Town 32 km southeast of San Cristóbal de Las Casas
A Tzeltal village on the road to Comitán where women make pottery by hand, including its well-known clay jaguars.
Amatenango del Valle is a Tzeltal Maya town in a broad valley about 35 kilometers southeast of San Cristóbal, on the highway to Comitán, and its name is known across Mexico for one thing: pottery made by women. Here clay work is a female tradition passed from mother to daughter, with techniques that reach back to before the Spanish conquest.
The potters shape the local pale clay by hand, without a wheel, and paint the pieces with mineral colors. They make cooking pots, water jars and flowerpots, but the pieces visitors look for are the animals, above all the jaguars, along with doves and other figures, from small ornaments to large sculptures. Traditionally the pieces are fired in the open with pine wood, a sight you may still catch in a yard, though more families now use kilns.
The pottery is sold along the highway and from family workshops in the town, where you can often watch the women at work. It is an easy stop on the drive between San Cristóbal and Comitán.
What to see and do
Visit a family workshop and watch the women shape clay by hand.
Buy a clay jaguar, the town's signature piece, or a dove or pot.
Look for open-air firings with pine wood in the yards.
Browse the pottery stands along the highway at the entrance to town.
Getting there
Amatenango is about 45 minutes from San Cristóbal by car on Highway 190 toward Comitán, past Teopisca. Buses and colectivos between San Cristóbal and Comitán pass through or drop you at the town. It also makes a good stop on the way to Comitán or the Montebello Lakes.
32 km southeast of San Cristóbal de Las Casas
Directions from San Cristóbal de Las Casas on Google Maps
Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.
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Weather cool
Amatenango del Valle shares the climate of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, 32 km away. The best months to visit are Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec.
See the month-by-month climate of San Cristóbal de Las Casas
Make San Cristóbal de Las Casas your base
Amatenango del Valle is an easy trip from San Cristóbal de Las Casas, a Pueblo Mágico with places to stay, food, and more to see.
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Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.