Tuxtla Gutiérrez

Sumidero boats, ZooMAT and a marimba night over 48 hours

The Sumidero Canyon boat trip is the first thing to do from Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Take a colectivo east to Chiapa de Corzo and the embarcadero on the Grijalva, where boats leave as they fill for a two-hour run past walls close to a kilometre high, crocodiles on sandbanks, spider monkeys and the mossy Christmas Tree waterfall.

Sit near the front for the views and bring a hat.

Day one, afternoon. Eat in Chiapa de Corzo, then look at La Pila, the brick fountain on the main square built in a Moorish style in the 16th century, and the riverside church of Santo Domingo. Return to Tuxtla for a rest out of the heat.

Day one, evening. Walk to the Parque de la Marimba as the light fades. The bands play under the bandstand and couples of every age dance; grab a bench and a snack and watch.

Day two, morning. Hire a taxi or join a tour up the rim road to the Sumidero viewpoints, which give the top-down view of the gorge you only glimpsed from the boat. Go early, when the light is soft and the haze low.

Day two, afternoon. Spend two or three hours at ZooMAT on the southern hills, where jaguars, tapirs, spider monkeys and scarlet macaws from Chiapas live in forested enclosures, and visit the crocodile museum before it closes in the late afternoon. Finish with a stroll round the Parque Central and the cathedral of San Marcos.

Cochito, tamales de chipilín and a glass of pozol

Tuxtla Gutiérrez claims cochito horneado as its own: pork marinated in a dark adobo of dried chillies, spices and vinegar, roasted slowly and served with its juices, often in tortas or tacos at lunch counters around the centre. It is a weekend favourite, and many places sell out early, so go before mid-afternoon.

Tamales are everywhere in Chiapas, and the local variety is huge. Try tamal de chipilín, flavoured with the leaves of a wild legume, and tamal de bola with pork and prunes. Mole, the southern sauce of chillies and chocolate, is usually ordered as chicken and rice smothered in it, sometimes with tortillas underneath.

Drinks matter as much as food in this heat. Pozol, made from ground maize and cacao and drunk cold from a gourd or plastic cup, is not the pozole stew of central Mexico; it is filling, slightly gritty and sold at stalls all over the city. Tascalate blends toasted maize, cacao and achiote into a sweet reddish drink.

In Chiapa de Corzo, look for butifarra, a spiced pork sausage, and the sugary chimbos on the main square. At the start of the rainy season, around May and June, flying leafcutter ants called nucús emerge, and some Tuxtla families still toast and eat them with lime and salt.

The Mercado de los Ancianos and the stalls around the Parque Central are good for cheap meals; the centre keeps some food stands open late.

Parachicos in January, ant rains in May and canyon water levels

November to February is the best time for Tuxtla Gutiérrez: highs around 30 C, clear skies over the canyon and almost no rain. The heat peaks at about 36 C in April, the wet season starts in May and sets in hard from June to September with 180 to 220 mm a month, easing in October.

For most visitors, November to February is the sweet spot: the sky is clear above the canyon, mornings are pleasant, and the boat trip is comfortable. The river is lower then, which some guides say gives better views of the canyon walls.

January is the month to plan around. Chiapa de Corzo's Fiesta Grande, in honour of Saint Sebastian and other patron saints, runs for much of the month, and its masked Parachico dancers, in carved wooden masks and shaggy headdresses with rattles in their hands, fill the streets daily. The tradition is on UNESCO's intangible heritage list. Go early, as crowds build fast.

In April, Holy Week brings Mexican holidaymakers to the canyon and boats can have long waits; weekdays are calmer. By late May the first storms bring the nucú ants out of the ground, a seasonal snack locals look forward to.

The rainy months turn the canyon walls green and the Christmas Tree waterfall into a full curtain. Book boat trips in the morning, before the afternoon storms.