CHIAPAS

Located in Mexico?s southern region, Chiapas borders Tabasco to the north, Guatemala and the Pacific Ocean to the south and Veracruz and Oaxaca to the west.

Famous for its wide variety of festivities, traditions, crafts and cuisine, you?ll also find a lot of natural beauty in Chiapas at such places as Canon del Sumidero National Park, the Cascadas de Agua Azul Biosphere Reserve and the Montebello Lagoons, where you?ll see turquoise-blue waters surrounded by a forest with indigenous plant and animal species. What?s more, you can visit fascinating Mayan archaeological zones, including those at Tonina, Bonampak, Yaxchilan and mysterious Palenque, where archaeologists have made recent discoveries of the rulers? tombs. Nearby, in the magical city of San Cristobal de las Casas, you?ll see beautiful religious buildings like the Cathedral and the Templo de Santo Domingo. You can also visit the plazas and markets, where you?ll find crafts, garments and wood sculptures made by Tzotzil, Tzeltal and Lacandon indigenous artisans.

In the surrounding areas of Tuxtla Gutierrez, the state capital, where you can marvel at important historic buildings like the Cathedral of San Marcos and the Antiguo Palacio de Gobierno, you can also visit the towns of Chiapas de Corzo, San Juan Chamula and Comitan de Dominguez. There you?ll see splendid architecture, various festivities and Spanish- and Mayan-influenced traditions.