Chiapas

The state of Chiapas rises from the Pacific coastal plain, backed by the peaks of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, through the mainly agricultural Central Depression, irrigated by the Río Grijalva, up to the highlands, Los Altos de Chiapas. Beyond the highlands, to the north the mountains drop down to the Gulf coast of Tabasco, while to the east a series of great rivers, separated by the jungle-covered ridges of the Lacandón forest, flow into the Río Usumacinta, which forms the border with Guatemala. The climate, like the land, varies enormously. You could spend the morning basking on the beach at Puerto Arista, and then a chilly night in the old colonial capital of San Cristóbal de las Casas. As a rule, the lowlands are hot and humid, with heavy afternoon rainfall in summer, and while days in the highlands can also be hot, by evening you will often need a sweater.

Though it’s a relatively small part of Mexico, Chiapas has the greatest biological diversity in North America. Its forests are home to howler monkeys, red macaws and jaguars, though casual visitors are guaranteed to see these animals only at the zoo in the state capital of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, which houses animals native to the state. In the huge Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, reached from Palenque, a section of the largest remaining rainforest in North America has been preserved. From Ocosingo you can make forays into its heart, Laguna Miramar, a truly isolated, pristine wilderness destination. There’s cloud forest in the south, protected in El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve and, far easier to visit, the beautiful lakes and hills of the Parque Nacional Lagos de Montebello.

The Classic-period Maya site of Palenque, on the northern edge of the highlands, is one of Mexico’s finest ancient sites. The limestone hills in this area are pierced by crystal-clear rivers, creating exquisite waterfalls – most spectacularly at Agua Azul. Palenque is the best starting point for a trip down the Usumacinta valley, to visit the remote ruins of Bonampak and Yaxchilán. The Frontier Highway pushes south beyond these sites through the town of Benemérito, where you can get a boat to Guatemala. Buses serve the full length of the highway, enabling you to travel on to the Lagos de Montebello and around to San Cristóbal. This remote eastern half of the state is also the home of the Lacandón Maya, who retreated into the forest when the Spaniards arrived, and shunned all outside contact until fifty years ago.

Travelling around Chiapas is not difficult: the main cities are connected by a network of good, all-weather roads, and the Panamerican Highway passes from west to east through some of the state’s most spectacular scenery. In the south the coastal highway offers a speedy route from Tonalá, near the Oaxaca border, to Tapachula, almost on the frontier with Guatemala. In very out-of-the-way places, particularly in the jungle, travel is by dirt roads, which, though generally well maintained, can cause problems in the rainy season. These more remote places are also fairly well served by public transport, though it’s more likely to be combis and trucks taking people and produce to and from markets than the comfortable buses of the main roads.