San Cristobal to Chamula, the Indigenous village

How to get from San Cristobal de las Casas to San Juan Chamula and all about my experience in this indigenous village.

While staying in the town of San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico, I had heard of a nearby indigenous village that was very popular to visit. There’s a local market every Sunday, and the town is full of culture. Most notable to visit is the church in the city center, where you can see evidence of an otherwise forgotten religion that mixes Catholicism and Mayan beliefs.

Getting there

The cheapest option is hands down the ‘colectivo‘. These local vans leave from Calle Honduras and cost $18 pesos (around 1 dollar) one way. There’s not really a set schedule because the drivers just wait for the vans to fill up. The colectivo will leave you in the city centre, and from here you can explore a bit before catching the colectivo back.

Normally I will always take the colectivo route, but I found a really cheap tour that took you there and back on horseback. I haven’t done horseback riding since I was a kid, so I figured why not? It was definitely one of my coolest experiences and only cost 250 pesos (about 12 dollars).

The Market

The market is vibrant and busy, with mostly food items and other just useful items for the house. It seems that the entire town of Chamula gathers here to shop and to socialize. You will see many locals bartering in the stalls, wearing the traditional style of dress: black wooly fur jackets and skirts. This thick apparel is both worn and sold all over the market. I can only imagine how sweltering it must be under that thing.

The Church

The church is the other main attraction of Chamula. Located inside a courtyard just to the side of the market, stands this church where locals come in for prayer and other ceremonies. The cost to enter is 30 pesos, which you can pay to a guard on the left side (when facing the church).

You’re not allowed to take photos inside, so I can only explain what I saw. The religion celebrated inside is a unique mix of Catholicism and Indigenous religion. You walk in and will see saints and typical Catholic decor, but locals spend their time on the floor, which is covered in hay and grass. Each family sits in front of hundreds of small candles, and burn them as they pray. Once done, they will pour different substances over the candles, usually water and pox, a local liquor that is distilled in the Chiapas region. I also saw many locals with Coca-Colas, Sprites, and Fantas.

I was a bit worried on entering the church, as I had heard there would be chicken sacrifices. I did see a chicken being sacrificed, although I’m glad it wasn’t as gory as I was expecting.

One family had put two chickens in a bag, and after several prayers, they decided to do a special blessing on the little girl in their family. The grandpa recited a prayer, while the girl’s father took a chicken and circled it over her head. Once the prayer was complete, the chicken no longer has any use, so the father broke its neck before tossing it back in the bag with the live chicken.

There has been a bit of a debate over the purpose of this. Some say the chicken is used to take illness out of the person given the blessing. Others say it is a way for the chicken to absorb the person’s sins. Either way, it shocked me to know and see that these kind of practices are still in place today.

If you’re thinking of going, please bear this in mind.

Mirador

If you’re hungry and wanting a nice stop before heading back to San Cristobal, there’s a restaurant at the top of the hill, called the Mirador or, viewpoint.

Walk to the left side of the church and start going up the hill. You’ll enter a building that looks like a regular shop, but the workers will urge you to head upstairs. Head all the way up to the terrace to get a great view of the whole city of Chamula.