San Cristobal Indigenous Community Tour: Explore San Juan Chamula and Zinacatan Traditions
3.9
19 Ratings
San Cristóbal de las Casas

A unique experience to live with natives of the communities of San Juan Chamula and Zinacatan and learn a little of their traditions.

Duration: 5 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • San Juan Chamula - It is an indigenous community of the Tzotzil ethnic group, with deeply rooted beliefs, they will visit the church and if it is Sunday, they will be able to enjoy the local market, with its colors and natural products
  • Zinacantan - Zinacantán still conserve traditional costumes for daily use, not without an obvious evolution, which shows a deep roots in ancient customs.
    They will be able to visit a house where they will be taught how to use the backstrap loom and create beautiful designs, such as tablecloths, blankets, centerpieces among others.
What's Included
  • Pickup and drop-off from designated meeting points
  • Local taxes included
  • Transport by air-conditioned minivan
  • Spanish-speaking driver
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Guide
Additional Information
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Location
Portal 9
Portal
Cafeteria Al Grano Cafe. Direccion: Portal Oriente No. 9. enfrente del zocalo, Col. Centro. El tour sale de la cafetería Al Grano, el conductor llega a recogerte en ese punto.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.9
(19 Ratings)
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Edward_d
Dec 28, 2022
DO NOT skip this tour! - Alonso, our guide, made the trip fascinating. He was a font of knowledge and information. Both towns were interesting. Seeing the merging of Christian and pagan beliefs practiced in the churches was amazing, especially in Zinacatan. I never saw a church like that - no pews, thousands of candles on tables and the floor with a carpet of pine needles, families drinking a lot of pox (basically moonshine), praying, chanting and performing rituals with animals was otherwordly. Then there was the workshop where many women produced clothing and other articles that sometimes took a year to create. This tour far exceeded expectations.
Review provided by Viator
Alessandra_m
Nov 26, 2022
A fascinating and interesting experience. - It has been extremely fascinating and interesting visiting San Lorenzo Zinacatan and San Juan Chamula. The tour was very well organized and the tour guide the best ever, very knowledgeable about history and legends of these populations. Amazing experience!
Review provided by Viator
Robert_t
Apr 22, 2022
This tour is a must do in San Cristobal - The guide and tour were great and exceeded our expectations. The church at San Juan de Chamula was amazing, like nothing I've ever experienced before. If I come back to San Cristobal, I would do this tour again!
Review provided by Viator
X2822uomarianac
Dec 27, 2019
Excellent tourist guide - We were really satisfied with the service, everything was on time and very professional. Alonso our guide did an excellent job explaining everything with many details, he is a great guy with tons of information and really interesting points of views about environment and politics. We recommend this service and congratulate Alonso for his effort and patience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Barak_n
Nov 16, 2019
Interesting, Informative and Meaningful Tour - I really enjoyed this tour. Alonso was an informative and gracious tour guide who is clearly a dedicated steward of Mexican and indigenous cultures. It was an honor to see the church in Chamula, and to interact with some of the women in Zinacatan who make the textiles that you see in the markets of San Cristobal. I recommend this tour!
Review provided by Viator
Atl010684
Apr 15, 2018
Fantastic tour! Wonderful guide - Congratulations on your selection of the tour guide. Unfortunately I don’t recall his name (even more worrying as he learned the name of each one of the 20 of us I the tour). We took the tour today April 15th. He was extremely knowledgeable, patient, well versed in Spanish and French and a great guide. It never felt like a shopping spree, yes we went to the textile workshops in Zinacantán but it was perhaps a highlight in our trip. He was well known by the locals and had great information and understanding about the complexities of the local culture. We learned so much and were happy to have selected this tour company. Will definitely be back to try additional tours with them. The lady at the ticket office was also extremely friendly, personal and informative. Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Thomas
Dec 6, 2017
Indigenous Communities - I recommend this tour very highly. Our driver/guide, Alonso, was knowledgeable and helpful at every moment. He provided both objective information about the history and the current status of these communities, and subjective opinion about critical problems. Alonso was always ready and willing to take questions. And BTW, he is (at least) trilingual! We found this tour so rich with information that we would be happy to do it a second time!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lynn
Sep 5, 2019
Nice, Well-Rounded Tour - I liked this tour very much. I used a different tour group for a similar tour last year, but this company had more interesting stops and a bi-lingual guide, who painstakingly gave us his talk in English and Spanish while clearly not feeling well. (Thank you Alfonso.) I especially enjoyed the two churches in Zinacantán and again, the interesting sights in the San Juan Chamula church. We took a different routes to and from San Cristóbal and I would have loved to see the scenery both coming and going, but the tour van windows were so darkly tinted, that nothing but shadows could be seen through to the outside. It was quite unfortunate, as I look forward to the scenery to and from a destination as much as the destination itself. But the only view to the outside that could be seen was through the front windshield, past the heads and seats of people in front of us. Had the scenery been viewable, I would have rated this tour a “5”.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hazaelmartinez
Feb 14, 2018
Take your chances with this tour - 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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Duygue150
Aug 4, 2022
Be careful with made up rules of the local - Horrible people making their way to earn money pushing tourists to pay 4000 pesos if you take a photo inside. Collaborating with local guides!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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1 Adult
May 2024
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