The verdant state of Chiapas features cool mountain highlands, coffee plantations and lush rainforest. Visit the highland colonial city of San Cristobal de las Casas and traditional Tzotzil Mayan communities, where the people proudly wear distinctive traditional outfits with elaborate decorations and beribboned hats.
Explore the mysterious Mayan ruins of Palenque, reached by road from San Cristobal or Villahermosa, and marvel at the Sumidero river canyon or the beautiful waterfalls of Agua Azul and Misol-Ha.
Deep in the Lacandon jungle on the river border with Guatemala lie the remote ruins of Yaxchilan and Bonampak, resplendent with vivid-coloured murals, ornate carvings and superbly preserved stelae, and home to an abundance of tropical birds.