BEST PLACES TO VISIT IN GUATEMALA

Or the traditional trips in Guatemala!
I am going to start with the second more important city in Guatemala.

1.
Quetzaltenango or also knowing as Xela.
This beautiful and cultural city does not have the constant influx of tourists like other touristic places in Guatemala, it is considered by many an excellent location to study Spanish by immersing yourself in the Guatemalan Culture.

A city surrounded by mountains and protected by two volcanoes. The biggest, Santa Maria, which is considered as the protector of Xela, followed by Santiaguito, a small one, considered as the crater of Santa Maria.
Mountains like Cerro Quemado, Cerro el Baul. Because of the influence of the volcanoes, en Xela you will find amazing places to take a bath through Hot Springs.
Fuentes Georginas, which is a baths containing thermal mineral waters from natural springs, surrounded by a beautiful primary rainforest. Four pools of varying temperatures are fed by hot sulfur springs and framed by a steep, high wall of tropical vines, ferns and flowers. Though the setting is intensely tropical, the mountain air currents keep it deliciously cool through the day. There is a little 500m walk starting from beside the pool, worth doing to check out the birds and orchids.

2.
After Xela, we take the car or the bus toward Lake Atitlan.
El Lago de Atitlán is one of the most beautiful lakes in the world to visit. Its green mountain ranges, blue waters and three perfectly shaped volcanoes provide a wonderful view from any of the 12 villages that surround it.
Such as:

• Panajachel
• Santa Catarina
• San Antonio
• Santa Cruz la Laguna,

• El Jaibalito
• San Marcos
• San Pedro la Laguna
• Santiago Atitlan etc…

Considering Panajachel, San Pedro y Santiago Atitlán the most common town to visit.
Here in the highlands of Guatemala many indigenous maintained a fair share of their centuries old traditions. Many charming Mayan women still wear, with pride, their colourful traditional clothing like the “huipil” while doing their daily chores. The men working the fields often wear a knee-high short pair of pants that defines the village they come from.

3.
Chichicastenango
Also called Chichi, place where has been one of the largest trading centres in the Mayan world since pre-Hispanic times. Chichi is famous because of the market, knowing as one of the largest outdoor markets in Latin America.
Chichicastenango is most famous for textiles, leather goods and wood carvings, but in fact a much wider range of merchandise can be found. Colorful fabrics and anything that can be made of them are among the most popular goods sold in the market.
• hand-woven and hand-embroidered clothes, huipiles (women’s blouses), cortes (traditional Mayan wrap-around skirts), table clothes, place sets and wool blankets
• leather goods, particularly shoes, boots, belts and hats
• wood and stone carvings, most notably wooden ceremonial masks used in traditional Mayan dances

• pottery
• jewelry, particularly silver
• incense and candles
• medicinal plants, herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables, meat and live animals
• household items and tools, from machetes to power drills
• personal-hygiene items
• knick-knacks and souvenirs

4.

Antigua Guatemala

A colonial city in a magnificent setting. Streetscapes of pastel facades unfold beneath three volcanoes. Many old ecclesiastical and civic structures are beautifully renovated, while others retain tumbledown charm, with fragments strewn about park-like grounds. After enjoying the architecture, you will have an amazing experience:

Have you had the experience of climbing an active volcano to the crater to see flowing lava churning down its slopes.

let me tell you a little beat about this volcano and then I will tell you the plan to do this trip.

Pacaya, at a height of 8160 feet, is one of the smaller volcanoes of the country but for sure one of the most wonderful and impressive. Set in its own National Park in San Vicente Pacaya, This volcano created by nature is reforming the valley at the base of the cone because of a massive lava flow. But, Don´t worry the experience is going to be a lesson life…

5.

Semuc Champey

Semuc Champey is part of a National Park that was established to protect the pools and the surrounding terrain. In the visitors center at the entrance you can find plenty of information about the pools and their unique geology. The pools are about one meter (three feet) deep and range in color from emerald green to turquoise to dark sapphire blue. The locals like to go for a swim in the crystal clear water of the pools, and you are most welcome to do likewise.

You will not want to leave this paradise!

6.
Tikal National Park
It is located in Northern Guatemala’s Petén Province within a large forest region often referred to as the Maya Forest, which extends into neighboring Mexico and Belize. Embedded within the much larger Maya Biosphere Reserve, exceeding two million hectares and contiguous with additional conservation areas, Tikal National Park is one of the few World Heritage properties inscribed according to both natural and cultural criteria for its extraordinary biodiversity and archaeological importance. ‎Tikal‬ ‎National Park‬ encompasses 575 square kilometers of jungle and thousands of ruined structures. The central part of the ancient city alone contains 3,000 buildings and covers about 16 square kilometers. Tikal is also part of the one-million-hectare Maya Biosphere Reserve created in 1990 to protect the dense forests of the ‎Petén‬.

I can you give you many more reasons to travel to Guatemala but I suggest you contact Travel & Health Guatemala to find out more.
We organize everything and will be with you throughout your adventure in order to make sure you have the best time possible. Transportation, accommodation, Guatemalan food, Spanish, activities and much more.
What are you waiting for?
Guatemala and T&H Guatemala are waiting for you….