EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Just beyond Chiapa de Corzo, the road to Villahermosa - a spectacular wind down to the Gulf plain - cuts off to the north. Few tourists take this route, since the Pan-American Highway continues to the far more enticing destination of San Cristóbal. The road climbs at first through mountains wreathed in cloud to BOCHIL , some 60km from Tuxtla, where some buses pull over for a rest stop. It's a pleasant small town, a centre for the Tzotzil Maya , and a good base from which to explore the surrounding hills and villages. Most people still wear the traditional dress, or traje : the women in white huipiles with red embroidery, pink ribbons in their hair and dark blue skirts, and maybe a few men in the white smock and trousers rolled up to the knee. You'll be stared at, usually covertly, and, as always, should be very wary of taking photographs , not merely out of simple courtesy but because you may be taken for a government agent - these towns protested very strongly at the election result in August 1994, and in December 1994 were briefly occupied by the Zapatistas, who destroyed public records. There are a couple of simple places to stay , including the Posada San Pedro (US$5-10), whose basic rooms are set out around a courtyard on 1 Pte Nte, a block from the plaza: head for Banamex at the top of the plaza and turn right. Bochil has a frequent second-class bus service to Tuxtla, with Autotransportes Tuxtla-Bochil. Five kilometres beyond Bochil, at Puerto Cate , a side road to the right leads down to San Andrés Larráinzar , a Tzotzil village 23km along the road. Trucks ply the route, and from San Andrés you can reach San Juan Chamula , 18km away, which is well connected by combis to San Cristóbal. This makes for an interesting route to or from San Cristóbal - but you'll need to check the current political situation and set off fairly early.

Combis run regularly up the minor road to SIMOJOVEL , 40km away at the head of a spectacular valley, the source of most of the amber you'll find sold in local markets. Should you want a place to stay , the Casa de Huéspedes Simojovel (US$5-10) on Independencia, a block south of the plaza, has basic rooms round a flower-filled courtyard.