Top 5 Places to Visit in Guatemala

Guest bloggers the Globetrottergirls are German-American couple Dani and Jessica who try, test and investigate budget travel around the world…

By far one of the most visitor-friendly and affordable destinations in Central America, Guatemala is a land of bright colours, indigenous faces and Mayan ruins plus striking green countryside, erupting volcanoes, soothing, peaceful lakes and many budget-traveller friendly hostels. After spending 10 weeks in Guatemala, these are our Top 5 must-see destinations.

Antigua

Set in a spectacular valley of three looming volcanoes (one of which, Fuego, releases puffs of smoke daily), Antigua is one of the best-preserved colonial towns in Central America, and an absolute must on any Guatemala itinerary and at one hour from the airport in Guatemala City, a perfect place for visitors to acclimatise to Guatemalan life.

Explore

Its well-maintained one-storey pastel-colored houses lining a grid system of streets with the Parque Central in the center make Antigua also one of the easiest towns in Guatemala to explore on foot. The city’s ruins resulting from the most severe 1774 earthquake remain to reveal their magnificence and the importance Antigua held as the one-time capital of both Guatemala and Central America.

Food, drink and sleep

In spite of its relatively small size, Antigua has much more to offer visitors than its cobble-stone streets and pretty colonial buildings with yards filled with flowers and fountains. The city also has a buzzing restaurant and bar scene where locals, travellers and ex-pats alike meet to speak ‘Spanglish’ and enjoy authentically prepared international food from Indian and Thai to French (including fondue), American bagels and German bread. While Antigua might be your first stop in Guatemala, it’s also a great place to rest and relax after time on the road visiting the rest of the country, as the range of budget hotels and hostels in Antigua is by far the best in the country. Careful, though, as many of the permanent ex-pats were also once just visitors, until Antigua slowly became home!

Lake Atitlan

Lake Atitlan, famously described by Aldous Huxley as ‘the most beautiful lake in the world’, should be on the list of every visitor to Guatemala. Formed when the lid of a volcano was blown off during an explosion, Lake Atitlan is located in the scenic Highlands of Guatemala, and like Antigua, is also surrounded by three volcanoes. These three can be climbed, as can Indian’s Nose mountain.

Too hard?

For less steep hikes, try hiking between the dozen little villages spread out along the shores of Atitlan. The three most popular villages for tourists each have a distinct feel: San Pedro tends to be for backpackers looking to have a good time, with plenty of restaurants, bars, and ways to relax including saunas, heated pools and swimming pools. Nearby San Marcos is known to target those in the market for meditation and yoga retreats, and many of the small village’s restaurants cater to a vegan/vegetarian diet. Panajachel, by default the ‘big city’ to which most travellers arrive, has the most hotels, restaurants, bars, and streets are lined with typical Guatemalan trinkets and handicrafts. Boats leave from ‘Pana’ to most of the other villages around the lake, including those that most tourists never see.

Handicrafts

Despite rising tourism numbers, Lake Atitlan is home to a massive Maya population who go about their traditional daily lives alongside selling handicrafts. Catch a glimpse of the ladies making tortillas and weaving the traditional costumes or washing clothes in the lake. While the men carry wood on their backs strapped to their heads, pick coffee and sell their produce at local village markets.

Tikal

The Maya ruins of Tikal are often described as one of the greatest – if not even the greatest – and most important in all of Central America. Once the capital of the Mayan world when built in the late-classic Maya period between AD 550-AD900, Tikal is spread out across more than 2.5sq km, offering visitors some of the highest towering pyramids of the entire Maya world, jutting like skyscrapers above the jungle tree-line.

Temples, pyramids and monkeys

Even if you are not a huge fan of ancient ruins or, like many backpackers, have been following the trail of Mayan through Mexico’s Yucatan and Belize, Tikal still manages not to disappoint. The temples and pyramids are enormous, and literally take your breath away while you climb the hundreds of steps to the top of each. Once at the top, listen for and try to spot the many howler monkeys, spider monkeys, jaguars coatis, crocodiles, pacas, tarantulas and the great variety of beautiful birds that call the national park home.

Flores

Often connected to a trip to Tikal, the little town of Flores is located on an island in Lake Peten, and is reached by bridge from its ‘sister city’ of Santa Elena (itself as dusty and dirty as Flores is charming) – make the journey using the distinctive Guatemalan chicken bus.

Wining and dining

With its red-roofed houses painted all the colors of the rainbow and the bright white church on top of the hill, Flores is one of the most beautiful towns in all of Guatemala, especially when seen from a boat out on the lake. Dine at one of the restaurants on the shore and witness the spectacular sunrises and sunsets over the lake every single day. A well-constructed promenade surrounding the island town is inviting for long strolls along the water, and the various piers are perfect for sunbathing or jumping off for a swim in the lake.

Sleep

Flores is not only the ideal base for your trip to Tikal; it’s also an enjoyable place to relax for a few days. Connect with other travellers at Las Gardenias hostel and hang in a hammock and read. Make sure to take a boat ride to one of the nearby beaches or to Petencito, a small zoo on an island in the lake which is home to animals indigenous to the region.

Chichicastenango

Chichicastenango, or just ‘Chichi’, as it is commonly called, is most famous for its colourful market, held on Thursdays and Sundays. A visit to the market should not be missed, as it is the showcase market in a country of amazing markets. Get great bargains on typical clothes, souvenirs and jewellery.

At the market

The market is not only considered the best for tourists though, as the indigenous Maya come long distances to sell (in areas off the main square) everything from fruit and vegetables to live chickens, turkeys, flowers and even kittens.

Sacrificial coca cola

Just make sure to stay the extra day or two in Chichi, as the town itself is an entirely different place on non-market days. Take the chance to chat with locals, visit the brightly-coloured cemetery overlooking the town, or take a hike out of town to Pascual Abaj, a Mayan shrine on a hill above town. Meaning Sacrificial Stone in a local Mayan language, Pascual Abaj is a shrine to Huyup Tak’ah, the Mayan earth god. Visitors are welcome here as the local indigenous Mayans come here regularly to bring good luck or good health, and ‘sacrifice’ everything from corn to Coca Cola, or if you are lucky to catch the real deal, even a rooster may be sacrificed.

Thanks to the Globetrottergirls and Chensiyuan for the images!

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