How to plan the ultimate adventure through Southern Mexico

This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).

A region of small-hold farms and understated towns, Mexico’s southern states remain truest to the country’s Indigenous roots. There are settlements here that have endured for more than 5,000 years. Those who visit the vast valleys of Oaxaca and the jungles of Chiapas today can glimpse authentic insights into the day-to-day lives of their first peoples.

Both Oaxaca and Chiapas were distinct centres of civilisation long before the Aztec Empire arose in central Mexico around 1300 CE. Each sustained its own grand, hidden city — Oaxaca’s mountaintop Monte Albán flourished from 500 BCE to 850 CE, while Chiapas’s forest-shrouded Palenque was at its height in the sixth and seventh centuries CE.

The influence of each kingdom is palpable in the streets of both states’ main cities today. Buskers in the zocalo, or central plaza, of Oaxaca de Juárez (Oaxaca City for short) sing in Zapotec, a language descended from one spoken by Monte Albán’s founders, while Maya women running market stalls in Chiapas’s cultural capital San Cristobal de las Casas chat in a tongue similar to that carved on the walls of Palenque. It’s typical to see locals trekking up mountain roads wearing voluminous, woven skirts, while behind char-scented screens of smoke, food vendors work from recipes perfected centuries ago.

Beyond the rich culture of the cities and the remnants of the states’ regal histories are unspoilt natural landscapes, ripe for exploring. The immense jungles of southern Chiapas, soundtracked by crashing waterfalls and hooting monkeys, are home to the elusive jaguar. While in Oaxaca you’ll find vertiginous hiking trails in the central mountains, pastel-hued pools at the top of a petrified waterfall and sea turtles congregating on sweeping white beaches. On the Guatemalan border is Mexico’s own under-the-radar Lake District, Lagunas de Montebello National Park.

While travel in the south can still be a raw experience, the massive investments the nation is making in its tourism infrastructure means this part of Mexico is easier than it’s ever been to explore. Introduced at the end of 2023, an 11-hour train now runs straight from Chiapas’s ‘lost city’ of Palenque to the resort town of Cancún in Quintana Roo, while new highways connect sleepy shoreside towns to major cities and their airports. With the country slowly opening its hidden heartlands to the outside world, this is the moment to see the south before its inevitable transformation.

Itinerary 1: Oaxaca

Start point: Oaxaca City
End point: Lagunas de Chacahua
Distance travelled: 321 miles
Average length: Seven days

Little changed in the past 50 years, Oaxaca’s sleepy valleys and misty mountains remain resolutely agricultural, the corn and agave fields punctuated mostly by pueblos (small towns) with cobbled streets flanked by low-rise buildings. Each lane invariably contains a cantina serving smoky mezcal and blasting out corridos, Mexico’s traditional ballads, and stalls selling local produce displayed with care on streetside tarpaulin.

This route starts out in the state capital, Oaxaca City, with time to explore within the mottled yellow walls and stare at its meticulously carved church façades. One of Mexico’s most beloved destinations, it is fiercely opposed to outside influence or intervention. Local brands and produce dominate, the cuisine is entirely unique to the state, and the language you’ll hear people speaking in the street, Zapotec, exists almost nowhere else.

Next, use the local bus network or a pre-booked tour to reach the relics of the hidden cities hand-hewn by the forebears of Oaxaca’s locals, in the state’s mighty mountains. Stop in on small towns sitting slopeside in fertile valleys before a last hurrah on the Pacific coastline, a sun-soaked stretch of golden sands peppered with laid-back beach communities.

1. Oaxaca city
The Mexican city of your mind’s eye is probably Oaxaca’s state capital, famed for its unique cuisine, Indigenous culture and raucous parades. Almost all its highlights are within walking distance — go cafe-hopping in the mural-adorned Jatatlaco quarter, meet mezcal-sipping cowboys in the cantinas and stop for street food. Finish by catching the 20-minute bus to the Zapotec ruins of Monte Albán, spectacularly situated on a levelled-off hilltop overlooking the city.

2. San Agustín Etla
Oaxaca’s small towns epitomise the state’s essential character, and this one, sitting in the leafy foothills of the Sierra Madre mountains, has become a creative haven. Its key attraction is the Centro de las Artes de San Agustín (CaSa), a former textile factory turned innovative arts centre that hosts eclectic exhibitions by painters and sculptors from across the state.

3. Mitla
A sacred Zapotec and Mixtec burial ground used until the 16th century for ritual sacrifice, the Zona Arqueológica de Mitla is filled with ruins engraved in geometrical patterns. Explore its storied relics before catching a colectivo (shared taxi) 45 minutes to Hierve el Agua, a rare example of a calcified waterfall. Take in sweeping views over the valleys while soaking in its mineral-stained pools.

