Long-time readers of our blog know by now that we aren’t really fans of paid tours. Most times we can figure out how to see spectacular places for pennies on the dollar, without any time constraints.
But sometimes, a paid tour makes perfect sense.
Some worthy locations are too difficult to access without external help. And sometimes, you can string a series of difficult-to-access locations together into an efficient, cost-effective sightseeing adventure.
Much to our delight, we just finished a tour to Sumidero Canyon National Park that checked all of these boxes. And it was for a price that didn’t bust our slow-travel budget.
Let us show you what saw and did! Perhaps this will inspire you to do the same if you happen to be in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico.
Why Visit Sumidero Canyon National Park?
Simply put, it is pretty spectacular.
Found only a few kilometers from Tuxtla Gutiérrez (the capital of the Mexican state of Chiapas), Sumidero Canyon National Park was formed through a series of geological faults and shifting tectonic plates. Spanning 21,789 hectares, the park has significant historic and ecological value for the area.
The most notable feature of the park is the canyon, which forms imposing cliff faces that rise above Rio Grijalva. Their walls, which reach more than 1000 meters in height, are one of the most impressive landscapes in Mexico. At the northern end of the park is the Chicoasén Hydroelectric Dam, one of Mexico’s largest hydro-engineering projects. The dam’s presence forms a 32-kilometer-long reservoir that receives water flowing northward through the canyon.
The fauna in Sumidero Canyon National Park is extensive. You can find a variety of rare species, including jaguars, ocelots, howler monkeys, river otters, toucans, and scarlet macaws. In addition, the light and heat on the cliff walls, as well as abundant runoff points, cause microclimates for the vegetation and fauna at different elevations of the canyon. In truth, the park is considered an extension of the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve since it works as an ecological bridge between the jungles of Chiapas and Guatemala.
If you are the kind of person who likes to get out into nature and witness some amazing geology and biology, this is the place for you. Epic views and the potential for animal encounters are huge draws for us. So when we found out about Sumideor Canyon National Park and what we might see there, we were motivated to see it!
The problem is that the park is challenging to access from San Cristobal de las Casas without external help, and the same goes for exploring it internally.
That’s where the tour comes in.
Choosing Our Tour
There are lots of tour options for Sumidero Canyon National Park in San Cristobal de las Casas. But after shopping around a bit and getting feedback from some of our friends here in town, we decided to book a tour through Nucu Travel.
Our tour consisted of:
Van pick up/drop off at our Airbnb
Park entrance fee
Visiting 2 canyon lookout points (= miradores), accessible from the southern park entrance
Boat river tour of the canyon, starting at the Chicoasén hydroelectric dam
Visiting Chiapa de Corzo, a pueblo magico where the boats drop you off
The pick-up time was 9 am and the scheduled drop-off time was 6:30 pm, so it was an all-day affair.
And the $500 MEX ($29.14 USD) per person price we were quoted seemed to be good value, especially since other tour companies we checked out quoted $50 MEX more.
So how did our day go?
We had a great time and do not regret paying for the tour at all!
Here is a blow-by-blow account of what we did.
Phase 1: Depart San Cristobal de las Casas
Before we left we made sure to pack hats, sunglasses, water, sunscreen, and a snack for the day. The temperatures where we were going were around 95 degrees Fahrenheit, so we made sure to prepare!
Our van showed up at our Airbnb just before 9 am as scheduled, and we took our seats.
We were a bit taken aback by how nice our tour van was.
Our sweet ride.
It looked new, had nice suspension, had form-fitting seats surpassing those found on airlines, was air-conditioned, and had big windows to allow you to take in the views.
We were one of the first tourists picked up by the van, so we had no trouble getting seats with good window views.
We probably spent the next 20 minutes wandering the narrow one-way streets in town picking up additional passengers (13 in total) before heading off to Tuxtla Gutiérrez, and the nearby Sumidero Canyon National Park miradores.
Phase 2: Sumidero Canyon National Park Miradores
The drive to the Tuxtla Gutiérrez side of Sumidero Canyon National Park was smooth, taking about 90 minutes to get there.
Our van approached the park entrance, where a park representative affixed a ticket wristband on each passenger. We were then off on a drive up the mountainside to the miradores!
