Just 75km from Tuxtla Gutiérrez, San Cristóbal De Las Casas or Jovel, as many locals call it is almost 1700m higher, at 2100m. Even in August, the evenings are chilly, and the tile-roofed houses huddle together in the bowl of a small valley. San Cristóbal’s distinctive colonial charm, fascinating indigenous villages nearby and, of course, Zapatista cachet have made it a major stop on the travel circuit. But the city of 200,000 has held up to tourism well, with pedestrianized central streets and a low-key social scene in a cosmopolitan mélange of small bars and restaurants. It’s also a great base for studying at one of the numerous Spanish-language schools. San Cristóbal was designed as a Spanish stronghold against an often-hostile indigenous population. It took the Spaniards, led by conquistador Diego de Mazariegos, four years to pacify the area enough to establish a town here in 1528. The so-called Villareal de Chiapa de los Españoles was more widely known as Villaviciosa for the oppressive exploitation exercised by its colonists. In 1544, Bartolomé de las Casas was appointed bishop, and he promptly took an energetic stance in defence of the native population, playing a similar role to that of Bishop Vasco de Quiroga in Pátzcuaro. His name added to that of the patron saint of the town is still held in something close to reverence by the local population. Throughout the colonial era, San Cristóbal was the capital of Chiapas (at that time part of Guatemala), but lost this status in 1892 as a result of its continued reluctance to accept the union with Mexico.

Plaza 31 de Marzo, usually referred to simply as el parque, is at the heart of the city, encircled by a cluster of attractive colonial mansions and the sixteenth-century cathedral, which boasts an ornate, pale orange facade, impressive artesanado ceiling and grand retablo. The finest of the mansions is La Casa de las Sirenas, now the Hotel Santa Clara, which is said to have been built by the conquistador Andrés de la Tovilla in the mid-sixteenth century and has a very elaborate doorway around the corner on Insurgentes. In the middle of the plaza there’s a bandstand and a café. Cutting through the centre is the Andador Eclesiástico, a pedestrianized thoroughfare that connects the Templo del Carmen, 300m south of the plaza (on Hidalgo), to Santo Domingo, 400m to the north (on 20 de Noviembre). It’s lined with touristy shops, slick restaurants and ice-cream parlours. The Templo del Carmen stands opposite the Arco del Carmen, which spans the road, and once served as the gateway to the city. Built in 1677, it shows a slight Mudéjar (Moorish) influence. The church is not particularly inspiring architecturally, but on the other side of the arch, the Centro Cultural El Carmen (daily 9am–5pm) contains a couple of galleries of contemporary painting and craftwork around gardens filled with traditional Maya plants. Considering the amount of artistic activity in and around San Cristóbal, though partly explained by a serious fire in 1993 that destroyed much of the city’s artwork, including several eighteenth-century religious paintings.

Five blocks north of the plaza, the Templo de Santo Domingo Guzmán is the most intrinsically interesting of San Cristóbal’s churches. Constructed between 1547 and 1551, the church’s lovely pinkish Baroque stucco facade combines Oaxacan and Guatemalan styles. Inside, it’s gilded everywhere, with a wonderfully ornate pulpit if you see it in the evening, by the light of candles, you might well believe it’s solid gold. To the left of the main entrance (beyond Sna Jolobil), the Museo Centro Cultural de los Altos (Tues–Sun 10am–2pm & 4–6pm), tells the story of the city, with vivid portrayals of how the Indians fared under colonial rule. San Cristóbal’s daily market, the Mercado José Castillo Tielemans, lies beyond Santo Domingo along General Utrilla. It’s an absorbing place, largely because its chaos and the crowds in its souk-like lanes contrasts with the rather manicured centre of town, where the indigenous people in traditional dress can seem a bit like part of the scenic background. Here, commerce is the important thing, and every villager in town for the day participates fully herbs and fried ants, selecting the best live chickens, picking through piles of dried fish. The market is far bigger than it first appears, with sections for housewares, clothing and more in a network of narrow covered alleys alongside the back of the main structure.

Behind Santo Domingo, Chiapa de Corzo leads east towards the Casa Na-Bolom (daily 10am–5pm; tours in English) at Vicente Guerrero 33, also housing one of the best hotels in San Cristóbal and a library of local anthropology (daily 10am–4pm). This was the home of Danish explorer and anthropologist Frans Blom, who died in 1963, and his Swiss wife, Gertrude, an anthropologist and photographer who died in 1993. Today it’s renowned as a centre for the study of the region’s indigenous cultures, particularly of the isolated Lacandón Maya. Buy tickets across the road from the main complex, in the gift shop in the Jardín de Jaguar, which also contains a few exhibits and information boards about the various ethnic groups in Chiapas. In one corner is a replica of a traditional highlands house, made with wooden walls covered with mud and a roof thatched with grass. Back across the street, the main museum occupies rooms set around a series of beautiful courtyards and a guided tour can be illuminating, if you’re able to time your visit for one. The museum exhibits discoveries from the site of Moxviquil and explains the history and culture of the Chiapas highlands and the Lacandón forest. There’s also a collection of items belonging to Frans Blom, including the detailed maps for which he is known. After the tour, you can watch a film (mainly in English) about the life of the Bloms and specific ecological, cultural and political aspects of life in Chiapas. The whole centre is overseen by the Asociación Cultural Na-Bolom, which arranges some small-scale volunteer cultural and agricultural projects.

