Pueblos Magicos Fall Tour 2025

Diary 4

I escaped the fearsome heat of Tabasco on the Gulf Coast with a vengeance. A six hour bus

trip took me up into the mountains to San Cristóbal de las Casas which has the archetypical

year round springlike climate, rarely varying from a high of 72F (22C) or a low of 50F (10C). A

good sweater, some rain gear, and an extra blanket will keep you in fine form in the evening

hours. Daytime is short sleeve shirt weather unless it is raining. And it rarely rains before late

afternoon.

San Cristóbal continues my tradition of enquiry. What and why is a Pueblo Mágico? Official

sources are of little help. Is the minimum population 5,000 or 20,000 (though some like

Mexcaltitán do not even come close to the minimum). And in the words of the Mexican

Government Tourist Department, the program involves the development and preservation of

“small, rural towns.” Et tu San Cristóbal?

First of all I will stipulate that the city is most definitely a magical place. This was my third

lifetime visit, and at last no longer burdening myself with a starving hippie image, I was able to

enjoy what the place has to offer without pinching pesos. Still …. Here is the problem. San

Cristóbal is a city, albeit one of the smaller ones, with a population of about 200K. No small,

rural town here. It is the most populous of the Pueblos Magicos. And second, this is not a

destination in any need of assistance or promotion. For decades it has been a staple of the

young, backpacking set. They have now been heartily joined by older, conventional visitors.

Unlike the great majority of the Msgic Toens, there is no shortage of gringos here. Okay enough.

Let’s just enjoy the place.

There is a lot to enjoy. The town abounds with beautiful churches, shaded plazas, green

mountain vistas, and traditional architecture, along with a flourishing art scene. The entire city

center is a joy to take in and navigate, much of it free of serious four-wheel traffic. The food

scene is a delight with tons of tony restaurants. Competition keeps the prices down, sometimes

way down. Besides stylish traditional cuisine, you can find Thai, Chinese, Ramen, Italian, and

vegetarian/vegan. You will never starve in San Cristóbal. Besides eating the food, the best thing

to do is “eat the air,” strolling around enjoying the town’s beauty. There is also a healthy

shopping scene in the street markets full of local arts and crafts and a number of small

museums. I will just say that my three days here just sped by.

I stayed at the Parador Margarita, a short walk from the action. This was as upscale, as it

gets for me, an older architectural gem built around a beautiful garden. Each morning I was

greeted by the music of songbirds. The room was spacious and very comfortable with traditional

art and furniture. The Wi-Fi was reliable, the water pressure strong with spray as scalding as I

can usually only dream of. And it didn’t run out like some places that start out promising only to

disappoint a couple of minutes in. The large two section bathroom had a sign about saving the

planet. Hang the towels to keep, throw them on the floor to replace. I hung mine of course,

including a real bathmat, but they changed them anyway. The rack rate for this palace was

about $80 single or double, but my genius status at booking.com had me in at $38. Yes, I am

getting old and spoiled. I rarely recommend hotels, but the Margarita is a special exception.

However walking around town there were plenty of attractive lodgings to be seen all over (I also

saw a private room at a rundown hostel with bathroom for $180 a month with kitchen privileges.

So there is still a world for starving hippies).

Now for food. A couple of blocks from my digs I found the attractive Los Columpios (Swing

set). My breakfast was eggs with whatever you wanted, beans, chilaquiles, fried plantain,

tortillas, and coffee (75 pesos). Add orange juice (98 pesos). That is four or five dollars for you

bean counters. I had shrimp in my eggs twice and bacon once, but there were plenty of other

choices.

Not to be outdone was the beautifully-decorated Restaurante Maya Pakal. I was waited on by

a distinguished and old school waiter. I eat at off hours, generally 5PM, so we were able to talk

and become friends the first evening. So to dinner. French onion soup, better than I got in

Montmartre, Paris, red snapper filet, Veracruz style with rice and salad, a glass of red wine, and

a slice of chocolate cake. This came to all of 145 pesos, just under $8 before tip. Spoiler alert,

my lousy bowl of onion soup in Paris ran about the same. See what I mean about competition

and low prices?

If I ever stop spending the torrid Mazatlán summers in the Pacific Northwest, San Cristóbal de

las Casas springs to mind as a potential alternative.

San Juan Chamula

This quaint little indigenous town only five miles from San Cristóbal is an obligatory visit for

the average conventional tourist. In the two hours I spent walking around, I saw a number of

groups being led from their comfortable bus, quickly passing through the street market to the

church, Chamula’s main attraction. This jaunt runs about 500 pesos a head. For some reason, I

arrived in a crowded colectivo van which set me back about ten pesos. It took a bit longer than

the bus though both had to cope with the same rotten traffic. But the colectivo weaved around

on its own circuitous route.

I’m not trying to pinch pesos (I see you nodding sagely), I’m just allergic to tours. The church

was insanely pretty (see photos) but the local market and population was far more interesting.

Guess how much time the bus people had to wander freely about? Not nearly enough, not that

many wish to leave the security blanket of their group. These old indigenous women can be

plenty ornery. Just kidding.

The market scene covered the main street coming in, then spread out to the entire town

square. There was the usual quantity of modern plasticized shlock mixed in with local art,

clothing, and all kinds of exotic fruits, vegetables, and food stuffs. Most interesting was the

traditional dress of the women. I am not great at describing this sort of thing, but there are

photos. But I can talk about the thick skirts fashioned from black sheep wool. They are striking if

not to my taste. They also must be hell to wash.

I thoroughly enjoyed my sojourn of people and merchandise watching. Oh yes, the church is

insanely pretty. And it did cost me about a buck for transportation plus local beverage and

munchies.