There were two miradores, and we probably spent about 45 minutes total checking out the views of the canyon and river.
Beautiful view, but the smoke pollution haze was noticeable.
From the second mirador. The haze was a little better.
They were pretty impressive, although the haze in our pictures was due to dry-season smoke from burnt farm fields settling into the canyon.
It was around lunchtime by the time we reached the second mirador, so we grabbed a couple of tamales at the nearby cafe to tide over our stomachs.
Phase 3: Drive to the Chicoasén Hydroelectric Dam Boat Launch
Once we finished up our time at the miradores, it was time to drive to the boat launch area by the Chicoasén Hydroelectric Dam.
It took us just over 1 hour to reach the north end of Sumidero Canyon National Park.
After we arrived, our driver coordinated with the boat launch attendants to get our boat, which probably held 30 people total.
Waiting for our boat to pull up.
The plan was for the boat to tour the canyon for a couple of hours and drop us off at the pueblo magico Chiapa de Corzo at around 3 pm. There we could explore the town on our own until 5 pm, when we would all meet at the van and head back to San Cristobal de las Casas.
While we waited for the boat, everyone prepared for the extreme sun and heat as instructed. You needed sun protection for this part of the tour, as the boats do not have a canopy!
Ready to go!
Hats and sunscreen could be purchased here, but the markup was pretty extreme as you might expect.
Phase 4: Boat Tour of Sumidero Canyon
Once our boat was ready, everyone boarded with cameras ready to go. We then spent the next 2.5 hours exploring Sumidero Canyon, as well as a couple of spots on the reservoir. Our boat tour was entirely in Spanish (as was true the entire day), but we generally understood what was being said.
Here are some of our favorite photos!
Closeup of the dam.
An obligatory stop at the floating bar before we entered the canyon. 🙂
Into the canyon!
Approaching the “Christmas Tree” formation on the canyon wall.
There be spider monkeys!
Mother and baby.
We swear they were mugging for the camera!
We also had crocodile sightings.
And herons seemed to like the area too.
At the far end of the canyon.
Toward the end, cacti were growing on the low canyon walls.
The canyon views were really impressive and we were surprised by some of the close-up animal sightings we had.
A great experience!
Phase 5: Explore Chiapa de Corzo
We pulled into the Chiapa de Corzo boat launch area at around 3:30 pm, a little later than planned.
At the Chiapa de Corzo dock area to be let off. But not before we were shaken down for gratuities!
But that was fine since the canyon was the star attraction of the tour! We didn’t mind an extra 30 minutes on the boat.
We then spent the next 90 minutes exploring the town and taking in the sights.
View from the dock area.
Lots of little tiendas to explore, if you want souvenirs.
Templo Santo Somingo de Guzman was a pretty church.
On the inside too!
Our meeting place was in the central park.
It was a cute, but touristy, place. A nice way to kill an hour or two.
But it was clear that the main purpose of the town was to receive tour boat traffic tourists to feed the local economy.
And the heat was sweltering! So by 5 pm, we were more than ready to meet our driver at the prearranged meeting point in the central park and take advantage of the van air conditioning.
However, there was a slight delay in our departure as a HUGE parade/festival event unexpectedly sprung up in the park at the exact time we were supposed to meet. And the park quickly became mobbed with people! Needless to say, this made it difficult for a few of the passengers to find our van, but our driver hit the streets to look for them.
Thankfully he was successful!
So after only a 30-minute delay, every passenger was accounted for. And 90 minutes after that, we were all back in San Cristobal de las Casas safe and sound.
Closing Thoughts
Although tours are usually not our thing, this one was well worth the money! We spent the entire day driving and boating through Sumidero Canyon National Park, which we wouldn’t have easily been able to do on our own.
For an all-day affair with multiple stops along the way, we thought that ~$30 USD per person was good value.
A special shout-out goes to our van driver who was kind and very professional. He didn’t speak English but made sure that passengers who didn’t speak Spanish understood what was going on at each stage of the journey. In addition, our van transportation was comfortable and reliable, and the transition between tour phases went off without a hitch.
Highly recommended.
Until next time…
Thanks for reading!
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One thought on “Our Tour of Sumidero Canyon National Park (Mexico)”
Beautiful!!