San Cristóbal, Chiapas, México

San Cristóbal de Las Casas is a historic capital and the cultural capital of the poor Chiapas state. It’s one of my favourites in Mexico for it’s really lively, and I see it as the ultimate Mexican town.

Besides, it’s the base for people to get to different places in the state.

San Cristóbal de las Casas is the most magical of magical towns in Mexico and the former capital, the current cultural capital of Chiapas, the poorest state in Mexico. It’s not far from the state capital Tuxtla and many tourists travel straight to this city from the airport, as this acts as the tourist destination of the state. There was no pre-Hispanic city in this area, and so it’s historically the colonial city in the state, as opposed to the indigenous city of the Tuxtla area. It’s also the site of numerous left-wing political movements, from the Catholic Church siding with Maoists and the militant Zapatistas.

Journey to Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico

Palenque was a major, major city-state in the Mayan Empire. It’s a day trip from San Cristóbal de Las Casas.

Even though it’s not as photogenic as other sites, its shear size and amazing structures made it one of my favourite historical sites of all-time, and undoubtedly the best Mayan site. And this is after I’ve visited many other ones in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.

The main square – the most iconic section.

It was the only Mayan site I wished I had more time in. The day trip included several waterfalls and it’s quite far to begin with and it closed from like 4pm.

It was my first Maya site – very hot.

The waterfalls were cool, but after seeing so many in Australia and China, I wasn’t too happy about all that time spent there instead of in Palenque.

Some people swam in safer areas, and there was even a small museum.

Comitan, Chiapas, Mexico

I went to Comitan on a short day trip, I don’t even remember why.

But honestly, it wasn’t terribly interesting.

The bus terminal is not near the city centre.

Tuxtla, Chiapas, Mexico

Tuxtla is officially the capital of the “free and sovereign state” of Chiapas, although most tourists go straight to the historic and cultural capital San Cristóbal de Las Casas, and the airport is actually like an hour away from the city.

The church pictured above looked different, but overall the city was just a giant market.

Tuxtla Gutiérrez is the capital of the state of Chiapas, Mexico in southern Mexico. While the state is a major tourist attraction for its Maya sites, the city is mostly a commercial centre and the airport is right in the middle between it and San Cristóbal de las Casas, the cultural capital and where tourists typically travel directly to. The area was inhabited by a native group who was later conquered by the Aztecs and subsequently the Spanish, who did not officially found the city. While Tuxtla was the name the Aztecs gave, Gutiérrez was named after a former governor who fought for the so-called Kingdom of Guatemala’s independence from Spain, and Chiapas’s annexation into the Mexican Republic when the fated Central American Republic declared independence from the first Mexican Empire. He later died fighting against the Mexican central government when the president attempted to centralize the federation.

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