Rough Guides - The Rough Guide to Guatemala (Travel Guide eBook)

Jane Sweeney

Contents

Rough Guides

Introduction to

Guatemala

Spanning a mountainous slice of Central America immediately south of Mexico, Guatemala is loaded with incredible natural, historical and cultural appeal. As the birthplace and heartland of the ancient Maya, the country is in many ways defined by the legacy of this early civilization. Their rainforest cities were abandoned centuries ago, but Maya people continue to thrive in the Guatemalan highlands, where traditions and religious rituals, mingled with Catholic practices, endure to form the richest and most distinctive indigenous identity in the hemisphere.

Guatemala today is very much a synthesis of Maya and colonial traditions, fused with the omnipresent influences of twenty-first-century Latin and North American culture. Baroque churches dating back to the Spanish Conquest coexist with pagan temples that have been sites of worship for millennia. Highland street markets prosper alongside glitzy shopping malls, and pre-Columbian festival dances are performed by teenage hip-hop fans.

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WOMEN MAKING CORN TORTILLAS FOR A FESTIVAL

Guatemala is still a developing nation, a young democracy with a turbulent and bloody history thats beset by deep-rooted inequalities. And yet, despite alarming levels of poverty and unemployment, most Guatemalans are extraordinarily courteous and helpful to travellers, and only too eager to help you catch the right bus or practise your Spanish.

Its this genuine and profound hospitality combined with the countrys outstanding cultural legacy and astonishing natural beauty that makes Guatemala such a compelling place for travellers.

Where to go

Guatemala offers a startling range of landscapes, defined by extremes. Most travellers first head for Antigua , the delightful former colonial capital, its refined atmosphere and caf society contrasting with the chaotic fume-filled streets of Guatemala City. Next on your list should be the Maya-dominated western highlands , a region of mesmerizing beauty, with volcanic cones soaring above pine-clad hills, traditional villages and shimmering lakes. The strength of Maya culture here is overwhelming with each village having its own textile weaving tradition and unique fiesta celebrations.

Lago de Atitln , a beautiful lake ringed by sentinel-like volcanoes, is unmissable. The shores of the lake are dotted with charming indigenous settlements such as San Juan La Laguna , which has a good textile cooperative and several artists galleries, and San Pedro La Laguna , with its bohemian travellers scene and rock-bottom prices. High up above the lake, the traditional Maya town of Solol has one of the countrys best (and least-touristy) markets, a complete contrast to the vast twice-weekly affair at Chichicastenango , with its incredible selection of souvenirs, weavings and handicrafts.

To the west, the proud provincial city of Quetzaltenango (Xela) is an important language school centre, and also makes an excellent base for exploring the forest-fringed crater lake of Volcn Chicabal , the sublime natural spa of Fuentes Georginas and some fascinating market towns. Guatemalas greatest mountain range, the Cuchumatanes , is a little further distant. In these granite peaks youll find superb scenery and some of the most isolated and traditional villages in the Maya World, with Nebaj and Todos Santos Cuchumatn both making good bases for some serious hiking and adventure.

Fact file

• The republic of Guatemalas 108,890 square kilometres include dozens of volcanoes (four are active), 328km of Pacific coastline and 74km of Caribbean coast.
• Guatemalas population was estimated at 17.3 million in 2018, with a growth rate of 1.75 percent per annum (one of the highest in the western hemisphere).
• Ethnically, the population is almost equally divided between indigenous Maya and ladinos (who are mainly of mixed race), although there are tiny numbers of black Garfuna (about eight thousand in all), ethnic Chinese and non-Maya Xinca.
• Remittances from Guatemalas large expatriate community in the US are the countrys main source of foreign income, equivalent to over ten percent of its GDP.
• Tourism is the nations main income earner, followed by coffee, sugar, clothing exports and bananas.
• About 46 percent of Guatemalans are nominally Roman Catholic the lowest figure in Latin America though many highland Maya practise a unique mix of religions thats heavily dependent on ancient religious ritual.
• The nation is a democratic republic , headed by a president who is head of both state and government.

Volcanoes

Overshadowing the southern half of the country, a chain of volcanoes extends in an ominous arc from 4220m-high Tajumulco on the Mexican border to the frontier with Honduras. Depending on how you define a volcano some vulcanologists do not classify lateral cones in the folds of a larger peak to be volcanoes for example Guatemala has somewhere between 33 and 40. Three of these, Pacaya , Santiaguito and Fuego are highly active, regularly belching soaring plumes of smoke and ash. An ascent up Pacaya rarely fails to disappoint as its usually possible to view spectacular orange lava flows, but occasionally access is not possible due to volcanic activity. The 2018 Fuego eruption killed at least 159 people, and thousands were left homeless.

Lago de Atitln is actually the former caldera of a giant volcano that cataclysmically blew its top some 85,000 years ago. So much magma was expelled that most of the vast cone collapsed, and centuries of rainwater filled the depression, creating todays lake. Today the three volcanoes that line its shores can all be climbed. The most accessible is Volcn San Pedro which entails a return trek of around eight to nine hours. Licensed guides accompany all hikers.

The Pacific coast is generally hot, dull and disappointing to visit, with scrubby, desolate beaches backed by a smattering of mangrove swamps. One exception is the relaxed seaside village of Monterrico , which has some good accommodation and is part of a wildlife reserve where you can watch sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. Theres also a small but growing surf scene at Paredn.

Much of the east of the country is tropical , replete with banana and cardamom plantations and coconut palms. This region has some stunning lakes, including pristine, jungle-fringed Laguna Lacha and Lago de Izabal , whose shores boast plenty of interesting spots, including an amazing hot-spring waterfall and the Boquern canyon. The lake drains into the Caribbean via the Ro Dulce , which flows through a series of remarkable jungle-clad gorges. At the mouth of the river is the fascinating town of Lvingston , an outpost of Caribbean culture and home to Guatemalas only black community, the Garfuna.

Cloud forests cloak the fecund Verapaz hills of central Guatemala, harbouring the elusive quetzal, Guatemalas national symbol. Cultural sites in the east are quite limited, but do include the compact Maya site of Quirigu and the first-class ruins of Copn , just over the border in Honduras.