San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico
San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico. The main church at the town center, where many streets, like this one, are for foot traffic only.
San Cristóbal de las Casas, in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, is a pueblo mágico, as is Tepoztlán. A friend and I decided to spend ten days there, to get away from the heat in Tepoz, which has increased over the past couple of years, and also just to take a break in different surroundings.
The "personality" of San Cris is very similar to Tepoz, as both are popular tourist destinations, and cater very much to this demographic.
If you want to know more about its history, please check this page.
The Streets
San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico. An example of the grand architecture.
San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico. A view of one of the pedestrian-only streets from a restaurant.
Whereas Tepoztlán blocks two of the main streets near the town center on weekends only, San Cris keeps several for foot traffic on a permanent basis. This creates a very lively and safe space for tourists and vendors.
Here are just two illustrations of public music. Note how different they are.
Like Tepoztlán (as I show here and here), San Cristóbal is loaded with murals.
San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico. An example of the murals.
Another aspect that I marveled at were the doors. Note that many are ornately made from unfinished wood.
San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico. Some doors in San Cristóbal.
Here is the kiosk in the town center, and photos of a couple of side streets. Notice how narrow they are.
San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico. Top: The kiosk at the town center. Bottom two: Some narrow side streets.
To give you a better idea of the layout of San Cristóbal, here is a short video I made from the deck of our hostel.
Before moving on from the street scenes, here is a photo of some ladies selling door-to-door, and a video of me getting my shoes shined in the central park.
San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico. Sellers going door-to-door.
Nature
We only got to explore a small part of the nature in and around the town.
Here is a video of the river just a few minutes from our hostel.
Below is a photo of a mountain with a trail that is likewise only a few minutes from our hostel. On one side of the mountain, the trail was paved with bricks. Skirting the other side was a dirt trail. At the top is the Templo de San Cristóbal complex.
San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico. View of a mountain from near our hostel.
San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico. Top: A view from the paved trail. Bottom, left to right: A tower for a zip line at the top of the mountain; a house abutting the paved trail; a friend walking the paved trail.
San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico. Dirt trail skirting the other side of the mountain from the paved trail.
Churches
Visits of Mexican cities and towns are not complete without seeing the local churches, since they are such important factors in the culture. Here we take a look at the main church at the center of town, and a temple on top of the mountain mentioned earlier.
San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico. Main church at the town's center, called Virgin of the Assumption Cathedral. Top: People entering. Middle: A large cross in the plaza in front of the church. Bottom: A statue placed outside that's embedded in the church's wall.
Earlier I mentioned Templo de San Cristóbal at the top of the mountain I climbed. It is small, but has impressive views and some other interesting buildings.
San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico. Temple at the top of the mountain. Top left: many stairs leading up the mountain to the temple; Top right: a view of the temple from its side; Bottom left: the entrance; Bottom right: inside the small temple.
Also at the mountain top, along with the temple, are a kiosk for performances and a longhouse for gatherings.
San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico. Temple's longhouse. Top: Side view from the parking area; Bottom left: approaching from one end; Bottom right: view of the kiosk from the other end.
As a fitting end, I thought that the message of this neon sign just inside of a restaurant/bar was enlightening:
"Bad decisions make better stories."
Has anyone had this experience in life? Please comment on it.
San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Mexico.
There are many intriguing destinations to visit in Mexico. Tepoztlán is centrally located, and only an hour and a half from the airport, making it a great base from which to explore.