San Cristobal de las Casas the most colorful town that we visited during our short trip around the country. It is not for nothing that in 2003 the city of San Cristobal was awarded the title of “Magic City”.
San Cristobal located in the center of Mexico, in the state of Chiapas, at an altitude of 2100 m above sea level, in the picturesque Vall de Jovel valley. Unlike many other cities in Mexico, this small town has no pre-colonial history. It was founded in 1528 by the Spanish conqueror.
For a long time, the city remained an inconspicuous small settlement, lost in the mountains of Chiapas and was under the control of Guatemala. And from 1824 to 1892, San Cristobal de las Casas was the capital of the state, but due to difficult access to the city, the capital was moved to the city of Tuxtla, and San Cristobal remained the cultural capital of the state and is now the tourist center of the state of Chiapas.
Until 1994, few people had heard about the city of San Cristobal, but in January 1994 the city was captured by rebels of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, who are fighting for the rights of the indigenous population of Mexico - the Indians. The city was liberated, the situation in the state has stabilized, but the rebels still sometimes block roads and organize rallies.
The city changed its name several times and began to be called San Cristobal only in the 19th century, in honor of Saint Cristobal.
Now the city and the villages next to it are inhabited mainly by the Tzotzil and Tzeltal peoples, who belong to the group of Mayan Indians. Local residents still wear national clothes, use donkeys to transport goods and hold Indian ceremonies.
San Cristobal, central Zocalo square: on the right is a piece of the Cathedral, in front is the Government Palace 
Here is the most beautiful Catholic cathedral, built in the 17th century in a mixed Baroque and Moorish style. The cathedral was built in honor of the patron saint of the city and patron of all travelers - St. Christopher. This Catholic Cathedral in San Cristobal is the only cathedral where Catholic services are held. In the rest of the churches and cathedrals of the city, rituals according to local Indian beliefs are held.
Here on the square is located a 19th century building with arches and columns.
You can go up to the second floor and view the surroundings from a small height. We arrived in the evening and saw such beautiful views of the city and mountains.
Now the city hall is located in this building; when we were there, some kind of meeting was taking place in one of the rooms, and in the other there was a concert of children’s amateur performances.
There are several museums in San Cristobal: the Amber Museum (as it turns out, amber is mined in the state of Chiapas) and the Mayan Medicine Museum.
The city has a developed production of textiles, ceramics and amber jewelry. All this can be bought at crafts market(Mercado de Artesanias). The market is located next to the Caridad Cathedral.
We arrived at the market around 5 pm, when the traders were already folding their tents. But we managed to buy a couple of blankets and souvenirs. If you are planning to buy souvenirs in Mexico, I recommend doing it in San Cristobal. Low prices and great selection here. And be sure to bargain. Mexican blankets can be bought here for 80-100 pesos.
San Cristobal has several pedestrianized tourist streets, with numerous restaurants, bars and coffee shops spread across the two countries.
Very popular bar "Revolution" San Cristobal de las Casas, how to get there
The city is located in the mountains, so the path to it is not easy. No matter where you are coming from: on one side from Oaxaca or on the other side from Oaxaca, you will have to drive along a tough mountain serpentine road. Bus tickets can be purchased.
The nearest airport is located in the capital of Chiapas, Tuxtla. Plane tickets can be booked by clicking on the link. From the city of Tuxtla to San Cristobal it is about 100 km; a good toll highway has been built. There are serpentines there, of course, but not the same as if you drive on a free road.
We were traveling to San Cristobal from . The distance is only 215 km, and we drove for about 5 hours. The road is narrow, continuous serpentine (not the same, of course, as from in, but also very heavy), there are no barriers on the road: on one side there is a rock, on the other there is a cliff. I got very motion sick, take anti-motion sickness pills, although they didn’t really help me. I do not advise anyone to drive on this road at night. There will be a separate article about roads in Mexico, but for now enjoy the views of the landscapes along the Palenque – San Cristobal road.
It is very interesting to see how, as you move into the mountains, the lush tropical vegetation of the jungle gives way to coniferous forests and lemon trees. 
