Chiapas

Sumidero Canyon is located directly between San Cristobal de las Casas and Tuxtla Gutierrez in the state of Chiapas. The Canyon was formed by the river Grijalva and is 35 kilometers long.

Two shiny new Ford transporter vans stop along the side of a white cement road and nearly 30 passengers pile out and reformulate into the small groups everyone came with. Dani and I stand off to the side and observe with some shock the other tourists in the group. A group of Brazilians (both female and male) in tank-tops, short-shorts and movie-star sunglasses and several girls in short-ish skirts. Before you start thinking Dani and I to be very prude (standing there in our long pants, closed toe shoes and jackets), we should explain that our tour was taking place in traditional Mayan villages outside of San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico. The agency had mentioned that we should wear appropriate clothes out of respect to the villagers – advice apparently very few of us chose to heed.

After 11 wonderful weeks, we Globetrottergirls are finally moving on from Mexico. On the bus on our way to Belize, we were already reminiscing about our time here, and came up with 33 things we love about Mexico…

Mexico was only the second country of our trip, but we (unexpectedly) fell in love with the country and extended our stay there again and again – in the end we spent 88 days there, and traveled more than 3600 kilometers (2370 miles) through the country.

Much like the Grand Canyon though obviously smaller in scale, Sumidero can be seen from five viewpoints along the roads at the top if you rent a car. However, also like Grand Canyon, a much better way of experiencing the canyon is from the river that created it.

Tucked deep in the jungle in Chiapas, southern Mexico, the Mayan ruins of Palenque are set in one of the most spectacular surroundings in Mexico.

This weekly series focuses on budget accommodation gems we discover while on the road. This week: Le Gite del Sol, San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico.