Why go
Lago Tziscao, Pojoj and the Lagunas de Colores give names to a landscape that rewards comparison rather than a single viewpoint. Chinkultic adds a different perspective: its buildings and carved monuments connect this lake country with the history of a Maya city.
The full story
The Montebello lakes lie on the high plains of southeastern Chiapas, near Guatemala. Pine forest surrounds water whose colors range through greens and blues to much darker tones. The variety gives the group its identity, but each named lake is part of a wider landscape rather than an interchangeable stop. Tziscao is the largest lake in the group, with a village nearby. Pojoj, Montebello and the Lagunas de Colores provide other recognizable anchors. The highland elevation distinguishes this setting from the tropical lowlands that many travelers associate with southern Mexico. National park protection began in 1959. Chinkultic introduces a longer human chronology. Occupied from the early centuries CE into the thirteenth century, the Maya city left pyramids, carved stelae and an asymmetrical ball court. An inscription records the court’s dedication in 591. These remains place the lakes within a settled cultural landscape, as well as a wooded natural one.