Apples are grown here and it seems that you are not in Mexico at all, but somewhere in our latitudes 😎
Apples and tangerines in San Cristobal One unpleasant feature of the road from Palenque to San Cristobal is the inhabitants of the local villages. Children and women pull a rope on both sides of the road and lift it when you approach, and when you slow down, they begin to rush at the car so that you can buy bananas or water from them. I knew about such jokes in advance, but I didn’t tell Lesha, otherwise I would have refused to go. What to do in such cases: we simply stood motionless, blocking the windows. Many people write that you just need to drive quickly and honk loudly. I think we were lucky, the weather was bad, it was raining every now and then, so we only encountered such obstacles a couple of times.
I don’t want to scare anyone, but there are situations when the Palenque-San Cristobal road is blocked by separatists for several days and demand something from the government of the country. We were lucky, we drove normally in one direction or the other, but I read on the forums that people have to replan their route because of such actions of the rebel brigade of revolutionaries.
We arrived at about 6 pm, already in the dark and stuck in a big traffic jam in the city center. The roads here are very narrow, one-way traffic everywhere, we drove in circles and could not figure out how to get to our pre-booked hotel.
Having checked into the Posada Sancris hotel, we quickly washed ourselves, changed clothes and went to dinner in the city center. It must be said that San Cristobal is located high above sea level and in the evenings the temperature drops to +5 degrees. Somehow I miscalculated the weather, put on flip-flops, a dress and a jacket and we went for a walk. It was my mistake, I was frozen almost immediately, the walk did not bring me pleasure, we hurried to warm up in one of the many cafes.
Here I drank the most delicious margarita cocktail during my entire stay in Mexico. And the food was delicious. Dinner for two cost 350 pesos ($28).
Margarita, of course, didn’t warm me up, I had to drink mulled wine (yes, they sell mulled wine here too 😎), we wandered around the main street a little more, were surprised at the number of hippies and tourists in general and hurried to the room to warm up under two duvets 😎
The next morning we were not pleased with the weather. In general, we were unlucky with the weather in Mexico 😥 The rains followed us everywhere and always. After breakfast we went on an excursion to Canyon del Sumidero, returned to San Cristobal after lunch, left the car at the hotel and went for a walk.
On the streets of the wonderful city of San Cristobal de las Casas 
This time I decided to dress warmly: jeans, sneakers, jacket 😎 We wandered into the market, walked around the center of the city of Zocalo, and went to the Cathedral.
I read that they brew delicious coffee and hot chocolate in San Cristobal, so we stopped at a cute cafe for a cup of chocolate and a piece of cake 😎 Delicious, but hot chocolate turns out to be cocoa! 😎
San Cristobal hot chocolate is similar to our cocoa :) We had dinner at the Syrian restaurant, where a crowd of local young people were smoking hookah. By the way, the margarita here was not as tasty as in the previous cafe.
And one more margarita :) And they walked, walked, walked. We went to stores, I tried on dresses, but didn’t buy anything. San Cristobal with its atmosphere reminded me of two cities -
Article text updated: October 2, 2017
We ended the previous chapter about traveling independently in a rented car in Mexico with a report on an excursion to the Mayan pyramids on the outskirts of the city of Palenque. And we still had a long journey ahead of us through the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountains to the Indian town with the beautiful name San Cristobal de Las Casas, which became an intermediate stop before reaching the Sumidero Canyon National Park (Parque Nacional Cañón del Sumidero). Having read the reviews of other independent travelers, we were mentally prepared for the fact that 250 kilometers of mountain serpentine would not be easy, but we did not expect that the road would be so difficult!
It should be noted that the trip to San Cristobal de las Casas is not only the most difficult of our entire independent travel around Mexico by car, but also the most picturesque. The road constantly winds between mountain ranges, sometimes rising to the clouds, sometimes diving down to calm valleys.
Considering that the roads in Mexico are, for the most part, of excellent quality, a distance of 250 kilometers could be covered in 2-3 hours on the plain. But the trip through the mountains took us the whole day: we got from Palenque to San Cristobal de Las Casas from 10:00 in the morning to 17:00 in the evening.
