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Guatemala
The country of Guatemala is located in the northern part of Central America, sandwiched between the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. A land of volcanoes, amazing cuisine, and stunning Mayan ruins, Guatemala is a country located in the heart of Central America. The country contains 1,631 named mountains, the highest and most prominent of which is the volcano Tajumulco (4,214m/13,825ft).
The country can be informally divided into 2 major regions based on topography: the Guatemalan Highlands in the south and the Guatemalan Lowlands in the north. Encompassing much of the southern part of Guatemala, the Guatemalan Highlands are home to the majority of the country’s population as well as nearly all of its mountains. All of Guatemala’s volcanoes and the vast majority of its mountains are located within the Guatemala Highlands. The country’s major cities are also located in the many valleys of the highlands. A chain of 33 volcanoes makes up the backbone of the Guatemalan Highlands along Pacific coast.
Located in the northern part of Guatemala, the Guatemalan Lowlands are one of the most sparsely populated parts of the entire country, with only about 600,000 people living throughout the entire department of Petén. Within the region, the landscape is mostly dominated by karst topography along Caribbean Sea.
My goal in visiting Guatemala is to see Maya ruins at Tikal National Park in Guatemala and Copan Ruins in Honduras. It cannot be easily done because of long distances between these ruins. It may not be safe if I drive by myself or hire a driver. Luckily Gate 1 Travel offers an 11 Day Kaleidoscope of Guatemala & Honduras tour that covers these ruins and more. Below is the itinerary of that tour. You can go to the web link for the details of Gate 1 tour.
DAY 1 – Depart for Guatemala
DAY 2 – Guatemala City Tour
DAY 3 – Copán Ruins
DAY 4 – Travel to Rio Dulce, Archaeological Park & Ruins of Quiriguá
DAY 5 – Travel to Flores
DAY 6 – Sightseeing Tour of Tikal
DAY 7 – Flight to Guatemala City, Chichicastenango Market
DAY 8 – Boat Excursion to San Juan La Laguna
DAY 9 – Travel to Antigua Guatemala, Cultural Center La Azotea
DAY 10 – Tour of Antigua Guatemala
DAY 11 – Depart Guatemala
I am not going to review the tour details as it is an organized tour by Gate 1. All hotels, restaurants, and transportation logistics are handled by Gate 1. I will just provide some advice and show some trip highlights.
First off, I normally arrive one day earlier for organized tours due to potential flight delay. I don’t want to miss the beginning of the tour. I use the one extra day to rest or visit some sights not included in the tour package. Guatemala can be hot and humid so make sure you visit during the winter months, November to February. I didn’t experience much insert bits so insect repellent is only optional. You can bring some just in case.
Guatemala City has some wonderful museums. The Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología houses Guatemala’s largest collection of ancient Maya artifacts, with its impressive stone sculptures (many of which are from the classic period of Tikal), jade jewelry, traditional masks and large-scale model of Tikal make it well worth a visit. It turns out the Maya culture values jade jewelry. It has a jade dress wear by Maya Emperors. I regretfully didn’t have time to visit the museum as my flight arrived later in the day,
Copán Ruins and its sister Quiriguá Ruins are very interesting. The two ruins are actually connected in a fantastic ancient power struggle story. I will not reveal the story to spoil your trip. Go find out yourself! The Ruins have many platforms and structures for living and religion purposes. The colorful Rosalila Temple at Copan Ruins is not to be missed. The temple is now inside a grand museum together with whole walls of Maya stone sculptures and artifacts, unearthed from Copan Ruins.
Rio Dulce is a caribbean coast town with a beautiful coastline and a lot of boating, cruising, and water activities.
The highlight of the trip is Tikal National Park of course. The pictures speak for themselves.
Chichicastenango Market has some 5000 shops. You can get a sense of rural life of Guatemala people. All Central and South America remain very religious as evidenced in this trip. Religious virtue is an integral part of their daily life. A commonly seen “chicken bus” is a popular transportation among locals. You can see these colorfully buses all over Central and South America.
San Juan La Laguna is on the edge of Lake Atitlan which is a Alpine Lake surrounded by high mountains. The scenery is just unbelievable! Our visit to San Juan La Laguna and Antigua fall on Easter Holiday/Festival. We are lucky to witness how the locals were observing their religion. The street of San Juan La Laguna is decorated, with local bands playing Guatemalan music.
La Antigua, highly regarded as a place to learn a pure Spanish accent because of its history as the Capital City of Spanish rule in Central America, is a World Heritage site. It has many fantastic colonial architectural buildings. Antigua has an elevation of more than 5000 feet, located in a valley of the Guatemalan Highlands. The Spanish planned it as a brand new city with straight streets. It was devastated by several earthquakes throughout its history, including the 1717 earthquake and 1773 Santa Marta earthquake. La Antigua lay in ruins for nearly two centuries after a series of earthquakes moved the machinery of government in 1776 to a new location in Guatemala City in a less earthquake-prone area. Later, Spanish Central America has evolved into several separate central America countries.
Many ruins, although damaged by the earthquake, are still worth visiting. An example is the Convento de las Capuchinas. This former convent is a prime example of Spanish Baroque architecture and one of the nicest convents in all of Guatemala. It features cloisters, chapels, and a well-preserved church. Visitors can explore the underground passages and learn about the lives of those who called it home. Be sure to go out back to see the beautiful gardens. It’s a popular spot for photographers. There is a pathway to its roof top for panoramic view of Antigua.
One can find the most beautiful McDonald’s restaurant in the world at Antigua too!
We visited Antigua during the Easter. The making of flower carpets, alfombras, is a delightful aspect of Holy Week in devout Catholic parts of Latin America, Spain and elsewhere. The beautiful colonial city of Antigua Guatemala is especially renown for its Semana Santa, or Holy Week, customs. Entire family of locals devout weeks to plant and water flowers on sand beds on Antigua streets just for the moment when the cavern carrying holy cross passing during easter time. The most striking is the all women cavern passing in front of me. These caverns weighted thousands of pounds. Closer to a hundred men are needed to lift them and being carried around Antigua. Pain and suffering was noticeable on these women’s faces.
