Days 112 And 113: Cañon De Sumidero

Although Tuxtla Gutierrez is not a particularly pretty city, it has the advantage of being ideally situated for exploring the panoramic lookouts atop the Cañon de Sumidero.  The Sumidero National Park has a lovely road which winds up 1000 meters and dead-ends about 22 km from Tuxtla Gutierrez on the edge of the canyon.  We ditched our gear for the day and tackled this route.

Once you pass this entrance and pay the 27 peso fee, the road becomes blissfully quiet with just a few slow moving vehicles schlepping tourists on day trips.

One of five viewpoints.

There are also several mountain bike trails marked along the road!

Chiapas is full of butterflies.  Like bazillions of butterflies by the side of every road.  So many that you fear you may kill a few when you zoom down hills.  That many.

Atop the viewing tower at the last viewpoint... aloha bicis!

Just a hop and a skip away from Tuxtla Gutierrez and on the road to San Cristobal de las Casas is the pueblo mágico Chiapa de Corzo, where boats await the hoards of tourists wishing to explore the Cañon de Sumidero from the river.  While I often skip traditionally "touristy" activities, I found the boat ride to be well worth it.

Obligatory canyon photo.

Ooh crocodile.  We also saw some resident pelicans and spider monkeys.

It ain't all pretty in Mexico.  Trash is a huge problem here and most people don't think twice before chucking garbage out their car windows.  During the rainy season, the rains wash all the trash from the roads into the streams which dump into the canyon's river.  One woman in our boat basically told the boat driver all the trash was his fault and he should tell his bosses that they need to clean the river.  Um... right.  The government has a daily battle against the trash.

Despite the trash, parts of this river and canyon are stunning.

The "Christmas Tree" waterfall.

View of the waterfall from the bottom.

The end of the road... err... river... just before the dam.

Chiapa de Corzo is a pleasant enough place to stay the night and has some cool nooks and crannies in town to explore.  And if you look closely enough, you can avoid the tourist trap restaurants, some of which charge up to US$20 for a meal, and discover family run comedores.

Some random parrots in town.

Some random ruins in town.