The main covered market of San Cristóbal occupies a large block north of the historic centre, just below the Templo de Santo Domingo. It is primarily a market for local residents — produce, meat, dried goods, herbs and medicinal plants, household items — rather than a tourist attraction, but it is one of the most vivid places in the city to spend an hour.
What distinguishes this market from most Mexican mercados is the indigenous character: women in traditional dress from the surrounding Tzotzil and Tzeltal communities sell produce and herbs from blankets spread on the ground or from fixed stalls. The sight of a dozen different traditional dress styles from different villages — each with its own weaving patterns and colours — is remarkable. The market is busiest in the mornings, particularly on weekends when communities come in from the surrounding villages.
Around the market's edges, small comedores (basic restaurants) serve cheap, filling Chiapas home cooking — posol (a cold drink of ground corn and cacao), tamales wrapped in banana leaves, and cheap set lunches that are some of the best-value eating in town.