Comitán (officially Comitán de Dominguez) is a city of 142,000 people (2010) in Chiapas in Mexico. Comitán is a popular tourist destination, mostly for Mexican nationals, though some foreign visitors can also be seen. The town has colonial architecture, narrow avenues, and clean streets.
Understand
[edit]
It is a thriving municipality characterized by its variety of architectural styles ranging from Baroque to Neoclassical and Neo-Gothic. Its main cultural influences are derived from the Conquest, but it also has a rich history and Mayan traditions, such as the remains of Tenam Puente and Junchavín.
Comitán has been designated a Pueblo Magico by the Mexican government, in recognition of its historical and cultural value as a tourist destination.
Climate
[edit]The climate is cool most of the year, and can get quite chilly from October to March. Afternoons are very warm with fairly high humidity almost throughout the year, whilst mornings are cool in the dry season and mild during the rainy season. The dry season gradually warms up between March and May, before the rainy season begins during May and continues with higher humidity until October, following which the coolest and most pleasant weather of the year prevails.
Get in
[edit]
- Colectivo from San Cristóbal de las Casas (2 hours) or Tuxtla Gutierrez (3 hours).
- From Tapachula, first class buses (M$270) go from the OCC terminal in Tapachula to Comitán. You can also take an urban (45 min, M$19) from the terminal de combis to Huixtla. Upon arrival to Huixtla, there are two small terminals on the right. There you can catch a colectivo or urban to Motozintla (90 min, M$40.) From there take another colectivo or go first class with Cristobal Colón (from the OCC terminal) or La Angostura (4 hr, M$130, leaving from the street corner two blocks west from the OCC terminal; tickets can be bought half a block north from there).
- 1 OCC Terminal (Cristobal Colon), MEX-190. Clean bus terminal.
Get around
[edit]
See
[edit]Comitán is a pleasant somewhat colonial style city that can be a nice alternative to San Cristóbal de las Casas. It has a large section of the city in colonial style, several nice plazas with beautiful churches.
- 1 Archaeological Museum of Comitán (Museo Arqueológico de Comitán), 1st. Calle Sur Oriente s / n Barrio Centro. Tu-Sa 09:00-18:00. It houses a collection on pre-Hispanic culture in Los Altos de Chiapas, the heyday of Mayan culture, city-state trade routes, hunter-gatherer groups, archaeological heyday areas. It also has temporary exhibitions.
- 2 Casa Museo Doctor Belisario Domínguez, Av. Central Sur Dr. B. Dominguez, Centro. M-F 10:00-18:45, Sa Su 10:00-13:45. Historical house museum that includes a 19th-century pharmacy. M$20.
- 3 Museo de Arte Hermila Dominguez. M-F 09:00-18:00, Sa Su 09:00-14:00. Contemporary art museum featuring a permanent collection of works by Rufino Tamayo, Francisco Toledo, José Luis Cuevas, Gunther Gerszo, José Guadalupe Posada and more. Also temporary exhibits and exhibits of local subjects and artists.
It is a good launching point for a number of sites in Chiapas:
- Lagunas de Montebello
- El Chiflón which is a series of waterfalls (this costs a few pesos to enter)
- Tenam Puente, an archeological Mayan place
Do
[edit]The most important of the municipality are:
- San Sebastián (January 20)
- the Virgen de la Candelaria (February 2)
- San Caralampio (February 11 to 20) — it generates great fervor and devotion among the inhabitants; legend has it that thanks to his intervention, the martyr Caralampio saved the town of Comitán de Domínguez from the ravages of a smallpox and cholera epidemic that occurred in the mid-19th century.
- Santo Domingo and the Expoferia (August 4)
- the Virgen del Rosario (October 7)
- the celebration of San José (March 19)
- San Judas Tadeo (October 28)
- Virgin of Guadalupe (December 12) — a great pilgrimage is celebrated year after year in the Guadalupe neighborhood that is the largest in Central America because many pilgrims travel from many cities in the state, the country and the main cities of Central America. It is accompanied by a fair and celebrations.
Buy
[edit]- 1 Mercado Primero de Mayo, Central Ote. 14, Centro. Daily 07:00 - 17:00. The town's main marketplace is the place to buy farm-fresh produce, dairy, meat and a bewildering array of homemade regional dishes at affordable prices.
- Central de Abasto 28 de Agosto, 11A. Calle Sur Pte 258, La Pileta, 30029 Comitán de Domínguez, Chis (most colectivos pass by here). 6AM-6PM. You can find the hustle and bustle of authentic life in Comitan through its main market. You can observe the rich and colorful variety of fresh fruit, vegetables, different types of cheeses and meats. You will also see people from nearby municipals come to buy and trade here so it is not surprising to see different indigenous people and hear different languages spoken.
Eat
[edit]The typical dishes of the municipality are: pieshete sandwiches, chicharrón and pellizcadas (seat toast), chilevinagre, picles, roasted bone, butifarras (a kind of boiled regional chorizo), without leaving aside the chorizo and longaniza (different from others localities), compound bread, tzisim, rotten pot, chalupas, chanfaina, cooked, tongue in pebre, chinculuaj (tortilla made with refried bean filling and chile de arbol), patzitos de manjar (sweet tamales filled with pudding based on starch corn and cinnamon), pitaúl, banana leaf tamales, patzitos de momón (tamales made from holy leaf, known in Chiapas as momón plant), patzitos de chipilín (chipilín is a plant), ball tamale, pork ribs in green sauce, cooked baked.
