Tag: yaxchilan

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Places to stay in Frontera Corozal

A Chol Maya community on the banks of Rio Usumacinta, Frontera Corozal is where you catch a boat to Yaxchilan or the Guatemala border.

  • Escudo Jaguar…($580, 315)said to have a pool…This is where National Geographic & many other tours stop. Has camping
  • Hotel Nueva Alianza… ($700, 300) said to have a better restaurant…many comments/complaints about the walls of the cabañas not going all the way up to the roof
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Chiapas itinerary

15 days of eating & drinking, swimming & exploring

When my friend Gabi invited me to her wedding in La Concordia, Chiapas, I immediately & enthusiastically accepted. I imagined crossing the Yucatan peninsula & the Isthmus of Tehuantepec by bus, stopping in the cool mountain town of San Cristobal de las Casas, and finally paying a visit to the island of Boca del Cielo, on the Pacific Coast.

A few days later my friend Carmen said she could come for a visit that same week. She was easily convinced to embark on a Chiapas adventure and furious & obsessive planning commenced. I believe that I spent a solid 3 days researching & planning. I’ve had the good luck of visiting Chiapas, but the last time was over 10 years ago.

My careful planning yielded this itinerary (all prices are in pesos chiapanecos):

WEDNESDAY : meet at Villahermosa airport & take an ado van to palenque $95 (2hrs)

Palenque pyramids $75

FRIDAY:

COMBI TO Misol Ha $30…cabanas $290 52 (916) 121 3764

Also from Palenque:

  • visita cascada roberto barrios.. $50, 1 hr away
  • visita agua azul $40…agua azul has cabanas

SATURDAY straight to JUNGLE: visit Bonampak & Yaxchilan, swim in the river

3 hours by bus from Palenque- hopefully, we can take combis from Misol Ha to one of the camps, about 3 hrs in. I think we can book when we get there. The best options seem to be in the Crucero Bonampak community, where there’s at least 10 little camps scattered around.

Places to stay in Frontera Corozal

Costs of visiting Bonampak & Yaxchilán :

  • Autotransporte Chamoán Palenque to Frontera Corozal ($145, 2½ -3hrs, every 40 min from 4 am to 5 pm) boat to Yaxchilán for 2 people costs $1000, for 6 people $2000. Takes 40 minutes to get there. Rates are non-negotiable. You have 2 hours in the archeological zone. The last boat leaves at 15h but as the site closes at 17h.
  • Taxi from Frontera Corozal to Yaxchilán $300 pesos.
  • Linea de Pasajeros Comitan Lagos de Montebello runs from Palenque to Comitan and will stop at the cruceros (intersections)
  • Autotransporte Chamoán Palenque to Crucero Bonampak ($95, two hours), instead of the San Javier stop on the highway.
  • Getting to Bonampak: highway 199 t from Palenque – Chancalá – Corozal Border, as far as the San Javier exit at km 97; continue on the road towards Lacanhá and the archeological zone is 4 km further on.
  • It’s mandatory to use a local guide & their transportation for $500 pesos
  • Bonampak community fee $75 pesos
  • Entrance tickets to the Bonampak site are $75 pesos

It’s also possible to visit more waterfalls from this area using Linea de Pasajeros Comitan Lagos de Montebello &/or Autotransporte Chamoán Palenque :

  • Cascada Golondrina $25
  • Cascada Welib-Já and Nueva Palestina, take any Carretera Fronteriza bound combi from Palenque.

MONDAY : TRAVEL DAY OR STAY AN EXTRA DAY IN THE JUNGLE

Return to Palenque, and catch a combi to visit Tonina has the tallest pyramid on Mexico. Read more about the Tonina pyramids. Ocosingo has a couple places to stay, an interesting market, and breaks up the 5.5 hour trip to San Cristóbal.

TUESDAY: WEDNESDAY: THURSDAY: 3 nights San Cristóbal de las Casas

  • Rent a little casita ($500)
  • Casa Na-Bolom, the former home of Franz & Trudy Blom. Superstar anthropologist team working in Chiapas. Last time I was there, I saw an incredible display of Frida Kalho’s jewelry
  • The main reason I am going to San Cristobal is to visit the central market
  • There’s also an organic market on Wednesday mornings
  • EL TZITZ cooking class for $870
  • interesting walking tour for $1200
    Organic
  • day trip to cascada chiflon & lago montebello $400
  • cool eco trips good prices & socially responsible

FRIDAY: Stay in Tuxtla to visit the zoo, or head to the cuter Chiapa de Corzo.

    La Palapa de Mi Mamá…fun bar/restaurant in Tuxtla

bus from san cris-tuxtla $75 (1.5hrs)

coffee tasting experience in TuxtlaCanon de Sumidero boat trip $250

Posada $300

SATURDAY: Visit & sleep in an ecoturismo, waterfalls El Chiflon

SUNDAY TRAVEL DAY to Boca de Cielo

Jose’s Camping Cabanas rustic cabanas in Puerto Arrista

recommended eco-resort on the Pacific called El Madresal

MONDAY: TUESDAY: WEDNESDAY: beach bumming on the black sand beach of Boca del Cielo

THURSDAY: Return to Tuxtla for flight to Merida ($1200)

See my CHIAPAS TRIP reading list

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My CHIAPAS TRIP reading list

  • Yaxchilán es una zona arqueológica ubicada a orilla del río Usumacinta, el cual fue de gran importancia para el desarrollo de esta majestuosa ciudad.Source: Yaxchilán zona arqueológica en Chiapas, cómo llegar | Guíasdeviaje.mx
  • For thorough explanations of the history & legends of the Maya world, I adore Lydia Jones’s Hammocks & Ruins. She really digs deep into the subjects and collaborates with professional photographers to create content for travelers & wanders. Check out her itineraries to Bonampak & Yaxchilan, Chiapas. I plan to download her articles to read on my way to the pyramids. Lydia writes in English.
  • The other joyous discovery of my Chiapas research marathon is Sinpostal.com Rubi & Jose Luis are photographers & videographers on a year-long road trip of Mexico. I found them on YouTube, devouring the videos they made in Chiapas this spring. I really appreciate their website with it’s clear breakdown of costs & logistics. All content is in Spanish, but they are super clear communicators & use helpful graphics, so I think non-Spanish speakers can find the content helpful.
  • Gertrude Duby’s photo archive (1943-1990) at Na-Bolom
  • Slow Food piece on the milpa system in Chiapas: A complex Mesoamerican intercropping method, the milpa is a sustainable agricultural system that can combat the loss of biodiversity in rural areas thanks to the rich variety it incorporates. The most common crops, and the most representative of the local diet in the Mexican region of Chiapas, are corn, beans and squash, which coexist and form symbiotic relationships with each other and other plants like tomatoes, chili peppers, quelites (wild herbs), fruit trees and dozens of other vegetables, as well as fungi and insects who find their ideal habitat in the milpa.

Lasers reveal Maya war ruins in northern Guatemala

Source:  National Geographic Lasers reveal Maya war ruins in northern Guatemala

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