Atitlán Lake and Chichicastenango

Few visitors leave Guatemala without seeing has Atitlan and the Maya - Quiche town of Chichicastenago, both found about two hours from Guatemala City. There are enough activities around the lake to keep visitors busy fir several days, as they explore Maya villages, shop, go horseback riding ir birdwarching, tour nature reserve and butterfly garden, and visit local artist in one of the world’s most beautiful natural settings. In Chichastenango, famed fot its Thursday and Sunday markets, visitors can witness Mayan religious practices first - hans, while in Santa Cruz del Quiche the will tour Gumarcaaj, the former capital of the Maya - Quiche.

Lake Atitlán

Arguably the most beautiful lake in the world, Atitlan owes its grandeur to its enormouns size and spectacular, volcanic setting. Measuring more than 17 kilometers in diameter and covering about 130 squares kilometers.

Lake Atitlan was formed when a volcanic caldera, depleted of its magma, collapsed following the Chocoyos eruption 85,000 years ago. There stately volcanoes - Atitlan, Toliman and San Pedro- rise gracefully from its southern sho9re, their perfect cones reflected in the azure mirror of the lake. The tallest of these volcanoes. Atitlan, towers 3,537 meters ASL. Fishermen from Maya villages ply the lake in dugout cabies, chile larges boats ferry passengers from one town to another, all wary of the “Xocomil” wind that rises some afternoons and chops the Lake’s usually placid maters into treacherous waves.

Panajachel

The largest town on Lake Atitlan is Panajachel, a laid - back place with excellent hotels, restaurants and lots of places to shop for Guatemalan, crafts. Boats leave Panajachel to ferry passengers across the lake or conduct tours. Some interesting places to visit around includes the San Buenaventura butterfly garden and wildlife reserve, and the Lacustrine Museum, with exhibits of ceramics recovered from the lake. An excellent art gallery offers exhibits by local artits, as well as works by internationally renowned painter Nan Cruz. Panajachel celebrates its town fair on Octuber 4 every year, with a procession, firewords and carnival rides.

Santa Catarina and San Antonio Palopó

A pleasant walk east from Panajachel, around the lake’s northern shore, brings visitors to the picturesque, Maya - Cakchiquel towns of Santa Catarina Palopo, and, further on, San Antonio Palopo, with gorgeous vistas of the lake at every turn. Santa Catarinas’s women wear a distinctive., brights blue huipil. In San Antonio, the men still plots of onions and anise on the hull sides above the lake.

Santiago Atitlán

A 30 minute boat ride across the lake from Panajachel, is a Maya-Tzutujil village at the base of the Toliman Volcano. The women’s huipiles, with embroidered birds, are some of the most beautiful in Guatemala. Coincidentally, Santiago Atitlan is great place for birdwatching. The rare Horned Tguan can be found near the top of the volcano, while Azuere-rumped Tanagers and Pink-headed Warblers, two species that are endemic to Guatemala, are commonly seen around the volcano’s base. A visit to Santiago’s church with carved wooden panels depicting the twon’s religious traditions, including the local cult of Maxiomon, is highlt recommended. Horseback rides, combined with gourmet meals, are available near Santiago.

Quetzaltenango

The area around Quetzaltenango, in the western highlands of Guatemala, is a fascinating land of volcanoes, hot springs, mountain forests . Maya communities, colorful markets and gracious people. The city of Quetzaltenango has fine hotels, restaurants and Spanish schools and is a convenient base for exploring Guatemalan’s “Los Altos” region. A large percentage of the people around Quetzaltenango are Maya, speaking Quiche, Mam and Spanish languages. Visitors to this area will share some unforgettable experiences, like shopping in native markets, soaking in volcanic hot springs, visiting a mysterious mountaintop of a volcanoes, and much, more!

Quetzaltenango, Guatemala’s second largest city, is the commercial and cultural center of the western highlands, a beautiful town of narrow, cobblestone streets and graceful, neoclassic architecture. Temperatures frequently dip below freezing at night, and the city’s inhabitants wait to start their day until the mountain sun has warmed the morning air.

