San Cristóbal de las Casas 3-day itinerary

Start at the cathedral on the main plaza, then walk north to Na Bolom — the house-museum of Danish archaeologist Frans Blom and Swiss photographer Gertrude Duby, who spent decades documenting and advocating for the Lacandón Maya of the Chiapas jungle. The museum contains their photographs, Lacandón artefacts, and a beautiful garden. Continue uphill to the Cerro de San Cristóbal church for the best elevated view of the city — the 79 steps are lined with vendors selling handmade dolls and woven bracelets.

Walk to the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán — the most ornate church in Chiapas with an elaborately carved pink facade and a gilded pulpit inside. The surrounding market is the largest indigenous craft market in southern Mexico: Tzotzil women in traditional embroidered blouses sell handwoven huipiles, wool chamulas, and beaded jewellery. Each design tells the story of its village and weaver. Take time to examine the quality and artistry — these are genuine living traditions, not tourist reproductions.

San Cristóbal has a thriving bar scene along Real de Guadalupe and in the streets surrounding the main plaza. Mezcal and local pox (pronounced "posh") — a sugarcane spirit distilled by Tzotzil communities with ceremonial significance — are the drinks of choice. Several bars host live marimba, son jarocho, and folk music most evenings. Try TierrAdentro for mezcal flights or Calavera Bar for a younger, backpacker-friendly vibe.

Take a colectivo 10km north to San Juan Chamula, a Tzotzil Maya town governed entirely by indigenous customary law — Mexican federal police and the Catholic Church have no authority here. The Church of San Juan is one of the most extraordinary religious spaces in the Americas: the floor is covered in pine needles, thousands of candles burn in rows, families conduct healing rituals involving pox, Coca-Cola (used for its "burping" cleansing properties), and live chickens, and there are no pews or priests. Shamanic Maya cosmology is fused with Catholic imagery in a way found nowhere else on earth.

Continue 7km to Zinacantán, another Tzotzil village with a dramatically different character — where Chamula is austere and intense, Zinacantán is colourful and welcoming. The villagers are master flower growers and textile weavers. Visit a family home for a weaving demonstration and a meal of handmade tortillas cooked on a comal, accompanied by pox and a display of the family's finest embroidered textiles. The church of San Lorenzo in the village centre has a richly decorated interior draped in flowers and woven cloth.

Return to San Cristóbal for an evening chocolate workshop — several shops offer hands-on classes where you roast, grind, and mould cacao beans into chocolate bars using traditional Maya techniques. The Chiapas lowlands produce some of Mexico's finest cacao, and the highland city has built a chocolate culture around it. Dinner at a comedor serving tamales de bola (Chiapanecan ball-shaped tamales), sopa de pan (bread soup with fruits and spices), and hot chocolate.

Depart early for the Cañón del Sumidero, 65km west of San Cristóbal — a colossal canyon carved by the Grijalva River with walls rising up to 1,000 metres on either side. Take a 2-hour speedboat trip from the embarcadero at Chiapa de Corzo through the canyon, passing crocodiles basking on the banks, spider monkeys in the trees, and the famous "Christmas Tree" — a waterfall draped in moss and mineral deposits that has formed a tree-shaped cascade on the canyon wall. The scale of the canyon is staggering and the boat gives the only true perspective.

After the boat trip, explore the colonial town of Chiapa de Corzo — its 16th-century fountain, La Pila, is a Mudéjar-style octagonal structure considered one of the finest colonial fountains in the Americas. The town is the centre of lacquerware production in Chiapas — hand-painted gourds and boxes in vivid colours using techniques predating the Spanish conquest. Drive up to the canyon rim viewpoints (miradores) for a vertigo-inducing perspective looking straight down into the gorge — five viewpoints are accessible by road.

Return to San Cristóbal for a final evening. Browse the amber shops along Real de Guadalupe for genuine Chiapanecan amber — the finest pieces contain preserved insects and are authenticated with UV testing. Choose a restaurant on the pedestrian Andador for a last dinner of Chiapanecan cuisine: tamales, cochito, and a glass of comiteco (a local spirit distilled from agave and piloncillo). The cobblestone streets and warm lighting of this highland city are at their most beautiful on your final evening.