Tzomtehuitz Lookout, San Cristobal DLC
Weaving around these rolling dirt roads is great fun on a fast rolling rigid 29er.
We anticipated staying in San Cristobal de Las Casas (I’ll use ‘San Cristobal’ below) for just a few days, but after discovering a lovely house share, we decided to stay longer. San Cristobal is situated at around 2200m elevation and surrounded by several peaks, one of which is the relatively unknown Tzomtehuitz lookout, at just over 2900m. Clearly, this called for some mountain biking exploration!
Zig Zags & Climbs To Tzomtehuitz Lookout
Following some advice from a local mountain bike guide, Mauricio, I mapped out a route on bikeroutetoaster.com. This route involves about 1400m climbing zig zagging through the backroads up to a TelMex cell tower lookout point known locally as Tzomtehuitz (not to be confused with a nearby town called Tzontehuitz).
It’s about 70% dirt and gravel, with some asphalt sections leading in and out of San Cristobal. The route could be improved by finding more direct connections to dirt roads from the city to avoid the asphalt. I later discovered some shortcuts on another ride.
After I made my way outside of the city, I soon realised that Google Maps data around San Cristobal is out of date. I found some of the roads were no longer in use, having been replaced by alternate routes, so my actual route involved some wrong turns, guesswork and a bit of luck getting back on track.
[wi_everytrail url=”http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=2193638″ title=”View on EveryTrail.com”]- The GPX route that I loaded into my Garmin (GPX route)
- The actual GPS track from my Garmin (GPX track)
Route Photos
Easy rolling dirt and grass backroads weave around the hillsides.
Dirt and gravel roads shoot off in every direction.
Women and children roam the hilly mountain caminos herding sheep, gathering sticks and food.
The hilly landscape is bright green during the rainy season. The sun broke through as rain clouds threatened a downpour.
These crazy zig zag sections in the middle are great fun on a fast rolling rigid 29er. The peaks and troughs rolled over a luscious green landscape. The local indigenous women were gather sticks and herding the sheep up and down a complex network of trails. I thought about pointing my bike down a few sheep trails, but I didn’t want to scare them!
There are zig zag peaks and troughs around every corner on this particularly wiggly mountain road.
The same corner from another angle. This shot almost appears to have wide angle distortion, but it was shot with standard 18-55m lens.
The mountain dwellers grow maiz at high elevation to sell in the mercados of San Cristobal.
I found a new road leading up to the TelMex tower summit. It was a tough climb, ascending from 2700-2900m in less than 2km.
Summit at 2900m, TelMex tower, Tzomtehuitz, north of San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas
Peering through the fog at the route back down to San Cristobal
Spaghetti junction of some gorgeous gravel roads near the summit
San Cristobal de Las Casas viewed from above (looking South)