Chiapas Mundo Maya
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CHIAPAS MUNDO MAYA ENGLISH VERSION The Palace, Palenque. PHOTO: MIGUEL AUTREY / RAÍCES Cañón del Sumidero Palenque Impressive natural formation, In this important Mayan city not whose walls reach up to 800 m only you can admire a vast and com- height. At the bottom of the can- plex set of buildings of extraordi- yon flows the mighty Grijalva Riv- nary quality, but enjoy the jungle at- ÍCES RA er plentiful in water amidst lush / mosphere in which the site is A N A vegetation. If you travel by boat located. The city reached its boom you can see waterfalls, caves and a in the Late Classic Period (700 to 900 huge diversity of species of birds AD), when most of the buildings and reptiles. that are now were built. At that time it was a major center that spread its PHOTO: GUILLERMO ALD GUILLERMO PHOTO: influence through the war and mar- The Pila, Chiapa de Corzo. riage alliances of its ruling group Misol Ha with the ones of other locations Tuxtla Gutiérrez Chiapa de Corzo along the Usumacinta River. The site ÍCES RA In this place, surrounded by rainfor- / A is amazing for its beautiful sculptur- N ests and mahogany trees, chicoza- A In this city, capital of the State from Founded on the site that priory occu- al art, its rich heritage of hieroglyph- potes and water sticks, is a waterfall 1892, you can find either modern pied a very ancient pre-hispanic set- ic inscriptions and buildings such as of 30 m height. buildings or jungle spaces like the tlement, this colonial city was the first the Temple of the Inscriptions, the Zoo of Miguel Alvarez del Toro and capital of the State. Its attractions in- Palace and the ones of the Grupo San Juan Chamula the Botanical Garden. It also has clude the archaeological site, the for- de las Cruces (Group of Crosses). PHOTO: GUILLERMO ALD GUILLERMO PHOTO: several temples and historical mon- mer convent of Santo Domingo, be- Tzotzil girl, Zinacantán. It is a small Tzotzil population. Its in- uments and has the Regional Muse- lieved to be one of the first of its class habitants preserved their original lan- um of Anthropology and History in Chiapas, and the Fuente de la guage and their ancient social system, with notable cultural collections of Reina or the Pila, both built in the whose hierarchy is reflected in the the State. second half of the 16th century. clothing. In February they celebrate the Chamula or Kin taji-multic carni- San Cristóbal de las Casas ÍCES val, which combines pre-hispanic el- RA ements with the Catholic religion. Founded in 1528 by Diego de Mazar- LKWIJK / HA iegos, it is one of the most beautiful C Zinacantán S colonial cities of Mexico for its cob- B bled streets, its red tiled houses, its re- It is a Tzotzil village which during ligious buildings, squares and civic BO PHOTO: pre-hispanic times was an impor- buildings. These buildings, largely San Juan Chamula. tant trade center. Following this between the 16th and 19th centuries, tradition, today it is a major suppli- are a true showcase of the artistic Toniná yrinth of more than 70 m tall. er and exporter of flowers, in addi- styles of the colony as the plater- Around the great Acropolis, and tion to being recognized by its ÍCES esque, baroque and neoclassical. It is a great Mayan City of the Clas- throughout the valley, the areas for bright red textiles. Like other RA / A N Among its main buildings are the Ca- sic Period (200-900 AD). The sacred rooms and cultivation were distrib- Tzotzil and Tzeltal people of the A thedral, completed in 1533 and re- space of Toniná is a huge artificial uted. Toniná is also remarkable for Highlands of Chiapas as Tenejapa, modeled several times afterwards mountain built on a small natural its large number of stone and stuc- Ocosingo, Oxchuc, and Amate- and the former Convent and Tem- mountain range, which was modi- co engraved monuments, which re- nango del Valle, the inhabitants of ple of Santo Domingo, an architec- fied to create seven huge platforms lates the history of the place, illus- Zinacantán preserve their usages and customs inherited from their PHOTO: GUILLERMO ALD GUILLERMO PHOTO: tural jewel of the 16th century. The on which were built temples and trating the complex cosmogony of San Cristóbal de las Casas. city also has several museums. palaces, forming a monumental lab- the Mayans. ancestors. Cañón del Sumidero. PHOTO: GUILLERMO ALDANA / RAÍCES CHIAPAS To Villahermosa TABASCO Catazajá La Libertad VERACRUZ Pueblo Juárez Salto de Agua Santo Domingo de Palenque Pichucalco Palenque Solosuchiapa Ostuacán Amatán Misol Ha Agua Clara Chapultenango Tila Mezcalapa FranciscoRiver León Sabanilla Presa Tapilula Tumbalá MEXICO Ocotepec Agua Azul Usumacinta River Nezahualcóyotl Rayón Huitiupan Nuevo Canán Malpaso Tapalapa Yajalón Metzabok Pantepec Simojovel Chilón Tecpatán Coapilla 195 Copainalá El Bosque 199 Pantelhó Najá 307 Bochil Ocosingo