18 Best Sights in Chiapas and Tabasco, Mexico

Life in San Juan Chamula revolves around the Iglesia de San Juan Bautista, a white stucco building whose doorway has a simple yet lovely flower motif. The church is named for Saint John the Baptist, who here is revered even above Jesus Christ. There are no pews inside, because there are no traditional masses. Instead, the floor is strewn with fragrant pine needles, on which the Chamula sit praying silently or chanting while facing colorfully attired statues of saints. Worshippers burn dozens of candles of various colors, chant softly, and may have bones or eggs with them to aid in healing the sick. Each group of worshippers is led by a so-called "traditional doctor" (they don't like being called shamans), whose healing process may involve sacrificing a live chicken and always involves drinking Coca-Cola or other sodas; it is thought that the carbonation will help one to expel bad spirits in the form of a burp, and you'll see rows of soda bottles everywhere.

Before you enter, buy a $2 ticket at the tourist office on the main square. Taking photographs and videos inside the church is absolutely prohibited. Some tourists trying to circumvent this rule have had their film confiscated or even their cameras grabbed. Outside the church, cameras are permitted, but the Chamula resent having their picture taken except from afar. The exception are the children who cluster around the church posing for pictures for money—they expect a $1 tip.

Raúl and Alex really know their stuff; their tours leave every day at 9:30 am from the cross in front of the cathedral in the zócalo, returning around 2 for $15. You'll visit San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán; the cultural commentary is particularly insightful.

The dominant landmark is the chalk-white Cabeza Maya, a giant sculpture of the head of a Mayan chieftain just west of downtown. It sits in La Cañada, a quiet neighborhood with many great hotels and restaurants.

Life in this small town on the banks of the Río Grijalva revolves around the Plaza Angel Albino Corzo. In the center is the unusual Fuente Mudéjar, or Moorish Fountain. The structure, built in 1562, once supplied the town with water. Said to be in the shape of the crown of the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, it is a mishmash of Moorish, Gothic, and Renaissance styles.

Call ahead to arrange a tour of Hacienda la Luz, which is quite close to downtown Comalcalco. It's also known as Hacienda Hayer, because a German doctor named Otto Wolter Hayer bought it in the 1930s and turned it into the most profitable hacienda in the region. On the tour you'll learn everything about the production of cacao, from bean to chocolate. Tours depart at 9 and 11 am and 1 and 3 pm and are in Spanish only.

The Iglesia de San Lorenzo, on the main square, at first looks much more traditional than the church in San Juan Chamula, and it is; services are basically Catholic. But look closely and you will notice odd little touches, like ceramic representations of animals sacred to the Maya scattered about.

On the hill above the Iglesia de San Juan Bautista are the ruins of the Iglesia de San Sebastián. This church was built with stones from the Mayan temple that once stood on the site. Surrounding it is the old cemetery, an especially colorful place on the Day of the Dead, November 1.

Spectacular limestone stalactites and stalagmites are illuminated along a 2,475-foot concrete walkway inside the labyrinthine caves known as Las Grutas de Rancho Nuevo (or Las Grutas de San Cristóbal), which were discovered in 1960. Kids from the area are usually available to guide you for a small fee. You can rent horses ($5 per half hour) for a ride around the surrounding pine forest, and there's a small restaurant and picnic area. Many tour operators offer trips here, and that's the option we strongly recommend. The caves are also a quick taxi ride from town.

The compact Museo de la Historia Natural is just outside the entrance to the Parque-Museo La Venta. Of the most interest at this Natural History Museum are the displays of Tabasco's native plants and animals.

The Museo Ik'al Ojov, on the street behind the church, is in a typical home and displays Zinacantán costumes through the ages.

Near the Iglesia de San Juan Bautista is the small museum called Ora Ton. Inside are examples of traditional dress, exhibits of musical instruments, and photos of important festivals. Admission is with the same ticket you bought for the church.

Otisa Travel Agency gives daily guided tours to the Cañón del Sumidero, Palenque, Yaxchilán, and Bonampak. Horseback-riding trips are also available, as are transfers to and from the airport in Tuxtla Gutiérrez.

Pepe Santiago, a Lacandón resident associated with Na Bolom since childhood, leads tours daily to San Juan Chamula, Zinacantán, and San Nicolás Buenavista. (Pepe's name is a veritable ticket to acceptance in the more remote regions of Chiapas.) The group leaves Na Bolom promptly at 10 am (they suggest arriving at 9:45) and returns around 3; it's well worth the $30 per person price. Pepe's sister, Teresa Santiago Hernández, also leads tours.

This three-block-long complex houses a church, a former monastery, a regional history museum with a great deal to see, and the Templo de la Caridad (Temple of the Sisters of Charity). A two-headed eagle—emblem of the Hapsburg dynasty that once ruled Spain and its American dominions—broods over the pediment of the church, which was built between 1547 and 1569. The pink stone facade (which needs a good cleaning) is carved in an intensely ornamental style known as Baroque Solomonic: saints' figures, angels, and grooved columns overlaid with vegetation motifs abound. The interior has lavish altarpieces, an exquisitely fashioned pulpit, a sculpture of the Holy Trinity, and wall panels of gilded, carved cedar—one of the precious woods of Chiapas that centuries later lured Tabasco's woodsmen to the highlands surrounding San Cristóbal. At the complex's southeast corner you'll find the tiny, humble Templo de la Caridad, built in 1715 to honor the Immaculate Conception. Its highlight is the finely carved altarpiece. Indigenous groups from San Juan Chamula often light candles and make offerings here. (Do not take photos of the Chamula.) The adjacent former convent houses Sna Jolobil, an indigenous cooperative that sells weavings of high quality.

This experienced tour provider hosts daily tours from San Cristóbal de las Casas to the Cañón del Sumidero, as well as longer excursions to Palenque and Bonampak.

This tour company offers boat tours and tours through the Cañón del Sumidero that last around 2½ hours and cost $25 per person.

All the animals at the Zoológico Regional Miguel Álvarez del Toro, known to locals as ZooMAT, are native to Chiapas. You'll find more than 100 species in settings designed to resemble their natural habitats, including jaguars, black panthers, tapirs, iguanas, and boa constrictors. Rather than sit in cages, spider monkeys swing from trees. Birders will be excited to see the rare resplendent quetzal at close quarters. Many animals from this zoo have been sent to other zoos around the world. The lush, forested setting and slightly higher elevation on the edge of town translate into slightly cooler temperatures than in the center city. Plan on a $5 taxi ride to get here from downtown Tuxtla.