Amber in Chiapas

Amber store Chiapas Mágico

Amber Necklace

Amber extracted from the mine

Amber with insects

Amber in San Cris

In the North of the State of Chiapas just 88 kms away from San Cristobal is located the municipality of Simojovel where there are some of the richest mines of amber in the world. The amber is the resine of a species of tree known as Guapinol that after millions of years becomes a fossil that can encapsulate other living beings such as insects and leaves. There are different colors in the pieces of amber depending from which part of the tree was originated. The bright yellow amber which is mainly translucid and is the most common originates from the branches of the tree, the dark amber which is know as the red amber comes from the trunk, and there are even some pieces of amber which are black cause they encapsulate pieces of soil.

Other kind of amber that is quite scarce is the milky amber which encapsulates pieces of stone. The green amber also very appreciated has inside some rests of vegetation that has been calcinated.

In the city of San Cristobal there is a museum totally dedicated to the amber that we strongly recommend you to visit since it is hosted in a historic construction which was a monastery in colonial period and in the 19th century became the prison of the city so its walls were reinforced and the surveillance tower was added.