Sumidero Canyon

Sumidero Canyon (Spanish: Cañón del Sumidero) is a deep natural canyon located just north of the city of Chiapa de Corzo in the state of Chiapas, in southern Mexico. The canyon's creation began around the same time as the Grand Canyon in the U.S. state of Arizona, by a crack in the area's crust and subsequent erosion by the Grijalva River, which still runs through it. Sumidero Canyon has vertical walls which reach as high as 1,000 m (3,300 ft), with the river turning up to 90 degrees during the 13 km (8 mi) length of the narrow passage.

The canyon is surrounded by the Sumidero Canyon National Park, a federally protected natural area of Mexico which extends for 21,789 hectares (53,840 acres) over four municipalities of the state of Chiapas. Most of the vegetation in the park is low- to medium-height deciduous rainforest, with small areas of mixed pine-oak forest and grassland. The canyon contains endangered and threatened species such as the Central American river turtle and the American crocodile, which can be seen on the riverbanks.

Map of the Sumidero Canyon route.
At the Sumidero Canyon pier there is a map with the route that the boats take. The points of interest along the route are also marked on the map.

The Embarcadero Cahuare Cañon del Sumidero.
Our river trip departs from the Embarcadero Cahuare Cañon del Sumidero which is 10km (6 mi) from the center of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico.

Boarding.
This is the boat that will take us up the river.

Crossing under the bridge.
The first event is to go under the Dr. Belisario Domínguez bridge on road 190 that connects Tuxtla Gutiérrez to San Cristobal de las Casas.

Advancing up the river.
Grijalva River, formerly known as Tabasco River, (Spanish: Río Grijalva, known locally also as Río Grande de Chiapas, Río Grande and Mezcalapa River) is a 480 km (300 mi) long river.

It is named after Juan de Grijalva who visited the area in 1518.

A crocodile.
Immediately to our right we see a crocodile on the riverbank.

Heading to the Canyon.
The river rises from Río Grande de Chiapas in southeastern Chiapas and flows from Chiapas to the state of Tabasco through the Sumidero Canyon into the Bay of Campeche.

The great egret.
The great egret (Ardea alba), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe.

Recently it is also spreading to more northern areas of Europe.
Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, it builds tree nests in colonies close to water.

An iguana on the tree trunk.
The iguana is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

Iguanas have historically featured in the culinary traditions of Mexico and Central America. Iguana meat is also consumed in parts of the United States and Puerto Rico.
Also, the eggs of iguana are consumed in some parts of Latin America, such as Nicaragua and Colombia.

Tourists enjoy the trip.
The scenery of the canyon has become a major tourist attraction for the state, with developments for eco tourism and extreme sports. The navigable part of the Grijalva River is mostly used to ferry visitors into the canyon area.

Most of the visitors are Mexicans. Weekends are busiest with local and regional visitors to bike, swim, hike, camp and picnic.

Approaching the highest part of the Canyon.
The highest part of the Canyon is a few kilometers north of the Embarcadero.

Another crocodile.
Another crocodile among the foliage rests on a rock on the edge of the river.

Arriving at the highest part of the Canyon.
The canyon proper is deep and narrow, characterized by vertical walls. As the gap changes direction as much as 90 degrees in places, it separates the Meseta de las Animas mesa in the west from the Meseta de Ixtapa mesa in the east. The width of the canyon varies from 1 to 2 kilometres (3,300 to 6,600 ft). Most of the canyon's walls are between 200 and 700 metres (660 and 2,300 ft) high, reaching 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) at their highest point.

These walls expose a long process of disturbance in the Earth's crust with layers of limestone from the Upper Mesozoic, which contain fossils of marine creatures.
During the Mesocretac Period, there was an elevation of ocean floor which formed much of the mountains of the area.

A spider monkey.
Resting on a tree trunk (left) we can see a spider monkey.

Geoffroy's spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi), also known as the black-handed spider monkey or the Central American spider monkey, is a species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central America, parts of Mexico and possibly a small portion of Colombia.
It is one of the largest New World monkeys, often weighing as much as 9 kg (20 lb). Its arms are significantly longer than its legs, and its prehensile tail can support the entire weight of the monkey and is used as an extra limb. Its hands have only a vestigial thumb, but long, strong, hook-like fingers. These adaptations allow the monkey to move by swinging by its arms beneath the tree branches.
Geoffroy's spider monkey lives in fission–fusion societies that contain between 20 and 42 members. Its diet consists primarily of ripe fruit and it requires large tracts of forest to survive. As a result of habitat loss, hunting and capture for the pet trade, it is considered to be endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The walls of the Canyon.
The walls of the canyon contain numerous small caves, rock formations and other notable features.

The best known of the area's caves is the Cave of Colors (Cueva de Colores). This cave gets its name from the filtration of magnesium, potassium and other minerals which form colors on the walls, especially shades of pink. It contains an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe inside usually surrounded by fresh flowers and burning candles left by visitors.
The Cave of Silence (Cueva de Silencio) is so named because of a lack of echo or any other kind of resonance in its interior.
In another small cave, there is a stalactite called the Seahorse (Caballito de Mar) after its shape.

Towards the most famous waterfall.
Once past the highest part of the canyon, we continue north towards the most famous waterfall. In this section, the river is in the shape of an S that prevents the view forwards or backwards.

The interior of the canyon has thirty rapids, five waterfalls, three beaches, two freshwater springs and a cofferdam three meters wide.

A pelican.
A pelican rests on the branch of a tree.

Pelicans (genus Pelecanus) are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before swallowing.
They have predominantly pale plumage, except for the brown and Peruvian pelicans.

Christmas Tree waterfall.
Of the various seasonal waterfalls, the best known is the Christmas Tree (Árbol de Navidad). The “branches” of the Árbol are made by deposits from the waterfall which have been covered in moss.