Chamula and Zinacantan Indigenous Villages Tour
Overview
Enjoy a wonderful tour as you visit two indigenous villages near San Cristobal de las Casas. Meet a family in Zinacantan and watch Mayan rituals inside a Catholic Church at San Juan Chamula. Your tour includes transport and a guide in spanish.
Inclusions
- Food tasting
- Guide in Spanish
- Hotel pickup and downtown drop-off
- Transport by air-conditioned minivan
- Entry/Admission - Plaza de la Paz
- Entry/Admission - Zinacantan
- Entry/Admission - Church of St. Juan Bautista
What to expect
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Pass By: Explorando Chiapas, Calle Real de Guadalupe No. 54, San Cristobal de las Casas 29230 Mexico
Partimos de nuestra agencia
Stop At: Domicilio Conocido S/N, Centro C.P. 29350 Zinacantan, Chiapas, Zinacantan 29350 Mexico
Pueblo tzotzil “Lugar de Murciélagos” donde los espacios sagrados están marcados por los cerros que rodean el pequeño valle y el conjunto formado por la iglesia San Lorenzo, de origen colonial pero remodelado a principios del siglo XX y las capillas de Esquipulas y San Sebastián.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Plaza de la Paz, San Juan Chamula Mexico
En la gran plaza del pueblo tienen lugar los eventos más importantes, como el mercado, las elecciones, las reuniones políticas y las ceremonias religiosas. Al fondo de la plaza está el templo, precedido por un enorme atrio. La iglesia es sobria, con un gran portón entablerado que sólo se abre por completo en la fiesta de San Juan. Todo está vigilado por los “mayoles” o policías, que portan un “chuck” –cotón de lana gruesa blanco y un marro de madera dura como el fierro. A los visitantes les está prohibido tomar fotografías. El acceso al interior de la iglesia está regulado y se debe pagar una cuota para entrar.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Church of St. Juan Bautista, Plaza Central, San Juan Chamula 29320 Mexico
Comunidad Tzotzil, distante a 10 kilómetros de San Cristóbal de las Casas, a 2, 260 m.s.n.m., de origen prehispánico que ejerce su autoridad con base en los usos y costumbres. San Juan Bautista, San Pedro, San Sebastián, son los tres barrios que conforman este centro ceremonial, cada uno con su panteón presidido por unas gigantescas cruces que presentan a Chul Metic (Dios Madre) y a Chul Totic (Dios Padre), allí se encuentra la sede de la autoridad y el lugar donde el sincretismo religioso da su máxima expresión: el templo de San Juan Bautista, cuyo profundo significado mezcla la tradición cristiana con las raíces prehispánicas.
Duration: 45 minutes
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Pass By: Explorando Chiapas, Calle Real de Guadalupe No. 54, San Cristobal de las Casas 29230 Mexico
Partimos de nuestra agencia
Stop At: Domicilio Conocido S/N, Centro C.P. 29350 Zinacantan, Chiapas, Zinacantan 29350 Mexico
Pueblo tzotzil “Lugar de Murciélagos” donde los espacios sagrados están marcados por los cerros que rodean el pequeño valle y el conjunto formado por la iglesia San Lorenzo, de origen colonial pero remodelado a principios del siglo XX y las capillas de Esquipulas y San Sebastián.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Plaza de la Paz, San Juan Chamula Mexico
En la gran plaza del pueblo tienen lugar los eventos más importantes, como el mercado, las elecciones, las reuniones políticas y las ceremonias religiosas. Al fondo de la plaza está el templo, precedido por un enorme atrio. La iglesia es sobria, con un gran portón entablerado que sólo se abre por completo en la fiesta de San Juan. Todo está vigilado por los “mayoles” o policías, que portan un “chuck” –cotón de lana gruesa blanco y un marro de madera dura como el fierro. A los visitantes les está prohibido tomar fotografías. El acceso al interior de la iglesia está regulado y se debe pagar una cuota para entrar.
Duration: 45 minutes
Stop At: Church of St. Juan Bautista, Plaza Central, San Juan Chamula 29320 Mexico
Comunidad Tzotzil, distante a 10 kilómetros de San Cristóbal de las Casas, a 2, 260 m.s.n.m., de origen prehispánico que ejerce su autoridad con base en los usos y costumbres. San Juan Bautista, San Pedro, San Sebastián, son los tres barrios que conforman este centro ceremonial, cada uno con su panteón presidido por unas gigantescas cruces que presentan a Chul Metic (Dios Madre) y a Chul Totic (Dios Padre), allí se encuentra la sede de la autoridad y el lugar donde el sincretismo religioso da su máxima expresión: el templo de San Juan Bautista, cuyo profundo significado mezcla la tradición cristiana con las raíces prehispánicas.
