MuseumNa Bolom MuseumSan Cristobal de las Casas

Na Bolom was once home to the amous Dutch archaeologist Frans Blom and his Swiss photographer wife Trudy Blom. The Bloms were great explorers and were amongst the first outsiders to come into contact with the Lacandon Indians hidden in the midst of the dense Lacandon rain forest in Chiapas.

The Lacandones are the only people who managed to escape Spanish colonization by retreating far into the dense jungle.  Frans and Trudy established very close ties with the Lacandones.

Having bought their large colonial house in 1951, the Bloms soon decided to turn it into a museum and research center on the Maya. An additional aim was to inform the public about the indigenous population of the Chiapas and support them. Well into the 1950s, indigenous people were not allowed to spend the night in San Cristobal nor walk on the pavements. Consequently, the Bloms made Na Bolom a home for the Lacandones when they visited San Cristobal for medical reasons or to sell their crafts.

They chose to name the house Na Bolom, "the house of the jaguar" in Tzotzil, the local language, as it is a play on Frans’ surname Blom and his nickname Pancho, the Jaguar.

Today, Na Bolom is a non-governmental, non-profit Mexican organization. It’s a true hybrid. It houses a museum, a research center, an hotel and a restaurant and runs a number of social and cultural projects.

Na Bolom Museum has five permanent exhibit rooms and two rooms for special exhibits:

Sala Lacandona
Sala de Exploradores (Explorers Room)
Sala Moxviquil (archaeological pieces)
La Capilla - (The Chapel)
Bedroom of Gertrude Duby Blom