Between Merida to Campeche: Becal and the Famous Jipi Hat

Published by Cassie on 10/04/201810/04/2018

So, you’re driving from Merida to Campeche (or, of course, Campeche to Merida) along the 180 and want to find somewhere to buy a hat along the way, right? Because that’s the first thing I’d think of if I were to do that journey: where can I buy me a hat?

Well, your luck is in because Becal, a small town just over the Campeche border, appears to be panama hat centre of the world. Seriously. Hats from this nothing town get sent all over the world because they’re some of the best the world can produce. And if you make some of the best hats in the world then make a monument to those hats as your centrepiece.

Yeah. It surprised us too.

Sombreros de Jipi (The Famous Jipi Hat)

Locally the hats are called sombrero de jipi (pronounced heepee) because they’re made from the la palma jipijapa although in English we call them Panama hats. I spoke to the owner of one hat factory / shop in Becal and he told me that the good hats take two days to make, whereas the cheaper ones, made from a different plant, are far quicker to make, and hence cheaper. A good hat should fold easily, and hence make a good travel hat. A cheaper hat will not bounce back after being folded, and is more likely to break. It will generally also have an elasticated band around it to ensure the hat stays on the head.

Arriving in Becal

Upon arrival in Becal you’ll immediately be set upon by a few youths on bikes wanting to lead you to a hat shop. We found this pretty off-putting so waved them away and carried on to the main square to park and look for ice cream options. They half-heartedly followed us through town trying to wave us over. I mention the harassment purely to warn, not to put anyone off visiting because actually, what we found underneath the excitement of the possibility of sales, was a sleepy town with extremely kind people. We bought ice creams and fresh juices from two stalls on the square and enjoyed good conversation with the owners of both. I got the impression that there aren’t many foreign visitors wandering through. The tour buses stop at the hat shops and maybe the museum but don’t head to the town square. I was desperate for a wee so took myself off to the church to ask if they had a loo I could use. I was pointed straight through to the back to use the bathrooms without a pause.

After we had sated ourselves with delicious ice creams and fresh coconuts we drove along to find a hat shop. I mean, you can’t go to Becal and not look at hats, right?

Shopping in Becal

We found ourselves at Artesanías Lool Jipi on calle 30. Actually, it was the shop the guys on bikes had wanted to take us too in the first instance. We weren’t alone as there was a tour group learning about how to make the hats. We didn’t stay for a demonstration as we were on our way to Campeche but the tour looked pretty interesting. Instead, our kids headed straight to the tv in the corner (which staff immediately switched to cartoons for them) while the four adults looked around at the collection of hats and other paraphernalia made from palma de jipijapa.

If you’re in Campehce you must check out the incredible archaeolgoical sites. Click here for more information.

We waited until the tour bus had left and then began to haggle. We speak Spanish so were able to have a bit of banter with the owners, which I’m sure helped. Prices started the same for everyone and were competitive with prices we saw for similar goods in Campeche. I saw one woman get confused between dollars and pesos (as in, was told a bag cost $200 pesos and thought it was dollars, she was corrected by staff in a very kind manner).

A good quality hat was $300 pesos.

If you do find yourself driving between Campeche and Merida, I would recommend Becal as a good enough point to stop along the way if you fancy seeing a small, sleepy town and maybe even purchasing a new hat. And don’t forget to stop in nearby Pomuch to check out the cemetery there. In Pomuch instead of burying their dead in coffins, the bones are kept in small (open) boxes and are brought out for  cleaning every Día de los Muertos. 

If small towns are your thing then I highly recommend visiting some of the pueblos magicos on the Yucatán Peninsula.