On the way, to rest, we stopped at some roadside cafe. It would be more correct to say, not at the cafe, but simply, there, in the villages, the Indians put up a grill in front of the house and write in large letters “Pollo Asado”, which means “baked chicken”. So we couldn’t resist the temptingly alluring fried crust.
I must say that the taste of the fried chicken was not at all impressive. Apparently, he waited too long in the wings and came out dry. All that glitters is not gold! Keep this in mind when traveling in Mexico.
Normally, I never get sick in the car, but this time, after driving a couple of dozen serpentines, I started to feel a little uneasy. What can we say then about Katya, who always suffers from sudden braking and changes in altitude! After a few hours of travel, she became “green”: “Leave me here in the mountains. I’d rather stay with the Chiapas Indians than travel another kilometer!”
Seasickness on a mountain serpentine road in Mexico. Renting a car and driving through the mountains is not an easy task. Report on a trip around the country on your own to the city of San Cristobal de las Casas
I didn’t abandon my partner in trouble, we waited a little and continued our difficult journey. We need to talk about one more trouble that awaits tourists in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountains during a trip from Palenque to San Cristobal de Las Casas. The state of Chiapas is populated predominantly by Indians and is the poorest region in Mexico.
We read reviews from tourists that said that in high mountain villages, local residents block the road, “extorting” travelers to pay for travel through their territory, forcing them to buy something. And, all the same, when we approached the next village beyond the serpentine road, we saw a teenage girl jumping up from the side of the road and pulling a rope across the road, with tin cans and boards, it became an unpleasant surprise. We stopped, the doors were locked. The children surrounded the car, their grandmother screamed hysterically, demanding to buy something (a bunch of bananas, pineapples). But we had only bought tangerines a quarter of an hour before and didn’t want to take anything.
The situation was heating up. I tried to move. The children became a human shield in front of the car. Granny is already cursing and is seriously angry, banging her hands on the car.
In the end, the wife said: “Touch it slowly”! – and I “pushed” the living shield...
This situation was repeated several times all the way from Palenque to San Cristobal de Las Casas. Later we decided that it would be better to buy something from them: in anger, the children banged their fists on the windshield and waved sticks. At one point, they could scratch the car and we would get problems with the rental office. It would be more expensive...
Once, an aunt was sitting on the side of the road with a huge machete. And the “ambush” is always located at the topes (a huge speed bump), so you can’t just rush through. Aunt was gape and did not have time to pull the rope - it would not have been as fun as in previous cases...
In the afternoon we reached the midpoint on the route from Palenque to San Cristobal de Las Casas - the city of Ocosingo. When I was planning a trip to Mexico on my own, I decided that we could spend the night here on the way back, when we get from Canyon Sumidero to the Agua Azul (Blue Water) and Misol Ha waterfalls, in the vicinity of Palenque . But we didn’t know if there were hotels here; tourists’ reports did not mention anything about hotels.
So, if you are planning your route, know that right next to the “central ring” there is some kind of luxury hotel with bungalows, and I saw several more signs saying “hotel” along the road.
If you decide to spend the night in Ocosingo, you may be interested in the information about the local attractions that I found on the Internet.
- Relatively nearby are the next Indian ruins - the Mayan archaeological complex of Toniná (Zona Arqueológica de Toniná). The largest pyramid has 260 steps and many sculptures. The complex is located on a high hill.
- Although, we dreamed of visiting other ruins, lost in the jungle on the border with Guatemala. The pyramids are called Yaxchilán (Zona Arqueológica de Yaxchilán). In the first chapter of the report there is a map of our trip to Mexico on our own and this attraction is marked with the letter “J" We planned to get there on our way back fromCanyon Sumidero: first we sail for 40 minutes by boat, and then we land in the jungle. There are almost no people, howler monkeys are screaming in the trees. According to reviews - an incredible place! Unfortunately, we got lost in the city of Tusla Gutierrez when we were looking for the Sumidero Canyon and did not end up in this Yaxchilan. But read the reviews of tourists - this place should not be missed in any case if you have already gone on an independent trip to Mexico!
