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Cultural Immersion: San Juan Chamula & Zinacatan
4.0
21 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.
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:
24 hours
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,…
- 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
- Spanish/ English Guide
- Pickup and drop-off from designated meeting points
- Local taxes
- Transport by air-conditioned minivan
- Spanish/ English Guide
- Pickup and drop-off from designated meeting points
- Local taxes
- Transport by air-conditioned minivan
What's Not Included
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- 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.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.0
(21 Ratings)
5 stars
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1 star
Cardigan_and_blondie
Apr 4, 2025
Excellent Value and Well Organised - Excellent value. As a couple, we could t even get a taxi there and back for the cost of the tour ($300mxn or £11.30gbp). Rodrigo provided a lot of information and was very knowledgeable. San Juan Bautista is an incredible place and the background information provided made it come alive.
The trip to the cloth-making/embroidery collective was too lengthy, but the tortilla tastings and the sampling of the 5 types of local spirit added to the experience.
You can pay anything up to $70USD for this trip so, at 15% of that cost, it is well worth it. We booked at 08:10 for a departure at 09:15 the same day.
The only real disadvantage was that, in their shop, they didn’t take credit cards. However, the trip was so cheap we didn’t need it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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
Sjoerd_v
Feb 13, 2025
Nice but long. - It’s nice to visit the local communities. The guide also gives some information and he can answer all the questions. But everything takes a lot of time. The first stop is about how they make clothes but the time they give to shop is a lot. So if you like quick and practical tours, this isn’t the one. Otherwise, good to go.
Review provided by Viator
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
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
