Article updated on 03.29.23
Discovering the state of Chiapas
The state of Chiapas is considered as one of the poorest regions in Mexico. Indeed, we notice directly that some villages are not very developed. On the other hand, the richness of the landscapes in this region is just incredible!
First waterfall in Chiapas
Our first stop in Chiapas is the El Aguacero waterfall. The road to get there is a bit steep but no problem for us with our Camper Jeff.
We sleep in the car park and choose to hike to the waterfall the next morning to avoid the crowds. The disadvantage of this hike is that you have to go down 700 steps to get to the trail to see the beautiful waterfall. The return to the Camper was more sportive than the downhill 😉
The Sumidero Canyon
It is possible to visit the Sumidero Canyon from the top of the cliffs or from the bottom by boat on the river. Following several travellers opinions, we chose to do the visit by boat. We boarded the first “lancha” of the morning with 12 other people. Being the first ones, we have the chance to see many animals. An assortment of birds, monkeys and lots of crocodiles! We feel very small looking at this canyon which is more than 1000 meters high in some places.
Christmas tree waterfall
San Cristóbal de Las Casas
We discover this beautiful city full of cafes, restaurants, concept stores and its colourful streets. As in all these beautiful cities, our restaurant budget explodes but it’s for the well-being of our little belly 😉 We spend few days exploring the streets of this city.
Iglesia de Guadalupe
Iglesia de San Cristobal
Rambutan
Hibiscus flowers (jamaica)
The meat quarter at the market
Burger forever
Burger forever
El Chiflon
We hit the road in the direction of the huge El Chiflon waterfall. From here we travel with two French families who travel by motorhome. The Gabcha (Max, Vivi, Gabin and Charlie) who started in Canada and travel all the way down to South America in 1 year with their camper van, sent from France. The Vagabourls (Lola, Cédric, Myla, Liès and their dog Olaf) who started in Mexico with their truck bought there and who go up to the USA to come down to South America in 3 years.
We decide to do the hike quite early and it is therefore in love that we leave to visit this waterfall the next morning. This time the hike starts at the bottom and we climb to the top of the waterfall. The water flow is very impressive! We are at the end of the rainy season so the water starts to become turquoise blue which is very beautiful.
Lagunas de Montebello National Park
We go from Mexican landscapes to landscapes that remind us of American national parks. Blue lakes, pine forests and freshness. We arrive in the Lagunas de Montebello National Park which has more than 59 lakes.
We find a beautiful spot on the waterfront of Lake Tziscao. In the evening, we put on the coats and hats and warm up around a campfire. It feels so good to be cold and not humid.
Lake Internacional is half Mexican and half Guatemalan. It’s very small and we can walk along it and cross the Guatemalan border without even showing our passports 😉
The lake Tziscao
The lake Tziscao
The lake Tziscao
The lake Internacional
The lake Internacional
Laguna Pojoj
Laguna Pojoj
Laguna Pojoj
Laguna Pojoj
Laguna Pojoj
On the lake Tziscao
Las Nubes Waterfalls
After 3 days in the fresh air, we drive the 3 vans one behind the other to the waterfall of Las Nubes. Thanks to the iOverlander app, we find a nice spot by the river. The road to get there is not paved. For us no problem but for the campervans it’s a bit more complicated but they manage like real champs 😉
The next morning, we both went to discover this beautiful waterfall. To reach it, we have to walk on a bridge suspended over the river. We thought it would be nice to take a picture of us on this bridge. The drone launched, it loses the connection and goes to crash into the trees… what a bummer! We see it in the distance just above the river which has a hell of a water flow. After several questions about whether or not we should go, we decide that our lives are worth more than this drone. We have to leave it in the wild, which bothers us, because it is very polluting. We return to the camp all sad and tell our friends about our adventures as they are on their way to visit the waterfall. When they come back, they surprise us by bringing back the drone! Max and Cédric went to get it back, sweethearts! The drone is broken but at least it doesn’t stay in the wild and we can send it for repair 🙂
Las Guacamayas
On the way to Las Guacamayas, we ride through a small village with very low electric cables… one of them escapes our vigilance and gets stuck under our boards which makes them fly off our roof. The cable held but not our boards, they have big bumps. We will repair them later on the Pacific coast…
We stay 3 days in the small eco-village Las Guacamayas. We camp next to the jungle where we hear howler monkeys. In the morning and in the evening we can see the monkeys coming to eat the fruits of the trees.
Unfortunately we are not in the right season to see the macaws (Guacamayas) but we still have a great time in this small village.
The ruins of Yaxchilan
Our last stop with the Gabcha is the ruins of Yaxchilan. They are only accessible by river. So we take a boat for 30 minutes to get to the site. We are surrounded by jungle, it’s beautiful! The ruins are very impressive and we have the chance to see monkeys.
The waterfall road
We are now in a small group with the Vagabourls and visit a series of waterfalls.
Las Golondrinas is the first on our list. They are less touristy which gives them their charm. We take a dip in the water to enjoy the freshness of the water.
We visit Welib Ha which is nice but not our favourite. We are getting picky after all these beautiful waterfalls 😉
Roberto Barrios is a place with several levels of waterfalls. Unfortunately we arrived after a heavy rain so the water is not turquoise as we imagined. But we can imagine how beautiful this site can be if the weather is good.
And the last one on the road is Misol Ha which is next to Palenque. It is very touristic and you don’t have to walk to see it. On the other hand, we see some parts of the sets from the shooting of Avatar 3 which took place a few days before. It’s quite crazy to imagine that scenes from the film were shot where we are 😀
It’s time to say goodbye to the Vagabourls who are heading back to the USA. It has been an incredible 2 weeks filled with beautiful landscapes and shared with our friends <3 It’s time for us to leave for the most touristic region of Mexico with a special guest… to be continued in the next article.