- In the town of Ocosingo itself, you can see the 15th-century church of San Jacinto de Polonia and stroll through the central square. Throughout Mexico they are called "zócalo".
- Tourists also advise going to the local market. It’s a very colorful place, because people wear national clothes: ponchos, woolen skirts, and sombreros.
- In the vicinity of Ocosingo there is also a small cascade of waterfalls and ponds. It's called El Corralito.
We stopped, bought unusually delicious homemade ice cream from a local guy, caught our breath and again rushed to our serpentines in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountains.
By the way, this mountain range lasts 350 kilometers. Its highest point is the Tajumulco volcano, rising 4220 meters above sea level. The highest mountain in Mexico is Volcán Tacaná) , serving as the border with Guatemala. Its height is 4092 meters.
In the evening we finally reached our destination - the city of San Cristobal de Las Casas.
Many people write that they really liked San Cristobal. Not so much for me. Narrow streets, gloomy houses... We turned onto Rebel Street (sorry, I don’t remember how to speak Spanish). We saw the hotel Gardens of Light (Jardines de Luz). 2 blocks to the zocalo, ample parking, breakfast. We settled in. Price 500 pesos with breakfast. Breakfast: pancakes with jam and coffee.
We walked around the city.
Here, indeed, are the most interesting, authentic, and cheap souvenirs in comparison with our entire route.
And already the breath of Christmas...
The city is located at an altitude of more than 2 km above sea level. In the evening it was +4 C. I had to get all the warm clothes.
History of the city of San Cristobal de las Casas
The region where the city is now located was inhabited for thousands of years by the Mayan Indians, whose descendants today are the Tzotzil and Tzeltal peoples. In 1528, the Spanish conquistador Diego de Mazariegos defeated the army of Zoques and Chiapanecos in a fierce battle and founded a settlement which he called “Villareal de Chiapa de los Españoles”. Over time, the settlement became the capital of the province of Chiapas. Later, on March 1, 1535, the Spanish crown granted the settlement a coat of arms, and it became known as Cristóbal de los Llanos, in honor of its patron Saint Christopher. City status was received on July 7, 1536, and it was renamed again - Ciudad Real de Chiapa. I won’t list all the names...
In 1994, the Zapatista uprising broke out in the state of Chiapas - the Indians were dissatisfied with their miserable situation and the fact that farmers were seizing their ancestral lands. The protests were suppressed by the government army, but until now, this region cannot be called calm: in the reports of tourists, I came across stories about how the Indians blocked the roads for all transport (however, after a couple of hours of waiting, traffic resumed).
What to see in the vicinity of San Cristobal de las Casas
We stayed in San Cristobal de las Casas simply because we did not have time to get to the capital of Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, next to which is the Sumidero Canyon National Park (Parque Nacional Cañón del Sumidero). But, in general, guidebooks to Mexico suggest considering the following excursions in the city and its surroundings.
- Lagunas de Montebello National Park (Parque National Lagunas de Montebello), located 160 kilometers from San Cristobal. The name can be translated as “Beautiful Mountains”. The park consists of 56 picturesque lakes. Here you can ride boats or go horseback riding through the jungle and into caves.
- Las Cascadas el Chiflón waterfalls – located 100 kilometers to the southeast. Consist of two streams. One of them brings down water from a 70-meter height.
- The caves of Las Grutas de San Cristobal are located 13 kilometers south of San Cristobal de las Casas. There is a 750 meter long trail inside. You can admire stalctites and stalagmites.
- You can book rafting on a river with class 3 and 4 rapids from local travel companies.
This concludes the 6th part of my review of traveling around Mexico on my own. In the next chapter I will write a report about how we rafted on a boat along the Grijalva River (Río Grijalva), squeezing between the rocks in the Sumidero Canyon (El Cañón del Sumidero).
