Chiapas’s Water Works

If there’s anything that Chiapas [1] has plenty of, it’s water. The state contains 40 percent of Mexico’s freshwater supply, and a series of massive dams generate over 50 percent of the country’s hydroelectric power.

Water also helps paint some of Chiapas’s most picturesque scenes, including waterfalls, lakes, rivers, and seascapes. Some of the watery highlights include:

Lagunas de Montebello [2]: Sixty lakes, sixty different colors — or so it seems at this pine-swathed national park east of Comitán [3]. You can visit a dozen or so by car, a popular day trip on your own or on a package tour.

Cascada El Chiflón [4]: At 120 meters, the main waterfall here is one of Mexico’s highest, yet is just one of a series of cascades extending more than a kilometer, flanked by trails, observation platforms, and even a zip line.

El Aguacero [5]: Located at the bottom of an isolated river canyon west of Tuxtla [6], this is arguably Chiapas’s most beautiful waterfall, with countless rivulets pouring over a long ledge and down natural stair-steps.

Agua Azul [7]: A series of powerful waterfalls separated by pools of luminescent teal-blue water — it’s a remarkable sight, and a great day trip from Palenque [8], usually paired with a stop at the serene Misol-Há waterfall [9].

Laguna Miramar [10]: Said to be Mexico’s purest body of water, and certainly among its most enchanting, this huge lake is nestled in thick rainforest, accessible only by a long bus ride or a boat trip through Zapatista territory. Emiliano Zapata is the only community (of four around the lake) that has any sort of tourism infrastructure.

Barra de Zacapulco [11]: Enjoy the scenic and expansive dark-sand beach, or tour the winding inland waterways teeming with birds and home to Latin America’s tallest mangrove trees.