Chicoasén Chalchihuitán Yaxchilán El Ocote Osumacinta Toniná Nuevo Palestina San Javier Frontera Corozal Larráinzar Chenalhó Chamomún San Fernando Mitontic Las Golondrinas Ocuilapa Oxchuc Cañón del Sumidero Tenejapa (Chen Ulich) Ocozocoautla Zinacantán Altamirano Lacanjá Bonampak Huixtán Cintalapa Lacandon Forest OAXACA TUXTLA GUTIÉRREZ San Cristóbal de las Casas Lacan-Tun Chiapa de Corzo San Juan Chamula Benemérito de las Américas 190 Amatenango del Valle Nuevo Montes Azules Suchiapa Teopisca Galilea 190 Ing. González De León Aguacatenango To Juchitán Saltillo San Quintín Zamora-Pico de Oro Ignacio Zaragoza Benito Juárez Las Nubes Lindavista Las Guacamayas Venustiano Carranza Soyatitán Las Margaritas La Independencia Presa La CopanaguastlaAngostura Tzimol Comitán de Domínguez Lagunas de Boca Chajul Arriaga Montebello Nuevo Matzán El Chiflón La Trinitaria 307 La Sepultura Chinkultic Tenam Ixcán La Gloria Tziscao Tonalá CHIAPAS Puente Puerto Arista GUATEMALA Pijijiapan El Triunfo Pico el Loro-Paxtal tourist attractions PLACE OF INTEREST CAPITAL CITY HERITAGE LIGHTHOUSE POPULATION OF HUMANITY Pacific Ocean Huixtla Unión Juárez MUSEUM ARCHEOLOGICAL ZONE MAGICAL TOWN MONUMENT NATURAL AREA CIVIL ARCHITECTURE NATIVE PEOPLE La Encrucijada Tuxtla Chico BEACH Tapachula RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE HANDICRAFTS MILITARY ARCHITECTURE GASTRONOMY DIVIDED HIGHWAY SQUARE FESTIVITY TOLL MOTORWAY Puerto Madero ESTATE ROUTE SECONDARY HIGHWAY Ciudad Tecun Uman Note: These symbols refer to ROAD places described in this guide. Yaxchilán. Comitán de Domínguez. PHOTO: MICHAEL CALDERWOOD / RAÍCES PHOTO: MARÍA DE LOURDES ALONSO eral scenes that narrate a single sto- ry that includes a battle, its after- math and the celebration of the victory. Montes Azules Huge natural reserve which covers 331 200 has. It is the largest tropi- cal rainforest of Mexico. Yaxchilán Bonampak Although it occupies less than 1% of the national territory, it is This site combines splendid monu- Although all the cities of the Mayan the home of about 20% of the ments with a real jungle, excep- area surely possessed murals, none country’s biological diversity with tionally well preserved and formed have been preserved as in Bonam- around 500 species of vascular by an enormous variety of plants pak, a settlement of the Classic Pe- plants and many types of vegeta- and animal species. Yaxchilán is riod (200-900 AD). The murals, tion, as well as a wide variety of ani- one of the great Mayan cities of the found in Building 1, represent sev- mal species. Comitán de Domínguez Tapachula Figueroa Theater and the Caiman Late Classic (700 – 900 AD), note- Zoo, among other attractions. worthy for its large and well-pre- It is one of the most attractive cities It is the principal city of the Mexican served stone sculpture, consisting of Chiapas. Its name in Mayan is Southern border. It was the arrival The Coastline of stelae and lintels. They show var- Balún Canán –“nine stars or guard- point of European and Asian immi- ious events and activities, such as ians”- and in Nahuatl Comitán grants and has architectural monu- Along the Pacific coast of Chiapas are ritual self-sacrifice ceremonies car- ÍCES means “place of potters”. This village ments with details of art deco, wood, several villages as Puerto Madero RA ÍCES ried out by the rulers of the place / A keeps one important architectural colors and pilasters. It is recommend- and Puerto Arista, and beaches sur- RA N and by their families. The core of the A heritage. Among the most interest- ed to visit the Palacio Municipal or rounded by exuberant vegetation. settlement is known as the Gran ing buildings are the Temple of San- city hall, the Parrish of San Agustín, Likewise, in this zone are located var- Plaza and is comprised of two im- / LDERWOOD to Domingo, built in 1678 and the the Hidalgo Park, the Archeological ious ranches that produce the fa- portant sets: the great Acropolis CA EL EL Temple of San Sebastian of 1525. Museum of Soconusco, the mous coffee of Chiapas. and the small Acropolis, built - as HA IC In the main square we can find the M other groups of the site - using and ALD GUILLERMO PHOTO: Tzotzil textile, San Andrés Larráinzar. Theater of the City Junchavín and transforming the topography of PHOTO: the typical wooden Comitecan the place. Building 1, Bonampak. Handicrafts gates. The significant presence of indigenous population gives the regional handi- El Triunfo crafts, elaborated in all sorts of mate- OURDES ALONSO OURDES rials, a particular character of authenti- L It is a biosphere reserve with an area DE city. Textiles represent one of the best A of 119 000 has enclaved in the Sie- RÍ expressions, because not only are they MA made by abiding to traditional techni- rra Madre (Spanish for “mother ques, but are imbued with a worldview mountain range”). Due to its foggy PHOTO: that goes back to pre-hispanic times.