Has it ever happened to you when the only thing left to do was to throw up your hands and say “Not fate”? I think this has happened to everyone. Andyusiks and I had such an “unfate” happen to the town San Cristobal de Las Casas. No matter how hard we tried to see him, we couldn’t really see him. Why? I'll tell you everything in order.
Features of the town of San Cristobal de Las Casas
We knew well in advance that San Cristobal was different from other cities. It is different, if only because it is cool there, because it is hidden quite high in the mountains. Imagine, it's cool! After the hot Puerto Escondido and stuffy Tuxtla-Gutierrez, this magic word poured on us like a balm to the soul. For some reason, the final part of the dialogue with the taxi driver on the way to the Tusla bus station did not particularly alarm me.
- And where are you going?
- To San Cristobal.
- Mmmm. Cold!
Well, you never know, it’s cold for these Mexicans.
At noon we board the bus. The driver, apparently having the goal of preparing us for all bad weather, turns on the air conditioning to maximum. Okay, we are scientists, with warm sweaters and scarves. We wrap ourselves in them like Eskimos, to the envy of the less perspicacious passengers.
Not even half an hour passes before the landscapes outside the window begin to change dramatically: the hills become higher and higher, the clouds drop lower and lower. The bus confidently gains altitude, making pretzel turns on the mountain road and clearly not intending to give up.
At the end of the time allotted by the schedule, we arrive at the modest bus station of the city with a proud name San Cristobal de Las Casa from (San Cristobal de Las Casaa). We get off the bus and realize that we don’t have to take off our sweaters! Wow, really cool! Neither hot nor cold, but comfortable: a fresh breeze blows, from time to time the sun peeking out from behind the clouds bites your cheek. Why are half the locals wearing jackets?
We look around, take a deep breath and set off to look for housing. We find a hotel room, check in, and only an hour later we realize that the room is cold. That is really cold! We didn’t notice this right away after walking with our heavy backpacks. Wow, there are also two wool blankets on the beds. Hm.
What do you think is happening in the evening? In the evening, a real downpour begins, the kind when it is impossible to stick your nose out into the street, because the water is pouring out of a bucket. It becomes even colder and more uncomfortable. So what were you saying there, comrade taxi driver? Cold?
For the next couple of days, the picture does not change: cold and rain, cold and rain, gray hopelessness. We are patiently waiting for good weather to go on a date with the city. The weather forecast seems to be mocking, each time instilling hope that is not destined to come true: there is no sun, or at least no rain. Only on the third day does the knocking on the roof stop.
Hurry, hurry, hurry, let's go for a walk around San Cristobal!
What to see in San Cristobal
We get out of our hole onto the street: everything around is gray, wet, uncomfortable. Only enthusiasm and curiosity save. There is a whole list of attractions on hand. So, where to start? The first on the way was a church, and more precisely the Shrine of St. Francisco(Templo de San Francisco de Asis).
If earlier we looked into churches to cool off, then we step into this threshold with the hope that it will be at least a little warmer there than outside. But no, not warmer.
Imagine being frozen like that in the middle of Mexico in mid-May. An anecdote, and nothing more!
We leave the church and head wherever our eyes look. They looked, as it turned out, to the side Arc de Triomphe of Carmen(Arco del Carmen). Eh, in sunny weather everything obviously looks more cheerful...
Two steps from the arch of the same name Carmen Cultural Center(Centro Cultural El Carmen). Shall we come in? Perhaps, yes, it’s warmer there, today this is an undeniable plus!
A cultural center is a cultural center: someone draws, someone embroiders, someone plants flowers.
We go out into the street and soon find ourselves on the central tourist street Real de Guadalupe. Andryusiks and I instantly dubbed it the San Cristobal Arbat: everywhere there are cafes, restaurants, shops with souvenirs and clothes, creative characters who give their talents for free or for money, beggars, salespeople. In general, this is where life is all at!
It’s a nice place, maybe you’ll still be able to see it in sunny weather?
San Cristobal is generally a very pleasant town. On all sides it is surrounded by picturesque mountains, precisely those because of which it is so different from other cities both in appearance and in weather. It is even possible to climb a couple of hills to admire the panorama of the city from above. How can you miss such an opportunity? No way! So we are moving confidently towards hill of San Crisobal(Cerro de San Cristobal). Wow, he can be seen in the distance.
