Tour to San Juan Chamula & Zinacantan Indian communities
Description
Join this original tour of San Cristobal de Las Casas, a mix of Indigenous and local villages full of colors and traditions. San Cristobal is made up of a series of traditional barrios (neighborhoods), each of which is known for a particular trade or custom, such as ironworking, carpentry, and woodcarving. On this tour, you will visit San Juan Chamula village who owns a church unlike any other. The picturesque, centuries-old Iglesia San Juan has whitewashed walls and a brightly painted entrance that looks out upon the town square. After you will visit Zinacantan village, you'll have the opportunity to learn all about the work of the women of Zinacantán, who weave uniquely beautiful textiles with a special loom attached to their belts. Having admired the traditional hupiles and blankets, you'll then have the opportunity to taste the local fare and try a local dish.
Tour Options
Itinerary
San Juan Chamula, (10 km from San Cristobal de las Casas) is a town steeped in history, and yet also allows a look into the Mayas of today This is the largest Maya township in Chiapas with a population over 40,000 Tzotzil speakers, one of the 31 Mayan languages. This region is known for its agricultural and ceremonial lifestyles, which are a mixture of Catholic and Mayan beliefs. The Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist, in fact, is not part of any Diocese because residents desire the freedom to perform various types of rituals.
The road to the village of San Lorenzo Zinancantan is about 11 km. long. Zinancantán people are also Tzotzil Mayans and the predominant dress is in very distinctive costumes of pink and purple. Admire the first hand the laborious handmade work of the weaver women, who, with a loom at their waists, make magnificent textile pieces such as 'Huipiles', tablecloths, bedspreads and cushion covers
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We pick up from any hotel located in San Cristobal de las Casas Downtown.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Reviews(8)
Especially the visit of Chamula was impressive with the Church and the praxtices inside of it. However all in all it felt too much like a sales tour, even in the church you could get yourselve a "cleansing" for some hunderds pesos.
Thank you for your feedback, the visit to Chamula may be awe-inspiring, especially the unique experience inside the church. Local traditions and practices, such as the cleansing rituals are an integral part of the Indigenous culture in these local villages You are not obligated to take any service you do not want, the locals offer these services not as part of a sales tour, but as an authentic expression of their deeply rooted traditions. The fees charged for these rituals go directly to the community, helping to preserve their cultural heritage and support the local economy. We believe that by participating in these rituals, visitors are not only engaging in a meaningful cultural exchange but also contributing to the well-being of the indigenous people who share their customs with us. Thank you again for visiting!
The tours are very worth it, you can choose several tour options, we went to the Montebello lagoons and we reached the border with Guatemala, we also went to the El Chiflón waterfall, it is a spectacular place and the waterfalls are super beautiful. Another route is Zinacantán and San Juan Chamula. In Zinacantán they take you to a workshop for embroiderers and belt weavers, a very nice experience. In Chamula it was not so nice, they are very particular people and they take great care of the entrance to their temple, you cannot take photos inside the place and if they catch you they will fine you, follow the instructions of your guide in this place. The people there are not very nice.
Hola Muchas gracias poro compartir su viaje y experiencia con nosotros! nos da gusto que haya disfrutado de todo lo bonito que chiapas tiene para ofrecer! Esperamos verlo de nuevo pronto Saludos
We had a lovely time visiting Dan Juan Chamula and Zincantan near San Cristobal de la Casas. Our guide Annulfo was excellent and made a real effort to enlighten us on the history and cultural practices of the two villages. He also explained the lifestyle of the local people and as an extra took us on a tour in San Cristobal itself! Wonderful trip!
Hi Rajasree, Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us! We are very happy you had a great time with us! For sure I will send your comment to the guide ♥ Hope to see you back soon! Muchas gracias!
We made the trip with our own car. The church in Chamula is a must and really special. The rites in the church (mixture of indigenous and Catholic elements) are worth seeing. Attention when photographing : is prohibited and is also monitored in the church. Zinacantan is less interesting, there are only a handful of businesses that produce indigenous clothing.
Hello, Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us! We are very happy you had a great time! ♥ Hope to see you back soon!
I visited this church San Juan chamula and I was amazed by the devotion of the people who pray the whole church and full of candles many and on the ground there are pine needles and 5 large containers where burns l, incense you can not absolutely photograph all, inside because they say it takes away l, soul
On the morning we were scheduled to visit the Sumidero Canyon, Lucero, the administrator of Cepsu called to advise the tour had been cancelled due to bad weather. She quickly rearranged our day to visit 2 indigenous communities, and our family of 4 ended up having a private tour. Our tour guide, Nahum, was professional, courteous, knowledgeable and very pleasant to spend the day with. He gave us a lot f information about the two communities we visited. We had an extremely interesting day, despite the bad weather. I highly recommend this tour company. They are professional and a pleasure to deal with. Our trip to Chiapas was made all the more enjoyable thanks to them.
Beautiful and picturesque place to spend a few days of rest. Restaurants with regional and national food a lot to see and a pleasant climate plus there is for everyone budget$$$. The only bad thing is that when I went the temples were closed because of the past tremor.
Jose C te agradecemos mucho tus comentarios, nos alegra hayas disfrutado tu tour y de todo lo que San Cristobal puede ofrecer :D Lamentamos no hayas podido ver los templos :( Esperamos verte pronto en tu regreso a Chiapas!
9.30 to 2.30 is hardly a full day tour, did not go to markets or central plaza or cathedral. The indigenous communities were good, but overall did not deliver what is in the tour description.
Dear Jandk_1 We are commit to guest service I really appreciate if you could confirm which day do you traveled with us to verify what happened with our . I thank you very much Best Regards
