San Cristobol de las Casas, Chiapas

We just returned from our trip to San Cristobol. What a beautiful state Chiapas is. San Cristobol itself reminded me of San Miguel de Allende although smaller. The culture there is incredible. The weather not so much. It was cloudy, cold and rainy. The place is full of European tourists and backpackers. The nightlife was young and upbeat with many great bars and restaurants. Definitely worth the visit.

We were very fortunate to meet up with Brigitte. She took us to Amatenango to see the premiere jaguar and pottery maestras. Brigitte is very knowledgeable about the culture and customs in Chiapas. Muchas gracias Brigitte.






















This was in Amatenango.


























We visited the waterfalls and rode the Zip Lines in Chiflon. It is about a 2/12 hour drive from San Cristobol. Amazing scenery.

Sounds like a great trip.
Good pics,now I know where Hound Dog goes for his Whopper fix.

Are the Palenque ruins close to this area?

Palenque is a 5 hour drive from San Cristobol. I was told the road is nasty. We didn't get there this trip. I plan on visiting Pelanque by flying into Villa Hermosa which is only 2 hours away from there.

viajero wrote:Sounds like a great trip.
Good pics,now I know where Hound Dog goes for his Whopper fix.

And of course we got our Whopper fix there too!!! Perfect for soaking up the suds......

There is an interjet flight from DF direct to Palenque.
Great pictures! Is that the Chiflon?
You should see the weather now..it poured and several roads are out, you left at the right time.

Yes, those are the Chiflon waterfalls. Glad to hear we got out in time. Sunny and warm here in Ajijic. That was like being back in Vancouver in the fall......jaja.

and it is worst today...

A great, beautiful place to visit but I couldn't live there with that weather.

neither can Hound Dog but he does come for the Burger King-..when the weather is nice , it is incredible.

I bet it is stunning when the weather is nice.

Gorgeous photos Bob!!

We were there last spring and enjoyed much better weather in San Cristobal. Palenque and Chiapa de Corzo were stifling but Palenque, Agua Azul and the Sumidero were worth putting up with the heat.

Loved all the pics. I so very much long to go there. Just need to make time and figure out the logistics.

Mama spider monkey with baby on her back, Cañon del Sumidero.



Sunbathers on bank of Rio Grijalva

If you ever have a chance to drive from Villahermosa to San Cristobal you won't regret it. A drive in Mexico which might only be rivaled in terms of scenic beauty by Durango to Mazatlan.

Which road are you talking about? the one that goes through Bochil Oventic San Andres or the other one going by the dam?
The old road is beautiful but can be hairy..like just now also there are lot of assaults around Pueblo nuevo and Selva Negra and lots of bloqueos..2 weeks ago we took all day to do it because of the campesinos´bloqueos. Of course I should not complain because we could not go through Choapas at all so we had to say in Villahermosa, not my favorite place on earth . At least we went through on the old road by paying."the tolls". That road can have bad problems with slides.

On one of the trips I took in the cañon I saw 3 drunks fall in from a fishing boat our boat had to go and rescue them, those croks look ferocious and I though that may be the earth would have at least one less drunk but the croks did not bother at all. Either they do no fool with humans or they are really not hungry.
You took some wonderful pictures, I do not care for the cañon but your pictures make it look nice, you should work for the office of tourism.

Here are a few more pics of the Cañon del Sumidero. I find it quite majestic and recommend anyone visting the area to take a boat ride through the canyon.

Your picture makes it look nicer
than it is especially when all the garbage floats around. I have been there with visitors many times and sometimes it is cluttered with plastic, just awful. It is our least favorite place in Chiapas and never recommend it.

brigitte wrote:Your picture makes it look nicer
than it is especially when all the garbage floats around. I have been there with visitors many times and sometimes it is cluttered with plastic, just awful. It is our least favorite place in Chiapas and never recommend it.

Well maybe we went on a good day. I certainly didn't see much garbage as is reflected in the photos.  Speaking of awful and garbage filled places, Zinacantan had more garbage strewn on its strret than found in many public landfills. That pueblo got crossed off my list of places I'd like to revisit.

The garbage comes from the sewers from the various towns up river including the tunnel leading rain water away from San Cristobal I you have ever seen the rivers going through San Cristobal you can get an idea of how dirty it can get.  The town is built in a floodplain and in the summer when we get deluges all the center floods and all the garbage goes to the tunnel leading down hill..All the plastic bottles float down and can cover most of the river after strong rains. As you said you hit it right it is a question of luck. Sometimes you do not see the water for the bottles.
BY the way Zinacantan is one of the cleanest indigenous town in the area you must have been there after fiesta, what month were you there? They have 2 major fiestas, one in January for 2 weeks before San Sebastian which I think is around the 21 and at the end of July, it takes them several days to clean up the place, sometimes there is  big garbage piles  after some special event. You will not believe this but it is the cleanest village by far...
I go there to hike in the hills above town and for the fiestas or visit with friends otherwise once you have seen the 2 churches there is not a whole lot to do. They have several good indigenous rock bands and there is a nice mess down by the San Sebastian church too when that happens. By the way the people there change fashion in mass for the two fiestas, they sell the clothes they have worn for 6 months and  all  have new clothes with new colors for the next 6 months, they are called the peacocks by other villages because they are so fashion conscious. The town has voted to allow photography outside of the churches and with your great photo taking abilities you would take incredible photos.
You will not believe it after your experience but it is a clean place as a rule.
I am going to spend the 1 ansd 2 of Novembr thrre at a friend´ and it is one of the houses where you could eat off the floor , not something I can say about many houses or places in Chiapas where it can be a little scary to eat in indigenous villages..

A couple more from San Cristobal.

The second picture doesn't even look real!!! What an incredible sky!

I think that dog is still hanging out on Real de Guadalupe and the plaza.

kipissippi wrote:The second picture doesn't even look real!!!  What an incredible sky!

It started pouring rain soon after the picture was taken. This was the middle of the afternoon.