5 Best Sights in Chiapas and Tabasco, Mexico

Tuxtla’s Central Park (more plaza than park) shades in comparison to this one-block expanse a few blocks west of the city, especially as a gathering place. The lush vegetation makes the park a pleasant spot to catch a break from the daytime heat of Tuxtla but it really comes to life in the evenings from 6 to 9 when—per its name—live marimba music can be heard in the park’s gazebo. Grab a spot on one of the green wrought-iron park benches to watch the performance. Plenty of couples get up to dance, a few in chiapaneco folk costume; feel free to join in if the music so moves you. Children play. Vendors sell food and balloons. The spectacle makes for one of those quintessential tropical Mexican evenings, and it's all free.

The gleaming white St. Mark's Cathedral sits across from the sprawling Parque Central, which is really more plaza than park. The modern structure shows some colonial touches. The tower has 48 bells that ring every hour as mechanical figures resembling the apostles appear halfway up the tower. Inside, you’ll hear services in Tzotzil and Tzeltal, Chiapas’s primary indigenous languages, as well as Spanish. The Vatican approved official mass translations for both languages in 2013, and Catholic churches throughout Chiapas use them. The building is open daily 8–2 and 4:30–8. A sound-and-light show is presented Thursday through Sunday evenings at 8, with brightly colored Chiapas-themed images projected onto the cathedral's white facade.

Northeast of Parque Central, the leafy Parque Madero is a wide swath of greenery in a city mostly covered in concrete. It's home to the Museo Regional de Chiapas. One room focusing on archaeology has an excellent display of pre-Columbian pottery, while the other on history takes over after the arrival of the Spanish. A standout is an octagonal painting of the Virgin Mary dating from the 17th century. All the captions are in Spanish.

All the animals at the Zoológico Regional Miguel Álvarez del Toro, known to locals as ZooMAT, are native to Chiapas. You'll find more than 100 species in settings designed to resemble their natural habitats, including jaguars, black panthers, tapirs, iguanas, and boa constrictors. Rather than sit in cages, spider monkeys swing from trees. Birders will be excited to see the rare resplendent quetzal at close quarters. Many animals from this zoo have been sent to other zoos around the world. The lush, forested setting and slightly higher elevation on the edge of town translate into slightly cooler temperatures than in the center city. Plan on a $5 taxi ride to get here from downtown Tuxtla.