About 500m north from the centre on General Utrilla, the Museo de la Medicina Maya (Mon–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–5pm) provides an absorbing journey through the world of Maya medicine, complete with medicinal plants growing in the gardens and a herbal pharmacy on site to dispense remedies. You’ll learn more than you ever thought to ask about Maya midwifery, and it’s a great place to visit before heading out to the church at San Juan Chamula, as it explains a lot of the rituals you might see performed there. On either side of town, two churches perch on hilltop sites: Templo de Guadalupe to the east and Templo de San Cristóbal to the west. Neither offers a great deal architecturally, but the climbs are worth it for the views San Cristóbal, especially, is at the top of a dauntingly long and steep flight of steps. Best not to climb up to either of these relatively isolated spots after dark. If you’re heading from San Cristóbal to the Yucatán, the best route takes you 203km to Palenque (5hr), via Ocosingo (88km), along Hwy-186 and then Hwy-199. It’s an unrelenting winding road, but an impressive and beautiful journey, through spectacular valleys, lush with greenery, and tiny villages, where women’s colourful clothing is different in each one. It’s worth making a pit-stop at Ocosingo, the starting point for excursions to the Toniná ruins or light-aircraft trips to mesmerizing Laguna Miramar, deep in the pristine forests of the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve. Beyond Ocosingo the road passes the pretty waterfalls at Agua Azul, though in practice it’s easier to visit these from Palenque.

San Cristóbal has no lack of places to eat, with a huge variety of economical restaurants in the streets immediately east of the plaza, especially on Madero. Where the city really scores, however, is in lively places that cater to a disparate, somewhat bohemian crowd. Enticing menus feature plenty of vegetarian options. A battery of sweets-sellers regularly set up under the portales on the west side of the plaza, and a much smaller, more locally used plaza north on Belisario Domínguez often has snack carts and stands selling clove-spiked ponche, a warm pineapple drink that’s great on a chilly night. The major bar strips are on Real de Guadalupe and the pedestrianized street north of the plaza, but there are many smaller bar/cafés on quieter blocks throughout the centre, many with a mellow candlelit atmosphere. On a practical note, this is a rare town in Mexico where there’s good wine to drink, as well as beer. Many of the city’s cafés and bars host live music in the evenings, usually salsa or Latin, and only rarely impose a cover charge. Madre Tierra also has a bar and live music upstairs.

A major draw for visitors to San Cristóbal is the indigenous crafts tradition, with every village in the area specializing in a distinctive style of weaving, embroidery and more. Many of the salespeople in San Cristóbal are from nearby villages in fact, many are so-called expulsados, evangelical Protestants who have been expelled from their communities for converting. To eke out an existence they have turned to craftmaking, with tourists as their main source of income. As a result, the city is a textile collector’s dream, with vibrant woven blankets and intricately embroidered clothing. If you see something you like (here or in any village), you should buy it, as there’s no guarantee you’ll see it again in the next town. The plaza in front of Santo Domingo church, filled with craft stalls, is often the best place to buy souvenirs. Part of the former convento next door has been converted into a craft cooperative (Sna Jolobil) that sells textiles and other village products (Mon–Sat 9am–2pm & 4–6pm). The Mercado de Artesanías y Dulces on Insurgentes is another worthwhile place to look for local crafts. Other craft shops include the Tienda de los Artesanos de Chiapas, at the corner of Hidalgo and Niños Héroes (Tues–Sun 9am–2pm & 5–8pm), a state-sponsored venture where the weaving and embroidery are as high-quality as you’ll find in any museum. Artesandia, 28 de Agosto 6, sells women’s clothing with traditional embroidery but tailored in modern styles pieces are beautifully done. Taller Leñateros, Flavio Paniagua 54, is one of the more fascinating. Here you can see the process of making paper by hand from such diverse items as banana leaves, cornstalks and bamboo, coloured with natural dyes. The finished sheets become beautiful cards and notebooks. Delicate, decorative wrought iron is on display at Metalistería Hermosillo, Jardinera 12. Amber is another special product of this region, sold mostly in the form of jewellery. If you’re serious about buying, first visit the Museo del Ámbar, in the Convento de la Merced off Belisario Domínguez (Tues–Sun 10am–2pm & 4–7.30pm). The English-speaking staff can explain the various types, as well as sell you some exquisite pieces. Real amber is exceptionally light, gives a resin-like odour when rubbed and is rarely sold with insects trapped inside it. Tierra de Ámbar, Real de Guadalupe 16, is another trustworthy store, though you should be okay in most shops. In the same vein, if you’re interested in jade, visit the small Museo del Jade, 16 de Septiembre 16 (Mon–Sat noon–8pm, Sun noon–6pm), for beautiful displays of ancient jewellery and new pieces for purchase.