What Are Los Altos de Chiapas?

Los Altos de Chiapas is the highland region around San Cristóbal de las Casas and many nearby Indigenous communities.

It is not another name for San Cristóbal itself.

Quick answer

San Cristóbal is one of the main urban centers of Los Altos, a mountainous part of central Chiapas associated especially with Tsotsil and Tseltal communities.

Official Indigenous-government sources describe the region as rugged highland terrain with mountains, ravines and hills.

Which places are in Los Altos?

San Cristóbal, Chamula and Zinacantán are all commonly described within the region. Other Tsotsil and Tseltal municipalities are also included depending on the source and purpose of the regional definition.

For travelers, the useful point is not to treat Los Altos as one attraction. It is a wider region containing distinct towns, communities and landscapes.

Why does the term matter in San Cristóbal?

You will see Los Altos de Chiapas in the names of institutions, cultural sites, Indigenous-language descriptions, government documents and local products.

The term helps explain why San Cristóbal is connected culturally and economically with surrounding communities rather than existing as an isolated colonial city.

Are the boundaries fixed?

Not completely. Government, demographic and cultural sources can use somewhat different regional boundaries.

SanCrisGo therefore does not publish one supposedly definitive municipality count unless a specific administrative classification is being discussed.

Related guides

• Tsotsil vs Tseltal: What Is the Difference?
• San Juan Chamula & Zinacantán from San Cristóbal
• Why San Cristóbal Is a Pueblo Mágico

Sources

• INPI — Tsotsil ethnography
• INPI — Tseltal ethnography
• Secretaría de Cultura — San Juan Chamula and the Altos region

Last verified: August 24, 2026.