Tag: Chiapas

Palenque Archaeological Site – A Must Visit

Another must see when exploring Chiapas is definitely the world famous Palenque archaeological site.

I had been to the site before on my previous trip to Mexico in 2002. Finally, I was able to visit again with Dom.

Set in the middle of the tropical jungle, Palenque archaeological site is one of the main examples of a Mayan city of the classical period.

This ancient city saw the heights of its civilizations between AD 500 and 700. It was discovered in the 18th Century.

I would strongly suggest taking a tour with one of the onsite certified guides unless you have done much reading yourself. as a result, you will be able to understand the site better.

The Site

It takes approximately 2 hours for a thorough visit. As a suggestion, I would say to visit the site later in the day. It is less busy and you might get a great price for a guided tour.

The site closes at 5 pm, allow enough time. We arrived around 3 pm and the guide offered to take four of us at half the normal price.

As we did not have much time, Dom and I did a same day return trip to Palenque from San Cristobal which included a stop to the Cascadas de Agua Azul. We enjoyed it but it was a very long and tiring day.

If you have time available, do not rush your trip and spend a couple of days in one of the hostels or guest houses close by Palenque. It is also a great chance to immerse yourself in the jungle and if you are very lucky you could spot (or at least hear) the local Jaguars.

Best Time to Visit Palenque Archaeological Site

You can visit Palenque all year round. In the summer it will be hotter with high levels of humidity. Winter months December to March will be cooler. Palenque is in the middle of the jungle, so mosquitos hang around all year. Bring eco mosquito repellent or long sleeve and long pants light clothing.
5 Things to do in San Cristobal De Las Casas

You can do many things in San Cristobal. This beautiful colonial city is nestled among the mountains of Chiapas – Mexico. I visited San Cristobal De Las Casas for the first time in 2002.

I loved the place. This mountain town looks almost magical thanks to its colourful buildings and cobblestones streets.

Finally, last year I went back with Dom. The city had not changed much. Probably there were more tourists, nonetheless, its unique character remains the same.

Most of all, we had fun walking up and down the quaint streets and enjoyed people watching while seating sipping a coffee or wine. In addition, we also went horse riding and then we drank more coffee.

San Cristobal is the perfect spot to base yourself while exploring Chiapas. Furthermore, I especially recommend it if you are planning a few days trekking through the Selva Lacandona.

5 Things to do in San Cristobal and Around

Have a coffee in one (or more) of the many coffee shops

Chiapas is famous for its excellent coffee and San Cristobal is full of small quaint coffee shops. As a result, you can spend hours sipping delicious coffee while taking in the aromatic smell.

Our favourite coffee shop was probably Libre Cafe, just around the corner from our hostel. It became our favourite place to drink coffee. Furthermore, they had excellent coffee and also amazing brownies. There were a very chilled atmosphere and hippy vibes with great tunes in the background. As a result, we really enjoyed spending time there.

Walk around

Since San Cristobal has many pedestrian friendly streets, you can easily stroll along and discover the many local shops, bars and restaurant. Seems like the colourful buildings and equally colourful people are the city’s trademarks.

Finally, you can end your day with a glass of wine or any other drink of your choice at one of the bars. Many bars offer a special of one beer and one mezcal.

Visit the museums

If you are a fan of museums, San Cristobal offers a few dedicated to the local arts and culture. Centro de Textiles de Mundo Maya is definitely worth a visit and it is especially relevant if you wish to find out about the textile production of Chiapas.

Visit San Cristobal’s Cathedral

You can take a tour of the Cathedral in the main square. Many churches surround this beautiful colonial city. If you fancy a hike, you can take a stroll to the top of one (or more) of the hills surrounding San Cristobal.

Horseback riding

You can organize a half day trip to San Juan Chamula, a small Mayan Village, by horseback riding. It is definitely worth visiting this little village and the tour is very good value for money.

Where to stay

There are plenty hostels, guest houses and hotels in San Cristobal.

We stayed at 13 Cielos Hostel. The location of the hostel is convenient right in the middle of town. It is like a little home away from home, the owner Fernando is very friendly and super accommodating.

