San Cristóbal de las Casas, located 2,300 meters high, was founded in 1528 and is for many people the nicest colonial city of Mexico: the air is clean, the streets are tidy, and life elapses in a peaceful and quiet way. The name of this city honors Friar Bartolomé de las Casas in memory of his defense of the natives against the colonists' abuses.

The tourism is mostly European lured by the simplicity of the city and the native traditions rooting here. San Cristóbal is not a city for massive tourism; the hotels are simple and very typical, but it has numberless cafés and bars to have a good time.

The neuralgic point of the city is '21 de Mayo' Square, where Indians from the sierra gather to sell their art: embroidering, colorful clothes and multiple crafts, along with hippies attracted by the city environment, selling jewelry made with amber. Next to the square is the cathedral, whose interior shows baroque style with gold plates. North from downtown, you can find the most beautiful church of the city, the Temple of Santo Domingo with a pink façade and parts of the interior decoration made of gold.

Do not leave a visit of the municipal market with its abundance of spices and typical products of the zone. Some cooperatives represent the different Indian groups of the area in San Cristobal, exposing very beautiful crafts and other typical objects, in particular articles of Sna Jolobil and J'pas Jolovitelik, which are very remarkable.