4. San José del Pacifico
The mountains that tower over this small and friendly town are so tall that even the clouds don’t reach the peaks — but some of the higher vistas can be easily accessed without a guide. Follow the well-marked 20-minute trail to the lookout, or embark on the more challenging, 10-mile out-and-back San José to San Mateo Río Hondo trail, hiking through tall forest and over vertiginous bridges. Overnight at Cabañas Rancho Viejo.

5. Mazunte
Populated by surfers and sun-seekers, this laid-back town attracts a more hippyish crowd than its famous neighbour Puerto Escondido. Mazunte is Oaxaca’s only coastal pueblo mágico (‘magical town’, government-recognised for its beauty), and its golden sands are fringed by palm groves. Watch the shoreline to see turtle hatchlings scurrying to the sea, and the horizon to spot migratory humpback whales.

6. Lagunas de Chacahua
Wildlife thrives in this tranquil enclave, a national park known for its secluded lagoons and off-grid beaches. It’s straightforward to arrange a tour of the mangroves, either from nearby Puerto Escondido or one of the shorefront hotels in the tiny town of Chacahua. Spy egrets, iguanas and crocodiles by day, or set out after dark to swim among bright blue bioluminescent plankton.

Itinerary 2: Chiapas

Start point: San Cristóbal de las Casas
End point: Lacandón Rainforest
Distance travelled: 475 miles
Average length: 10 days

The dense jungles of southern Mexico grow thickest in Chiapas, one of the heartlands of the mighty Maya civilisation. Home to centuries-old Mesoamerican cities as well as traditional villages where Mayan languages are still spoken and pre-Catholic sacrificial rites continue to be practised, Chiapas is fiercely proud of its cultural heritage. To this day, many in the state do not recognise Mexico’s authority, declaring themselves citizens of the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas.

Conserved by their Indigenous caretakers since the earliest days of civilisation in the Americas, the state’s natural highlights are as diverse as they are dramatic: sweltering jungles and soaring canyon walls join mist-cloaked pine forests, pooling lagoons and secluded waterfalls.

San Cristóbal de las Casas is the gateway to the state, but those who venture no further miss out. This route takes in the ‘lost city’ of Palenque as well as small towns little changed in centuries and a national park largely overlooked by international visitors, taking travellers deeper into Chiapas’s hidden worlds.

1. San Cristóbal de las Casas
A centre of both Indigenous artisanal crafts and colourful colonial-style architecture, lively ‘San Cris’ is the most visited place in Chiapas for good reason, and most tours of the state depart from the city. Browse amber gem stones and handwoven garments at the many markets lining its narrow, sloping streets before heading to its ochre-coloured cathedral — especially atmospheric at sunset.

2. Sumidero Canyon
When Spanish conquistadors finally overran Chiapas, the last standing resistance fighters are believed to have flung themselves into the Sumidero Canyon rather than accept defeat. The story is especially resonant when you first clap eyes on its soaring cliffs, which descend dramatically to the murky Grijalva River, home to numerous snapping crocodiles. Boat tours cruise through the canyon, culminating at the charming town of Chiapa de Corzo.

3. San Juan Chamula
In this Indigenous Maya village, Spanish is a foreign tongue, and native traditions and spirituality thrive. Pick up fresh fruit, roasted corn or a saintly statue in the market, before heading to the so-called ‘chicken church’. If you do visit, be respectful of the pre-Columbian rituals (absolutely no photographs, except of its whitewashed exterior), which may include offerings — a two-litre bottle of Coca-Cola, or the sacrifice of live fowl.

4. Lagunas de Montebello
Chiapas’s first national park, the Lagunas de Montebello features a mighty 59 pools, separated by thin strips of forest. Take a tour along loose dirt trails to get close to their pellucid waters and reach scenic viewpoints. Guided trips depart from the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas and stop at El Chiflón, a series of towering waterfalls cascading into a pristine, tree-shaded river that has many prime spots for wild swimming.

5. Palenque
Ensnared by the tendrils of the Lacandón Rainforest after it was abandoned around 800 CE, the city of Palenque still hides many secrets. Explore the archaeological park, whose highlights include the Palace complex and Temple of the Inscriptions. Halls once walked by Maya aristocracy are still adorned with stucco figures, while the city’s rise and fall is described in ornate hieroglyphs carved into limestone walls.

6. Lacandón rainforest
It’s not only rare animals that prowl Chiapas’s rainforest floor — adventurous travellers take to the same trails, with local guides easing their path to crashing waterfalls concealed by the jungle. Travel over the shadowy waters and through the low-growing mangroves of the Lacanjá River, listening out for the calls of howler monkeys.