiapa de Corzo) during the day, enjoy SanCris in the evening.
• Day 2: Enjoying SanCris (option 1 of the first section)
• Day 3: Tour to El Chiflón Waterfalls and Montebello Lagoons
• Day 4: Tour to the indigenous communities (San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán) in the morning, enjoy SanCris in the afternoon.
• Day 5: Tour to Comitán de Domínguez and enjoy SanCris in the afternoon/evening.

Things to do in San Cristóbal de las Casas in 6 or 7 days

We consider a week the ideal amount of days to visit San Cristobal de las Casas at your leisure and leaving time to enjoy. Here is a suggested itinerary

7-day (one week) itinerary in San Cristobal de las Casas:

• Day 1: Enjoying SanCris (option 1 of the first section)
• Day 2: Tour to the Sumidero Canyon (with viewpoints and Chiapa de Corzo) during the day, enjoy SanCris in the evening.
• Day 3: Enjoy SanCris (see things you didn’t have time for on Day 1)
• Day 4: Tour to El Chiflón Waterfalls and Montebello Lagoons
• Day 5: Tour to the indigenous communities (San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán) in the morning, enjoy SanCris in the afternoon.
• Day 6: Tour to Comitán de Domínguez and enjoy SanCris in the afternoon/evening.
• Day 7: another tour of your choice (Grutas, Amatenango…) or continue enjoying SanCris.

If you have a week and your own car (or if you rent one), it is also a good idea to make a route sleeping in several places to explore more calmly instead of doing roundtrip tours. For example, you can sleep one night in Tuxtla (and from there visit the Sumidero Canyon), 2-3 nights in SanCris (to get to know the city and from there visit the indigenous communities), 1-2 nights in Comitán (to get to know another magical town and visit the El Chifón Waterfalls with more time), and 1 night near the Montebello Lakes to have time to enjoy them and avoid hours of driving).

Transportation: Getting around San Cristóbal de las Casas

In the city of San Cristobal de las Casas the ideal is to walk around a lot and get to know it on foot. It is true that we took cabs both to go from the bus station (where the shuttle bus that brought us from the Tuxtla airport dropped us off) to the city center and on another occasion to get around at night, and we had no problems. It is also recommended to use authorized cabs (at the stops) or ordered cabs (you can ask at your hotel/accommodation).

To visit the surrounding area, as we mentioned in the guide, we prefer to do it through tours because, when we visited Chiapas, they did not recommend driving/renting a car in the area for safety reasons, especially after dark.

How to get from Tuxtla Airport to San Cristobal de las Casas

From the Tuxtla Gutierrez airport there are vans (shared vans) when full, direct to San Cristobal, for 240 pesos per person. The trip takes about 1h30 and you will be dropped off at the bus terminal in San Cristobal or nearby (depending on the company), from where cabs will be waiting to take you to your accommodation (50 pesos per cab). You can also take a cab directly to your accommodation from the airport (the price is about 1000 pesos approx., if you get 4 people together it is more economical).

Both for hiring combis and cabs, once you leave the baggage claim hall at the airport you will see the official booths where you must buy your tickets.

How to have internet in San Cristobal de las Casas

To always have internet on your smartphone, the easiest and most convenient way (if your phone supports eSIM) is to buy an eSIM from Holafly, which has unlimited data (you get a 5% discount with the code RANDOMTRIP), or to buy an eSIM from Airalo, cheaper but with limited data (15% discount with the code RANDOMTRIP15)

The other option, cheaper but more cumbersome, is to buy a local SIM, which we recommend is from Telcel (the main telecom company in Mexico, with more coverage).

It is important to note that in general, both in San Cristóbal de las Casas and in other areas of Chiapas the mobile network works quite poorly: you will have 4G/5G in many places but the network is unstable. The good thing is that most places (accommodations, cafes, restaurants, etc.) have good wifi, so if you want to save as much as possible, you can simply use wifi when it is available and you need it.

In this post we detail everything you need to know to have internet on your smartphone:

Mexico SIM/eSIM card: Mobile internet in Mexico

Safety: Is it safe to travel to San Cristobal de las Casas?