Some of the typical sweets that can be found in different parts of the municipality are: the chimbo, the Africans, the peanut sweet, the coyol sweet, the mueganos, the marshmallow, the breaker, the trompadas, the salvadillo with temperante (it is prepared condensing boiled sugar with cinnamon, cloves and red vegetable color).
Breads: Marquesote, Salvadillo.
Budget
[edit]All these are in the city center:
Mid-range
[edit]Splurge
[edit]- 7 Pizzeria "Due Torri", Central Nte. No. 30.
Drink
[edit]The comiteco (a brandy that used to be made from agave), mistela (a fruit liqueur), jocoatol, atole de granillo, temperante, pozol de peanut.
Sleep
[edit]- 1 Posada Las Flores, 1a av pte nte 17 (One block west then north of parque central), ☏ +52 963 632 33 34. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. A quiet hotel a few minutes from the central park. Rooms surround a courtyard. Hot water and clean rooms named after flowers. Singles, double and triples available with or without private bathrooms at varying prices. Single M$100, double M$130 (w/o bath).
- 2 Casa Caelum, 4ta Avenida Poniente 1505, ☏ +52 963 632 2883. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Nice, clean, comfortable room with TV and air conditioning. No smoking facility. Private parking available. On-site restaurant. M$1700.
- 3 Hotel Eugenio, Primera Calle Nte. Pte. 22, Guadalupe, ☏ +52 963 101 3788. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Well-maintained colonial style hotel with a garden, courtyard-style arrangement, large, comfortable rooms. Off-street parking available. M$1600.
Connect
[edit]Go next
[edit]OCC and several private mini-bus operations service surrounding locales, including the Mexican-Guatemalan border and San Cristóbal de las Casas. Their terminals are located on Boulevard Belisario Dominguez Sur. To get to the jungle lake of Laguna Miramar from Comitan it is necessary to take a colectivo to the small town of Las Margaritas from where there is a second colectivo to San Quintin (6 hours). It is a 1-km walk from San Quintin to the village of Emiliano Zapata from where you can hire a guide to take you through the Lacondon jungle to Laguna Miramar.
Tzimol - It is a small municipal only 20 minutes away easily accessible by car or public transport. It is famous for its rolling sugarcane hills and valleys and the beautiful San Vicente river that runs at the edge of town (same river that goes to Chiflón). There are local traditional industries here like artesanal pox factories, palm weaving and a delicious raw cane sugar called "panela" which you can visit through a local tour. The town is also the departure point for a canyoning adventure tour to Las 3 Tzimoleras waterfalls.
Cenote Chucumaltik - A beautiful open cenote about 30 minutes from Comitan. You can see the beautiful geological formations underwater and there is also an underwater altar dedicated to the Virgen de los Dolores. Its clear and crystalline waters maintain a pleasant 24 °C all year round, great for swimming, snorkeling, standup paddleboarding or just relaxing in its blue waters. It’s a popular spot for scuba diving as well. You can combine a visit to the cenote with the Uninajab natural pools and Chiflón waterfalls. The easiest way to get here is by car. The exit is along Highway 226, clearly marked to Uninajab. By public transport, take a colectivo from Comitán or Tzimol and head towards Chiflón. Ask the driver to leave you at the exit to Uninajab. From here, you’ll need to walk 3 km to the entrance of the cenote and another 1 km to the cenote. There are colectivos from Comitán that can bring you directly to the entrance but they only leave 3 times a day (07:00, 12:00 and 16:00 and return to Comitán at 08:00, 13:00 and 17:00. Entrance M$30.
Uninajab and Laguna Koila — The main attraction of this area is its series of natural pools. It’s a perfect place to spend a hot day and it’s a popular swimming spot for many people from Comitán. There are palapas, restaurants, bathrooms and shops. Further ahead you can find Laguna Koila, a nice place to go swimming. See Cenote Chucumaltik for directions. Entrance M$25
Cascada El Chiflón — a series of beautiful, radiant blue waterfalls about 40 minutes away from Comitán. It is possible to hike almost to the very top, and the views are quite spectacular. It will likely be a lot hotter than in Comitán due to the lower elevation. It is also possible to swim in a few of the pool areas in the lower/middle sections, but not under any of the actual waterfalls. Colectivos (M$50 per person, updated April 2023) leave fairly regularly from Transporte La Angostura bus station on the main highway through the city. Entrance to the waterfalls is M$80 (updated April 2023), and food/drinks can be purchased at several locations on the path up the waterfall.
Lagunas de Montebello — lovely blue lakes located inside a national park. Entrance to the park costs M$30. Many people take a tour from San Cristobal de las Casas, but colectivos (M$70-80) depart somewhat regularly from Transporte Montebello in Comitán, a few blocks from Parque Central Bonito Juarez. The colectivos go straight down the highway through the park, so you can get off near any of the lakes. You can swim in the lakes (updated April 2023)