It was the capital of the state until , and is still considered the cultural capital of Chiapas. The municipality is mostly made up of mountainous terrain, but the city sits in a small valley surrounded by hills. Major landmarks of the city include the Cathedral, the Santo Domingo church with its large open air crafts market and the Casa Na Bolom museum. The municipality has suffered severe deforestation , but it has natural attractions such as caves and rivers.
The city, especially the historic center, has maintained its Spanish colonial layout, with narrow cobblestone streets, roofs covered in red clay tile and wrought iron balconies with flowers. The facades of the buildings vary from Baroque to Neoclassical and Moorish , painted in various colors. Many of the surrounding hills have lost their native trees, in part due to cutting firewood and logging operations which feed the local manufacturing and construction industries.
Ceramics, wrought iron and filigree jewelry can be found as well. The best known area for crafts is the tianguis at Santo Domingo. The event exhibits and sells amber and amber pieces from the area of the state. It is open each day except Sunday, when its vendors go to the surrounding communities in the municipality to sell at their markets. On the days that it is open, the large building, which mostly houses traditional butcher shops, is surrounded by stalls which crowd the nearby streets.
There are very few tourists here, except for the occasional backpacker. Many foreign residents have opened up restaurants with Italian, French, Thai, Indian, Chinese and more options, such as vegetarian available. These are featured in a number of dishes including chalupas. Fireworks are common as there are many religious festivals which use them. This is in addition to the various neighborhood saint celebrations in their respective churches around town.
Holy Week processions include both silent and chanting marchers. A number are dressed in pointed hoods and carry heavy platforms with religious figures. They go from house to house, stopping at those homes that have erected small shrines. There they say prayers and bless the house and its occupants before moving on. They finally come to rest in a gigantic open house where an inner shrine has been erected lit by thousands of candles, and where a large potluck supper takes place.
