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.

Geography

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 planning, treat Los Altos as a region rather than one attraction. Chamula, Zinacantán and other stops should be evaluated separately for location, access and time.

San Cristóbal and regional identity

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.

A place to understand the regional context

If you want a museum-based introduction rather than only a geographic definition, Museo de los Altos de Chiapas inside the former Santo Domingo convent is the most direct local fit. INAH describes its permanent material around regional archaeology, conquest and Indigenous resistance, evangelization, the founding of Ciudad Real and the development of San Cristóbal.

The museum does not define the modern administrative boundaries of “Los Altos,” but it helps explain the historical region around the city and why San Cristóbal functions as a regional center.

Which municipalities are in Los Altos de Chiapas?

For one specific official definition, the Chiapas state CEIEG describes Región V Altos Tsotsil Tseltal as a socioeconomic region made up of 17 municipalities, with San Cristóbal de las Casas as the regional seat:

Aldama, Amatenango del Valle, Chalchihuitán, Chamula, Chanal, Chenalhó, Huixtán, Larráinzar, Mitontic, Oxchuc, Pantelhó, San Cristóbal de las Casas, San Juan Cancuc, Santiago el Pinar, Tenejapa, Teopisca and Zinacantán.