There is also a fully equipped kitchen if you want to save money on meals.
Visit to the Sumidero Canyon

We flew from Cancun to Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital city of the State of Chiapas.

Many backpackers opt for the overnight bus from Tulum or Playa del Carmen to reach Chiapas. The buses travel to either Tuxtla Gutierrez or San Cristobal De Las Casas. It is a very long journey usually around 16-20 hours. Not worth it if you do not have much time available.

Volaris, the low cost Mexican Airline offers great fares and it only take 1.5 hours to reach the destination. To be honest, sometimes (if not almost all the time), flying is cheaper than the bus and totally worth the time saved on the road.

We planned to spend couple of nights in the capital City as it is closer to the Cañón Del Sumidero (Sumidero Canyon) rather than visiting it from San Cristobal De Las Casas.

We arrived mid afternoon and we went straight to our accommodation – Hostal Tres Central -a great new hostel right behind the Zocalo, in the centre of town. The hostel is very clean and our room was very spacious with a private shower and a shared toilet. The bed was also cozy and comfortable. The staff at reception were also very knowledgeable, they gave us lots of info about the roundabouts and how to get to the Canyon by ourselves.

After a good night sleep we got up reasonably early and ventured to the Canyon.

We walked approximately 10 minutes to the colectivo station and catch one of the local mini vans to take us directly to Chiapa de Corzo where we were going to catch the boat through the Canyon. The journey took approximately one hour and costed approx 20 pesos each.

Once arrived in Chiapa de Corzo, we walked down the pier lane where we booked our trip with one of the boat companies. It is the less touristy way of doing it even if it is still busy as most people opt for this option instead of going on an organized tour. The cost is also reasonably fair, only 190 pesos per person.

The ride through the Canyon was beautiful, the scenery was fantastic. There are some unusual rock formations. Our guide pointed out to a stalactite named “Caballito de Mar” (The Seahorse) due to its shape resembling the cute inhabitant of the sea.

The Christmas Tree is another atypical rock. Its shape is been sculpted by a waterfall streaming down. The waterfall is present only during the rain season (June to November). We visited in February, so we did not get to see the waterfall. Nonetheless, the Christmas Tree was quite impressive.

There is an abundance of wildlife along the way. We spotted crocodiles – which to me looked quite fake until finally one of them closed its jaws and started to swim on the direction of our boat -.

There were monkeys hiding in the trees and a great variety of birds, including some mean vultures.

The Canyon is surely a place not to be missed.

Back from our boat ride we spent sometime walking around the market in Chiapa De Corzo and lunched with a typical “comida corrida”, a very inexpensive set lunch.
Cascadas De Agua Azul

Mexico is a country of a thousand colours.

Finally, with plenty time in my hand, I started to go through the hundreds of pictures taken in Mexico and memories of our time over there started to flow through my mind.

During our short holiday to rural Chiapas, Dom and I tried to fit in as much as we could. We only had a week and unfortunately, on one of those days, I fell sick with a bad stomach – entirely my own fault for eating bad food 🙂

We did not want to miss out on the beautiful Cascadas de Agua Azul and Palenque, so we decided to take a day round tour from San Cristobal to be able to see them both. The tour was a bargain at only approximately 400 pesos per person. It did not include meals but it covered for our return bus trip and the entrance fees to the waterfalls and Palenque (no guide).

The waterfalls were simply amazing and not crowded at all! It was the beginning of February, the low season had started.

There is a nice walk you can do to observe the falls from different angles and plenty opportunity for pictures (and selfies).

The name simply translates to Blue Water Waterfalls. And you can certainly see why that is. The colour is simply blinding. We were lucky to have caught a very sunny day for our trip. Which was also the only day we could go since it was our last day in Chiapas before going back home to Tulum.

The day turned out to be a very long and tiring one. So if you have the time, I would recommend to take your time and maybe do it yourself without a tour.

You can easily get to the waterfall one day, then spend the night in a hostel near Palenque and visit the archaeological site the next day.