Best things to do in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico
I did not want to leave San Cristobal de las casas…
The town seemed to have it all – fantastic food, lots of places to explore, living culture and the weather provided a great break from the Mexican steamy heat! It is a great place to rest and recharge while on your mexican adventures.
Keep reading for some of our budget friendly recommendations on things to do.
Best Things to do in San Cristobal de las casas, Mexico
San Cristobal de las Casas is a town located in the highlands of the state of Chiapas, Mexico, and it enjoys a temperate climate compared to the surrounding Mexican councils. We visited for 6 days and we recommend spending a similar amount of time, if you can.
Before going into detail, lets first discuss a couple of recent history topics that might be relevant for you to know….
Chiapas is home to almost 1.1 million indigenous peoples who have in the past (and many would say present) been largely excluded from government decision making and denied basic human rights such as education and health care. This all came to a point in January 1994 when a free trade agreement with the USA and Canada was signed. As a result of this, a local armed indigenous organisation (Zapatista Army of National Liberation) declared war and took over 4 towns including San Cristobal de las Casas. After 11 days of fighting and more than 300 deaths, negotiations began and fighting stopped.
The movement is largely credited with achieving greater recognition of indigenous people in the region and in 2001 the Mexican congress passed a law recognising the many cultures in Chiapas and reiterated that indigenous peoples could practice self-determination within the Mexican national framework.
1 – Get understanding of San Cristobal rich history and pueblos with a Free walking tour!
Tip Based (at least 5 USD is recommended)
Allow 2 hours
One thing we might let you know upfront is the importance of coca-cola for the locals. For that nothing better than poiting out at the photos bellow one of them a piece of street art showing virgem Mary giving coca-cola to her baby.
In San Cristobal, coca-cola is water. Actually it is better that water. It is cheaper, safer to consume and available in larger amounts than bottled water. This is an huge problem for the health of the locals. More, this is reality, according to the locals, because the international company has a licence to use a huge percentage of the water available in the region for its own private production, restricting the availability of this priceless resource and then selling their product at a lower price to the population as (less healthy) the alternative. I will leave the political judgements to you, but I think it is quite clear what we thing of this subject.
Moving foward…. you can look up for references of this and other problems affecting the region being presented in the street art all throughout the town.
2 – Explore the historic town!
Our best budget friendly advice for San Cristobal is simple, walk! The historic area is compact and very walkable and there are plenty of beautiful colonial buildings and street art hidden throughout the city. You could cover most streets in a whole day if you are short on time, but we recommend at least two days to get your bearings and taste some of the delicious local cuisine.
Start your tour by localising the centre of the town which is around the Catedral de San Cristóbal de las Casas.
From there are at least 3 car-free streets or andadores that connect the centre to the north, the east and the south of the town:
1. Andador de Guadalupe that connects to the famous Real de Guadalupe,
2. Miguel Hidalgo,
3. Avenida 20 de Noviembre.
These 3 walkable streets will take you to most of the places you will want to see.
Here is a list:
- Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán
- Guadalupe Church
- Mercado Viejo
- Arco del Carmen
- Centro Cultural del Carmen
- Iglesia de San Cristóbalito
- Mercado de Dulces y Artesanías Ámbar
- Museo del Ámbar, Lilia Mijangos
Free!
Allow 1 to 2 days
The Mercado Viejo is as the name translates the old and main market of the town and its full of local people going about their business. We recommend to allow an hour or two to get lost in the labyrinth of the market and enjoy all the colors, smells and beautiful craft for sale.
Free!
Allow 2 hours
Of course all of this walking is going to make you hungry! The town has a great mix of local cuisine and you need a few days to, right through to vegetarian cafes and everything in between.
Our budget restaurant recommendation is El Meson del taco where you will mainly be amongst other Mexican travellers and locals.
Other recommendations
I use the happy happy cow app or website to search for veg and vegan options.
How much can you eat?
Located just a short collectivo ride away is the indigenous town of San Juan Chamula. The exact location is below in our map but the collectivo can be caught from the depot on Calle Honduras from near Mercado Viejo. The main church (Igesia de San Juan Chamula) should be your first stop before exploring the rest of the town. The church may look quite unassuming from the outside but once you enter, it is anything but… you will notice the strong, almost overwhelming smell of burnt candles and pine needles lining the floor. You’ll quickly realise that this isn’t an ordinary catholic church. During our visit we sat in a corner on the ground where we witnessed locals performing unique rituals. It was an experience I will never forget.
20 pesos each way for the collectivo and 30 pesos for entry to the church
Allow half-a-day
6 – Go on a day tour to the Canyon del Sumidero and visit the Magic Pueblo
450 pesos each person
Allow 1-day
7 – Venture to the Rancho Nuevo National Park and visit the Caves!
Catch the colectivo to Rancho Nuevo – See Maps.me for location of the bus stop
Located at Parque Ecoturístico Rancho Nuevo
20 pesos each way per person plus 10 pesos for park entrance and a extra 20 per cave entrance
Allow half-a-day
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