Chiapas: San Cristóbal and Palenque
From mist-drowned Maya highlands to the jungle-devoured pyramids of Palenque: Chiapas is Mexico at its deepest — and the region that demands the most respect at the wheel.
Suggested stay — 4 to 5 nights
At 2,100 m, San Cristóbal de las Casas is the beauty of the highlands: tiled roofs, baroque churches, markets where the Tzotzil and Tzeltal villages come down in traditional dress. The excursions fan out: the Sumidero canyon and its 1,000-m walls by lancha from Chiapa de Corzo, and San Juan Chamula, whose syncretic church — pine needles on the floor, healers, ritual Coca-Cola — is one of the most striking places on the continent. Photography strictly forbidden inside: the rule is sacred, in the literal sense.
Then the road plunges 2,000 m towards the Lacandon forest: the blue cascades of Agua Azul, the veil of Misol-Ha where you walk behind the water, and finally Palenque — the Temple of the Inscriptions where Pakal's tomb was found, the palaces with their openwork roof combs, howler monkeys as the soundtrack. It is the most moving of the Maya cities, at dawn when the mist still clings to the ridges. The San Cristóbal-Palenque link via Ocosingo has to be negotiated: hundreds of topes, occasional village rope barriers asking a few pesos — leave early, drive smoothly, keep coins handy.
Don't miss
- Palenque at opening, in the mist and the cries of the howler monkeys
- The Sumidero canyon by lancha from Chiapa de Corzo
- The church of San Juan Chamula (no photos, local guide recommended)
- The Agua Azul and Misol-Ha waterfalls on the road to Palenque
Our tips on the ground
- On the Ocosingo road, the rope barriers held by children or villagers are passed with a few pesos and a smile: it's a customary toll, not a threat — keep a stash of coins in the door pocket.
- Leave San Cristóbal at dawn for Palenque: the link takes a real 5 hours with the waterfall stops, and you must arrive well before dark.
- Pack a fleece and a proper blanket for San Cristóbal: at 2,100 m, winter nights drop towards 5 °C and the colonial hotels almost never have heating.
Our flagship guide — €29
Guide available“Mexico on Your Own”, the complete edition, is out
10 chapters: day-by-day itineraries, driving and transport, a costed budget and checklists — the same method as our Namibia guide.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
Before you go
Readers' questions about Chiapas: San Cristóbal and Palenque
Is the San Cristóbal-Palenque road safe?
The Ocosingo route is the most direct and the most beautiful; it crosses a Zapatista autonomous zone where incidents involving tourists are rare but customary roadblocks frequent. The cautious go via Villahermosa (longer, faster-flowing). Either way: daylight only, a full tank, and ask your hotel the evening before — local situations evolve.
Can you push on to Yaxchilán and Bonampak?
Yes, and it's a marvel: Bonampak for the best-preserved Maya frescoes in the world, Yaxchilán for the lancha arrival on the Usumacinta, facing Guatemala. Count on a very long day from Palenque via the Carretera Fronteriza — or better, a night in a Lacandon ecolodge at Lacanjá to break the drive and sleep in the forest.