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There is nowhere in Mexico so rich in scenery or indigenous life as inland Chiapas. Forested uplands and jungly valleys are studded with rivers and lakes, waterfalls and unexpected gorges, and flush with the rich flora and fauna of the tropics - wild orchids, brilliantly coloured birds, and monkeys. For much of its history the isolation of the state allowed the indigenous population to carry on with their lives little affected. In the villages, you'll see the trappings of Catholicism and of economic progress, but in most cases these go no deeper than the surface: daily life is still run in accordance with ancient customs and beliefs. Strong and colourful as the traditions are - away from the big towns, Spanish is still very much a second language - the economic and social lot of the indigena population remains greatly inferior to that of ladinos . The oppressive exploitation of the encomienda system remained powerful here far longer than in parts of Mexico more directly in the government eye (there were local rebellions, quickly suppressed, in the early eighteenth and late nineteenth centuries), and despite some post-revolutionary land redistribution, most small villages still operate at the barest subsistence level. Not surprisingly, many of the customs are dying fast, and it's comparatively rare to see men in traditional clothing, though many women still wear it. Conversely, such traditions as do survive are clung to fiercely, and you should be extremely sensitive about photography - especially of anything that might have religious significance - and donning native clothing , the patterns on which convey subtle social and geographic meaning. It's worth noting that many indigenous communities and some local transport operators refuse to observe the time change in summer, preferring la hora vieja - the old time.
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