Steps, steps, steps, left, right, left, right. Phew! We look back and here it is, San Cristobal in all its glory! That still foggy Albion.
And at the top of the hill a church was built. Ordinary, nothing special. If it were not for the people scurrying around and praying inside. What's special about it, you ask? And the fact that they are Indians. Yes, yes, the real ones! Well, their direct descendants, anyway.
Gloomy faces, unfriendly looks, unusual clothes, sometimes similar to costumes worn specifically for the performance. The area around San Cristobal is said to have the highest percentage of indigenous people in Mexico. Who knows, perhaps this is so. One thing is clear: we have never met so many Indians anywhere else.
We are going down the hill, there are still so many interesting things ahead! If only it didn't start to rain.
The pretty streets of San Cristobal, as cute as they can be framed by the gray, dull weather, take us in the opposite direction of the hill. I don’t want to look at the list of attractions, so we go on a whim. What difference does it make what this church or this street is called? One thing is important: whether you like it or not, whether it evokes some emotions or leaves you indifferent. Oh no! It starts to rain. At first hesitant, then it develops into a persistent monotonous rhythm. We put on our hoods and persistently move on. We waited three days to get out of our room into the light of day, we won’t just give up!
Narrow paved sidewalks and streets, colorful houses, churches, squares - all the delights of a small colonial town.
And everything would be fine, but this discomfort, dampness and dullness does not allow emotions to fully penetrate into the frozen soul. The eyes see, but the heart does not feel.
We are hiding from bad weather in the city hall. Two wet chicks. Mexico, is that how you are? Unfriendly and cold. But with a little more sun, San Cristobal could stand on a par with San Miguel, Guanajuato and Queretaro.
- It seems like the rain won't stop...
- No, look, almost nothing is dripping from the sky anymore.
- Shall we go for a walk or go home?
- Let's go further.
No sooner said than done! We paddle along the wet sidewalks towards another hill. It’s still interesting to look at cities from above.
San Cristobal has several features that we have not yet encountered in any other Mexican city. In addition to mountains, cold and Indians, there are also clouds. The kind that descend directly onto the city and literally hug the roofs of houses.
The street took us upstairs. The clouds became a little closer. A mysterious sight, isn't it?
Today our San Cristobal is like this: cloudy, wet and covered in graffiti, with umbrellas and warm jackets.
Out of habit, we look into the courtyard that interests us. Just a hotel, but so picturesque. Lush greenery and dampness are reminiscent of Vietnamese Hanoi.
Imperceptibly we again go to the center. San Cristobal de Las Casas is a tiny town, you can get around the whole thing in a day, and its central part is even smaller. I would even say that it looks like a toy. A sort of small island of life, sandwiched between the mountains.
Would you like me to tell you about another feature of this city? Roof tiles. It seems that half of all roofs are covered with it. Old, good quality tiles, darkened by time and rain. What could be more romantic?
Romance is romance, but the rain stubbornly refuses to stop, but only gains strength. In this weather, it’s good to sit at home, wrapped in a blanket, drink hot tea and watch a movie. Maybe we can do that? Perhaps we should go home and wait for a nicer day.
Knock-Knock! Who's there? Ahh, it’s the rain drumming on the roof and knocking on the windows, taking only short breaks to gain strength.
Oh, look, the sun has come out, the sky has changed from anger to mercy, and instead of black clouds, white fluffy clouds have appeared. We quickly get ready and leave the house with Andryusiks to combine lunch with a walk around smiling San Cristobal.
We reach the tourist area again streets of Real de Guadlupe(it's just closest to our hotel). This is what she looks like in a more fun version. It’s a completely different matter: it’s immediately cozier, friendlier, kinder.
Here another feature of San Cristobal becomes even more noticeable. For some reason, there are a lot of hippies in this town. Everywhere there are weird-looking guys with dreadlocks in unusual clothes. So they catch your eye here and there: sometimes they play the accordion, sometimes they scare away the local dogs. In general, they are trying to stand out as best they can. Are they making dreadlocks for free somewhere around the corner?