Duration: 45 minutes
Additional information
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- Comfortable walking shoes are recommended and jacket
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 travelers
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
Cancellation
All sales are final and incur 100% cancellation penalties.
Skydivers74
September 2022
Julio Cesar was really knowledgeable. He is bilingual and fun to listen. I really had a experience. The tour was nice and short. Great to recovered from my first 2 tours that took me all day but I love it.. Gracias muchas.
Julio Cesar was really knowledgeable. He is bilingual and fun to listen. I really had a experience. The tour was nice and short. Great to recovered from my first 2 tours that took me all day but I love it.. Gracias muchas.Gilberttanti
August 2022
Short and sweet trip with an excellent guide; Miriam who explained everything thoroughly and answered all out questions!
Short and sweet trip with an excellent guide; Miriam who explained everything thoroughly and answered all out questions!MaloCostaRica
November 2019
Con toda seguridad, ir a San Cristóbal y no visitar Chamula ni Zinacantán, es como tomarse un capuchino sin café.
Con toda seguridad, ir a San Cristóbal y no visitar Chamula ni Zinacantán, es como tomarse un capuchino sin café.HarryOz
July 2018
We booked this tour in the belief and promise that it would be in English - it wasn't - only Spanish! If it weren't for another person on the tour who spoke a bit of English and did a bit of translating, we would have missed the lot - not good and we weren't happy. First stop was Chamula at a ver...
We booked this tour in the belief and promise that it would be in English - it wasn't - only Spanish! If it weren't for another person on the tour who spoke a bit of English and did a bit of translating, we would have missed the lot - not good and we weren't happy. First stop was Chamula at a very strange church. Strange by the fact that it was almost voodoo like, very spiritual and like nothing I have ever seen. Essentially there are families there with a sick relative and by performing a ritual which involves passing a live chicken over the sick person and then wringing the chicken's neck the person is said to have passed on their sickness to the chicken! OMG. At Zinacantan we visited a house to see local textiles for sale - a bit touristy. Also in an original earth floor kitchen watching a woman cook tortialls over an open fire. All in all, if you only have a couple of days in San Cristobal don't bother with this tour.hazaelmartinez
February 2018
This can be an interesting tour of two indigenous communities, Zinacatan and San Juan Chamula, however my personal experience was not positive. The Zinacatan part of the tour is a standard "shopping tour" in which you get to see the way the local people work the textiles, and you have the chance...
This can be an interesting tour of two indigenous communities, Zinacatan and San Juan Chamula, however my personal experience was not positive. The Zinacatan part of the tour is a standard "shopping tour" in which you get to see the way the local people work the textiles, and you have the chance to buy their products. I don't mind this, as that's the standard way of operation in Mexico, China, Morocco and everywhere else. At this point, I had my first negative impression of the tour, and in particular, the tour guide: Alex/Alejandro. After the explanation and shopping time was over he said "wait here for a few minutes". I guess this is the time he settles his commissions from the shop owner, and, again, I don't have issues with that: that's the way the guides make a living. But this time he took a long time, while the tour group just waited there. In the next stop, the exotic town of San Juan Chamula, you get to visit the main church in town. That was the high point for me as it is a truly out-of-ordinary place. After the visit, and before returning to San Cristobal, I had a personal issue with the guide: I was asking questions regarding daily life of these towns, and I guess he took offense in what I was asking (or he was just fed-up with tourists), and his response was something like: "People from Northern Mexico are just a bad copy of people from the US". He knew fully well I am from Northern Mexico so there is no place for confusion here. So, I guess, the tour is ok if you have an interest in these towns, and you don't ask the wrong questions, like I, apparently, did.Marcela J
December 2017
I did order ENGLISH speak guide. Our guide spoke only spanish. We did not understand anything. Moreover, we have been in the shop for a long time, and only the church Chamula has become worth it. we are not despicable. We do not recommend it.
I did order ENGLISH speak guide. Our guide spoke only spanish. We did not understand anything. Moreover, we have been in the shop for a long time, and only the church Chamula has become worth it. we are not despicable. We do not recommend it.