Learn about the Town of Chapala

What does the name “Chapala” mean?

Chapala in the nahuatl language means “Wet place, Place of small pots or Grasshoppers on top of the water”.

Where is Chapala located

Chapala is located 45 km. from Guadalajara, the capital of the State of Jalisco in the Cienega region. The road Chapala-Guadalajara is the main highway and entrance to Lake Chapala (also called Lakeside).

Towns and Neighborhoods around Lake Chapala

• Chapala Center
• Ajijic
• San Antonio Tlayacapan
• San Nicolas de Ibarra
• Hacienda de la Labor
• Atotonilquillo
• Santa Cruz de la Soledad.

Economic Activities

The major local economic activity is fishing.  It is distributed to several places and has a large variety of restaurants where fish and seafood are offered in many different dishes.

Lake Chapala Weather

Chapala is considered to be one of the places with the best weather in the world according to National Geographic. The coldest months are from December to February with March to November being the hottest. Here is a weather chart for Chapala

Location of the Lake

Lake Chapala is the largest lake in Mexico with an approximate size of 1,000 km².  It is in Jalisco State and goes thru the municipality of Chapala, Poncitlan, Ocotlan, Jamay, Jocotepec, Tuxcueca and Tizapán el Alto.  The lake in Michoacán State goes thru the municipalities of Cojumatlan, Regules, Venustiano Carranza and Briseñas.

Lake Chapala has 2 islands, the Isla de los Alacranes and Isla del Presidio.

Population of Chapala

Chapala´s population is 48,839. The mix is 51% female and 49% males.

Tourist Attractions in Chapala

• San Francisco De Asís Cathedral (build in 1528)
• Chapala´s Malecon
• Restaurant Zone
• Mercado de artesanías (Handcraft market)
• Cristiania Park
• Mountain of the Cross
• Train Station (build between 1917-1920)
• Municipal Market.
• Alacranes Island (thru a boat)
• You can view some of Chapala’s attractions here on Trip Advisor

Some of Chapala’s Traditions

Chapala has great traditions that year by year are celebrated and bring lots of tourists, these celebrations are about customs of old times that have been kept generation after generation and youwill find variety of Mexican dishes 

• CARNAVAL CHAPALA: Celebrated about 40 days before Easter. It is basically musical events in La Cristiania Park and in the Lienzo Charro
  Municipal (bullring stadium) where you will also find bullring events.

• FIESTAS PATRONALES (Celebration of Chapala´s Saint): Chapala celebrates the saint Santo Patrono San Francisco de Asís between September and October. Many other religious activities take place with music and fireworks and many kinds of Mexican dishes.

• DIA DE MUERTOS (Day of the dead): This Mexican tradition takes place every year on the 2nd of November on 5 de Mayo Street or close to the Malecon.  The Mexican people make many different altars to the dead.  It is important to have the necessary and precise elements and the best ones win a prize.  In this beautiful tradition you will find a big variety of foods. This major Mexican celebration is loaded with bright colors and music.

Here is a list of some Subdivisions and Condo Complexes

Nuevo Chapala Division

• Located 10 minutes from the main square
• Gated community
• 24/7 guards
• Big green areas.
• Club House with pool, BBQ area and terrace where you can enjoy time with
  your family
• Close to stores, High School and Middle School.
• Its fees are low ($10,000 MXN per year) which includes: Guards,
  maintenance and water service.

Fraccionamiento Condominio La Estación

• Located where the old train station was
• Just 5 minutes walking distance to the High School
• Very close to Elementary Schools and Middle Schools
• Electric gate
• Green areas and a terrace for events and the pool.
• Every house has a car port for one car.
• Accessible fees ($ 7,000 MXN per year) Includes: garbage collection,
  pool, terrace, exterior gardens maintenance and outside lightening.
• Safe to live.
• Close to stores like Soriana.

 Las Redes Neighborhood

• Quite zone in every aspect.
• Close to one of the best High Schools in Lake side.
• The street Pepe Guizar connects to San Nicolas, Santa Cruz, Vista del
  Lago and  Mezcala.
• Many important stores including Farmacias Guadalajara and Soriana
• The Municipal
  Clinic
• Churches.

Internet, Cable and Cell phone/Telephone Services in Chapala

Internet service has historically been dodgy at best here at Lakeside. However times are changing as is the competition. Many of the telecommunication companies offer more than one service which is driving both competition and quality. Very recently many of the towns enjoy fiber optic internet at very high speeds. This service is rolling out town by town. Internet is provided by the following companies:

Here are some options:

Telmex (Internet and telephone):

Telmex is rolling out fiber optics in many neighborhoods and they have a variety of price points and speeds to choose from. Their service comes with a cloud storage service as well as Claro TV which is similar to Netflix. They are not in every neighborhood as of this article (July 2019) but it’s worth investigating.

Address – Carretera Chapala – Jocotepec
Ote 113, Ajijic, Jal.

Hours – 8:00 am – 4:30 pm.

Telecable (now Wiiz) (Television, Internet, and telephone)

Address – Hidalgo 45920 Riberas del Pilar, Chapala, Jal.

Hours – 9:00 am – 7:00 pm.

Telcel (Cell phone and Internet)

Along with cell phones Telcel now offers Internet en tu casa. It’s a 4G based internet service and perfect for neighborhoods that don’t yet have internet infrastructure.

Address: Carretera Jocotepec – Chapala
206, local 2.

Hours 10:00 am – 8:00 pm.

ILOX (Telephone, Internet and Televisión)

iLox offers high speed fiber optic internet. Although it’s not yet in every lakeside neghborhood it could very well be available in yours and is a great option for high speed internet and streaming.

Address – Plaza Bugambilias Ajijic, Jal.

Hours 9:00 am – 7:00 pm.

Potable Water and Sewer Systems

The water and sewer service are provided
by a government public organization called SIMAPA who serves more than 50,738
people. The fee is paid yearly or monthly if you are under a water meter.  Pay yearly and pay in January or February and
you will receive a discount.

Simapa – Address: Juarez 573, Chapala, Jalisco.

Hours 9:00 am – 3:00 pm.

Electricity

The company that supplies this service is CFE (Comision Federal de Electricidad).
Address: Zaragoza 451, Chapala, Jalisco.
Hours 8:00 am – 9:00 pm Monday to Sunday.

The service coverage is from Chapala to a town called Mismaloya which is close to Tizapan going through San Antonio Tlayacapan, Ajijic, San Juan Cosala and Jocotepec.  It also covers El Refugio which is a town close to the International Guadalajara Airport.

This service must be paid every 2 months and can be paid at the CFE office or in stores like Walmart, Soriana, OXXO and
7 Eleven.

CFE has different rates of power depending on the client’s needs:

• Rate 01 Domestic use (regular house)
• Rate 02 Business (stores in general)
• Trifásico (business and regular house)

Hotels in Chapala

• Hotel Villa Montecarlo (Hidalgo 296, Chapala, Jal. Tel 01 376 765 2120)
• Hotel Villa San Francisco (Paseo Ramon Corona 16, Chapala, Jal. Tel 01 376 7652128)

• Hotel El Rincón de los Sueños (Niños Héroes 59, Chapala, Jal. Tel 01 376 765 6000)

• Hotel Quinta Quetzalcóatl (Zaragoza 307, Chapala, Jal. Tel 01 376 765 3653)

• Hotel La Letra CH (González Gallo 4, Las Redes Chapala Tel 01 376 765 3004)

• Hotel Villa Samary (Morelos 199, Chapala, Jal. Tel 01 376 765 3960)