Quetzaltenango, a Nahuatl word meaning “place of the quetzals”, was named by Spanish conquistadors impressed by the number of quetzal feather worn by Maya-Quiche soldiers. The city is also known as Xela, or Xelaju, an abbreviated from of an older name for the city - Xe Lajuj Quiej.

Two striking monuments that visitors will see as they enter Xela are a statue of Quiche captain Tecun Uman, fiercely guarding the road climbed by the conquering Spaniards into the highlands, and a monument to the marimba, which commemorates the important role Quetzaltenango has played in developing and writing music for the double marimba. The city has produced some of Guatemala’s finest musicians, poets, and artists.

In Quetzaltenago`s central park, known as Parque Centro America, crafts fairs are held on the first Sunday of every month. During the second weekend of each month, the park hosts an event called “In Your Xela”, with local crafts, native food and cultural activities. The town fair occurs on September 15, to commemorate Central America’s declaration of independence from Spain in 1821.

Zunil

The Maya town of Zunil, found a half hour south of Xela, is set in a narrow valley, where inhabitants grow vegetables in irrigated plots. A visit to see Maximon (or San Simon) is highly recommended. This local personage, a dummy dressed in room filled with incenses, is regaled with rum and cigarettes by local diviners.

The Fuentes Georginas hot springs is located just a few kilometers Zunil. Set in a lush forest which is great for bird watching, the park has a restaurant and cabins that way be rented for night.

San Francisco El Alto & Momostenango

At the Friday market in San Francisco el Alto, just a few minutes from Xela, buy and sell textiles, ceramics, Livestock and many other goods. The views from the town, which looks down a long valley toward Quetzaltenango, are spectacular.

At Momostenango, beyond Sam Francisco, woolen rugs are woven on foot looms for sale throughout Guatemala. Just outside of town, there are some interesting formations, know as riscos, eroded from tuff. Every 260 days, the community commemorates the day Wajxakib Batz, or 8 Monkeys , in the Maya calendar, with prayers and rituals at many of the outdoor altars around Momostenango, whose name means the Place of Altars.

Huehuetenango

The department of Huhuetenango harbors some of Guatemala`s most spectacular scenery. The Cuchumatanes Mountains, part of the Sierra Madre mountain range, soar to 3,600 m ASI and contain beautiful lakes, pine forest and highlands pastures sheep graze. From the low-lying town of Huhuetenango, a road snakes up the rocky face of a mesa that marks the entrance into the mountains. From a lookout point on top, there are impressive views of Huhuetenango far below and of several of Guatemala’s tallest volcanoes. Eight different Maya languages are spoken in this fascinating region of Guatemala, which shelters some of the country’s most remote communities.

Zaculeu

The Zaculeu archaeological site, , just a few minutes from Huhuetenango, was an important ceremonial center for the Maya-Mann group for more than 800 years, and was still active when conquistadors arrived in Guatemala. Zaculeu, which means “White Earth”, may have referred to the city’s white structural buildings. Forty-three structures, such as small pyramids and places. Are found at the site, as well as plazas and ball court. The site was built on a promontory of land between deep ravines, which pave it an excellent defensive position. When Spaniards attacked the city in 1525, they were repelled by Zaculeu`s leader. Kaibil Balam, and forced to lay siege. The city did not surrender until six weeks later, when its inhabitants were on the verge of starvation. At Zaculeu`s small museum, ceramics, a burial urn and other items discovered during excavation are on display.

Todos Los Santos Cuchumatanes

One of Guatemala`s best-loved tourust destinations is the little of Todos Santos Cuchumatàn, set in a spectacular valley of the Cuchumatanes, set in a spectacular valley of the Cuchumatanes Mountains at 2470 m ASL. Both the men and women clothing . The men’s clothing includes red and white striped trousers, a colorful shirt, straw hat, and a black capixay, or woolen cape to guard against the chilly mountain climate.