They even sell some unusual toys, look, a bearded giraffe.
The city is clearly not offended by tourists; even now, when the season is coming to an end, the city is full of them. Rumor has it that some people fall in love with San Cristobal so much that they move here to live. Somewhat reminiscent of the story of San Miguel de Allende.
As you know, where there are tourists, there is entertainment for them.
Even the same Indians here played the role of just an attraction for the gringo. These descendants of proud and warlike ancestors today walk the streets, selling shawls, dream traps, amulets and other rubbish to visiting onlookers or simply begging.
To be honest, no matter how many days we are in this city, the feeling of some discomfort does not leave us. Everything seems nice and nice, but people are somehow unfriendly. There are no those usual curious glances and open smiles. Everyone is gloomy and wary, from the waitresses in the cafe to passers-by on the streets. Maybe it's all about the cold?
What can you do, each city has its own character. But there is no shortage of cute streets with colonial architecture in San Cristobal. Shall we go and have a look?
Oh no! The music played for a short time. Before our eyes, the sky becomes clouded and it starts to rain. We run, we run to the hotel. The second attempt to take a normal walk around the city fails miserably.
For a day, two, three, we watched the same picture outside the door of our cold hotel room: rain, rain, rain. But we wanted to take a ride around the surrounding area and see unexplored streets. It doesn't seem like fate. So San Cristobal remained behind a veil of rain.
This is how we will remember San Cristobal de Las Casas: cold, rain, rare moments of enlightenment, hippies, Indians, mountains, clouds and tiles. We even nicknamed it San Morozal to ourselves because of the weather and the general feeling. And it could have entered our TOP 5 cities in Mexico if it had been a little more welcoming.
As Andryusiks said, “this city can be safely recommended as a refrigerator.”
Enjoy your walks around San Cristobal, dear readers!
Sheboldasik and four-legged friends
How to get to San Cristobal
How to get to San Cristobal from Tuxtla Gutierrez
To get from Tuxtla Gutiérrez to San Cristobal, you can take the OCC bus. We chose the bus leaving at 12:00. A ticket to San Cristobal costs 48 pesos, the journey takes 1:10. We used the discount coupon again and paid only 34 pesos.
So don't forget about the 10% discount coupons for your next trip if you use ADO and OCC buses. Coupons are printed directly on your boarding pass, so don't throw them away after your trip.
By the way, it is better to check the bus schedule on the Internet; not all routes are shown on the boards posted at bus stations (perhaps only direct routes are indicated).
Where we lived in San Cristobal
This time we had to look for housing locally. We did not find anything suitable for booking in San Cristobal in advance. Having learned from the bitter experience of searching for shelter with heavy backpacks, this time we left our things in the storage room at the bus station. As a result, the search dragged on for three hours (they paid 104 pesos for two backpacks).
There were enough options for budget accommodation in San Cristobal, but we have special requirements: give us a work desk, good internet (which, by the way, not all hotels had in general), and more light. There are also problems with the latter in this city - the windows in almost all the rooms overlook the courtyards, which is why the rooms are in eternal twilight. The availability of hot water has become even more important than usual, because the rooms are very, very cold (the city is in the mountains and it is never hot there). Ask for several blankets at once.
In the end we stopped at Hotel Villa Real. We asked for the most spacious room with a full-fledged work desk for 300 pesos (that’s how much a double room with one large bed costs in this hotel, and we had two of them, although we didn’t need that much, but it was more spacious). Plus this is the only room with a table.
In the end, it turned out that the Internet does not always work equally well, and sometimes turns off completely (I had to constantly ask to reboot the router until Andryusiks himself figured out this mysterious outlet). There were also problems with hot water - it was turned on at a time, that is, during the day there was no opportunity to go to the shower and warm up, which was very, very important, since there was a dubak in the room. Otherwise, there are no complaints about the hotel. It was warm at night under three blankets))
