Located 430 mi/690 km southeast of Mexico City, Tuxtla is where most Chiapas visitors fly into. It has an excellent regional museum (with both pre-Columbian and colonial exhibits) and a good zoo (with animals found in the state—jaguars, ocelots and spider monkeys).
Some 15 mi/24 km northeast of town is El Sumidero, a wild canyon that can be seen from a boat on the Grijalva River (it departs from a dock 7 mi/11 km east of town). Nearby ruins, located near the Guatemala border, include Bonampak, famous for its intimate, colored murals, and Yaxchilan, the city of the Maya Jaguar kings. Both are accessible by charter plane or a long, rough road, but it's best to sign up for a guided tour.
Tuxtla is also the starting point for trips to San Cristobal de las Casas and the Piedras Negras ruins of Guatemala (there are also several ruins, as well as a city, by this name in Mexico).
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