Yes! Although you may have read about political instability in the region and that Chiapas has become more internationally known for the Zapatista revolution in the 90’s, visiting the city of San Cristobal de las Casas is totally safe and not only have we not had any mishap in all the days we spent there, but we have felt very comfortable and can only recommend visiting it. Of course, we apply common sense at all times, we do not carry valuable belongings on the street (although we do not stop ourselves from using our cell phone or camera whenever we want, keeping them when we are not using them) and we avoid driving at night (although we did take a cab a few times at night around the city without any problem).

In any case, when you go to visit San Cristóbal, find out about the current situation, to know if it is advisable to go on your own or not, which areas should not be visited if there are any, etc.

Taking into account that when we visited the area, there were conflict zones in some parts of the state of Chiapas and police checkpoints (especially on the road to Ocosingo), and indigenous communities (to ask for pesos), they did not recommend driving at night. Since it was getting dark early, around 18:00h, we discarded the option of renting a car to move around freely (as we like) and preferred to visit the surroundings by means of tours. It turned out to be a good choice because of the information we got from the guides and we were able to see a lot every day.

If when you go there the situation has improved and you decide to rent a car, you can do it directly at the Tuxtla Gutierrez airport to save transfers.

In any case, we always have our Iati travel insurance (which also covers our belongings) as in all our trips and gives us more peace of mind. If you contract your travel insurance in this Randomtrip link, you will get it with a 5% discount.

Money at SanCris: Avoid paying commissions

To pay and withdraw money in Mexico while minimizing fees, we recommend the 2 cards we use in our case:

• Revolut: with the standard version up to 1000$ without commission on card payments (remember to always pay in local currency – Mexican pesos). Up to 400$ of withdrawals at ATMs without commission, from then on commission of 1%.
• N26: with the free version you can pay with your card without commissions in an unlimited way. For ATM withdrawals, you pay 1.7% commission, which you can eliminate by paying for the monthly plans You (the one we use) or Metal.

It is important to keep in mind that although your card does not charge a fee for ATM withdrawals, ATMs in Mexico do charge a fee for their use. The ones that charge the least are Banamex (31 pesos, 1.7$), Banco Santander (34 pesos, 1.8$) or Banco Azteca (34 pesos, 1.8$), so when withdrawing money try to withdraw as much as possible to save money.

Another important issue when withdrawing money at an ATM in Mexico: many times the ATM will ask you if you want the transaction to be done in local currency (Mexican pesos) or in your own currency (in our case, it was euros): always choose the local currency option, otherwise, it will apply an unfavorable exchange rate and you will be overpaying (as a hidden commission).

The above also applies to card payments (although the option almost never appears, on several occasions also when paying with a card in establishments we were shown an amount in euros instead of pesos). In our case it almost always happened to us with the orange CLIP terminals. If this happens to you, ask the person to charge you in Mexican pesos.

A bad practice in Mexico is that in any business where you want to pay with a card, they have the habit of asking you for your card and do the whole process themselves, passing you the terminal only to enter the PIN (in Mexico they call it “firma” or NIP). This means that sometimes, depending on the type of terminal, you do not see the amount and/or you are charged in the original currency of your card instead of in Mexican pesos – making you lose money because an unfavorable conversion is applied. Always ask nicely to be allowed to see the process to make sure you are charged the correct amount and in local currency.

Finally, some establishments charge an extra commission for payment by card (the times it happened to us, it was 5%), they always tell you before and if you do not see it when confirming the amount. In those cases, it is better to pay with cash.

Tipping: The tipping culture is very well established in Mexico, and although it is not and cannot be obligatory by law, it is in practice, since it is frowned upon not to leave a tip. It is recommended to leave a minimum of 10% (usually you will be asked at the time of payment, and if you pay by credit card, the terminal usually gives you the option of adding 10, 15 or 20% as a tip).

In our case, we took out money a couple of times from Banco Santander (in the zocalo), which charged 34 pesos per withdrawal (when you take out, try to take out as much as you can/want, as the commission is the same regardless of the amount) and tried to pay whenever possible (and when they didn’t charge extra commission) by card.

How much does a trip to San Cristobal de las Casas cost?

Making a budget is complex as it depends greatly on your type of trip: how many plans you want to include in your trip, if you are going to go to restaurants or cook to save money, the type of accommodation you are going to use… In any case, so you can get an idea, we leave below the average prices and what we consider as average price per day (we reiterate that these are ORIENTATIVE prices and may vary at any time):

• Flights: From inside México, you can find flights to Tuxtla from 45$ (without luggage). Use flight comparators like Skyscanner and Kiwi to find the best price.
• Transportation: Within the city in principle you don’t need to pay for transportation as you can walk everywhere. If you need a cab, they usually cost 50 pesos each way (2-3$).
• Accommodation: from 40$/night for a room with private bathroom or small apartment with kitchen. Find accommodation of all types and prices on Booking, with up to 15% discount.
• Restaurants: many options between 3$ and 25$ per person, for all tastes.
• Tours/entries: unless you go with your own car, the ideal way to get to know the surroundings are tours. Most tours cost between 300 and 500 pesos per person (between 15 and 25$).

In total, a weekend trip (2 nights) to San Cristobal de las Casas can cost you between 50$ and 75$ per person per day (not counting flights from abroad), with the cheapest accommodation options, eating out in cheap restaurants and doing 2 tours.

Useful Apps to get around San Cristóbal de las Casas

• Google Maps (Android / iOS): is the one we use to save/classify all the places we want to go/we have gone and as a GPS to orient ourselves in the city as well as if we rent a car. In addition, you can see other people’s opinions of the places, photos, restaurant menus, phone number of the places to contact them, etc.. You can also open our map with all the places included in this guide.
• Maps.me (Android / iOS): application similar to Google Maps but works offline (although Google Maps can also work offline, it works better) and in many cases has information that Google Maps does not have.
• Windy (Android / iOS / Web): essential app for our trips. It allows you to see forecasts of rain, clouds, wind, etc. to help you plan your days based on the weather (as there are places that lose a lot depending on the weather). Obviously the forecasts are not 100% reliable.

Tips for traveling to San Cristóbal de las Casas as a responsible tourist

• If you travel to Chiapas for the Day of the Dead, act as respectful as possible. If you want to take a picture in the cemetery, ask for permission (photos and videos are not allowed inside some temples).
• Ask permission before taking a photograph of someone, it is a matter of respect and kindness.
• Don’t be an accomplice to animal abuse: Any other attraction where animals are in captivity and/or used for human entertainment.
• Respect other people: don’t play your music loud; pick up your trash; don’t throw cigarette butts, etc. Leave the place better than you found it.
• Always travel with travel insurance: medical expenses, theft or problems with your plane on a trip can cost you a lot of money, so the ideal thing is to take out travel insurance. At Randomtrip we always use IATI and we recommend it. If you purchase your insurance through this link you have a 5% discount.

Checklist: what to pack in your backpack/suitcase for San Cristóbal de las Casas

Here is a list of must-haves you can’t forget to take with you on your trip:

• International plug adapter such as these as they use type A plugs (those with two flat parallel pins).
• A  reusable water bottle like one of these to carry water with you all the time and void single-use plastic.
• Windbreaker waterproof jacket: like this one. On the boat, depending on the conditions, it can be a bit chilly, so the ideal is to wear a windbreaker to protect you from the cold, the sun, and the water if it splashes.
• A good camera to register your adventures. At Randomtrip we carry a Sony ZV-E10 and a Gopro Hero12 Black (for underwater pictures)
• A Power bank: taking so many pictures will drain your batteries, so it’s always a good idea to carry a good powerbank. At Randomtrip we travel with these 2 (Anker 20000 mAh and  Anker 10000 mAh), which allow us to charge both our phones and our cameras.
• First aid kit: In our first-aid kit there is always a medicine against seasickness (such as biodramine for seasickness on boats), antibiotics, anti-diarrhea medication (and a probiotic to recover more quickly), antihistamines, painkillers and antipyretics and, of course, travel insurance. If you hire your travel insurance with IATI using this link you will get a 5% discount

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Thanks SanCris, see you soon! And you, are you going to visit San Cristobal de las Casas soon? Do you have any questions? We’ll read you in the comments!