Town 17 km northeast of San Cristóbal de Las Casas
A Tzeltal mountain town with a lively Thursday market and some of the finest weaving in the highlands.
Tenejapa is a Tzeltal Maya town in a green mountain valley about 30 kilometers northeast of San Cristóbal, and it is the place to go if you want a highland market that feels untouched by tourism. Nearly everyone speaks Tzeltal, and many people still wear the town's traditional dress.
Thursday is the main market day, when families come down from the surrounding hamlets to sell vegetables, fruit, chickens and household goods around the square. There is a smaller market on Sundays.
Tenejapa's textiles are among the finest in Chiapas, woven on the back-strap loom with dense brocade patterns. A women's weaving cooperative near the church sells work by local weavers, and you may see cloth hanging for sale in doorways along the market street. Visitors are still few, so be discreet and ask before taking photos.
What to see and do
Go on a Thursday for the main market around the square.
Visit the women's weaving cooperative near the church to see and buy brocade textiles.
Walk the market street and look for cloth for sale in the doorways.
Stop at the Romerillo cemetery, with its tall crosses, on the road from San Cristóbal.
Getting there
Tenejapa is about 45 minutes to an hour from San Cristóbal by car on a winding mountain road that passes Romerillo. Colectivos leave from near San Cristóbal's municipal market, and some agencies run Thursday tours that combine Tenejapa with Romerillo.
17 km northeast 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
Tenejapa shares the climate of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, 17 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
Tenejapa is an easy trip from San Cristóbal de Las Casas, a Pueblo Mágico with places to stay, food, and more to see.
More around San Cristóbal de Las Casas
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Reserva Ecológica Huitepec
· Nature reserve · 5 km away
A cloud-forest reserve on the slopes of Huitepec volcano, just outside town, with a steep trail through oak and pine. -
El Arcotete
· Nature reserve · 6 km away
An ecotourism park where the Fogótico River runs under a huge natural limestone arch; trails, zip lines and picnic areas. -
Romerillo
· Town · 8 km away
A Tzotzil hamlet whose hilltop cemetery is crowned by a row of giant turquoise crosses, on the road to Tenejapa. -
San Juan Chamula
· Town · 8 km away
A Tzotzil Maya town whose candlelit church, carpeted in pine needles, holds rituals found nowhere else. No photos inside. -
Grutas de Rancho Nuevo
· Cave · 9 km away
A cave in the pine forest southeast of town with a lit walkway past stalactites, plus horses and trails outside. -
Zinacantán
· Town · 9 km away
A Tzotzil town of flower greenhouses and back-strap weavers, famous for clothing embroidered with bright flowers. -
Amatenango del Valle
· Town · 32 km away
A Tzeltal village on the road to Comitán where women make pottery by hand, including its well-known clay jaguars.
Location from OpenStreetMap. Written by Puebloteca.