Day Trips
Sima de las Cotorras from San Cristóbal de las Casas: Day Trip Guide
Sima de las Cotorras only makes sense from San Cristóbal if the long day is worth it; a typical 06:00 departure is still on the road when parrots usually leave around 06:30.
Published
Choose Sima de las Cotorras from San Cristóbal only if the long road day is worth the site itself. A typical 06:00 departure is still on the road when the parrots usually leave around 06:30, so dawn birding is better from the site or nearby Ocozocoautla.
Quick answer
Typical organized option from San Cristóbal: full-day tour
Current tour example: departure around 06:00, roughly 12 hours
Official park hours: daily 06:00–16:30
Current general entrance: MXN 80 per person; adventure activities cost extra
Bird timing: the official site says parrots usually leave around 06:30; November–December is normally a migration period
Best for dawn bird activity: stay onsite/closer to Ocozocoautla or arrange a much earlier private departure
What is Sima de las Cotorras?
Sima de las Cotorras is a large limestone sinkhole near Ocozocoautla, within the Selva El Ocote region. CONANP’s 2025 regional ecotourism catalog lists activities including rappelling, rock climbing and guided walks, with cabins and camping at the community ecotourism center. That catalog is useful for the site’s facilities and activity types, but it is not used here as proof of current 2026 fees or opening hours.
The site is especially known for parrots moving in and out of the sinkhole around dawn and dusk. Its official site says the birds usually leave around 06:30, are generally away during November and December, and return around the third week of January through roughly the last week of October. These are natural seasonal patterns, not a sighting guarantee.
From San Cristóbal
A current San Cristóbal operator lists a 06:00 departure for a roughly 12-hour tour combining Sima de las Cotorras with Cañón de la Venta / El Aguacero.
That is practical if your priority is visiting the site as part of a full adventure day. It is not a dawn-birding itinerary: if the parrots leave around 06:30, a 06:00 departure from San Cristóbal is still on the road. If the early bird movement is your priority, staying at the site/closer to Ocozocoautla or arranging a substantially earlier private departure makes more sense.
The same CONANP 2025 catalog describes the road approach from the Tuxtla/Ocozocoautla side, with the final access via Piedra Parada and an 18 km road section to the ecotourism center.