Guatemala

Guatemala has a history which came from a different world, created by actors who have left their silent footprints everywhere across this land as testimony to their ingenuity, skills and spiritual beliefs.  This is the place where you can see the legacies of the great Mayan civilisation close-up.  Start from Tikal, which has towering pyramids emerging from the surrounding jungle canopy and many square kilometres of palaces, temples and avenues, to the massive and yet not fully explored El Mirador, which may well be the origin of the Mayan civilisation.

Visit Chichicastenango, a stucco-white town high on the mountaintop at 1,965 meters above sea level two hours’ drive from Guatemala City and undoubtedly the most colorful native market in the Americas and one of the largest Mayan trading centers.  If you like, pick up some traditional woodcarvings or native textile ware to bring home.

Act like Indiana Jones when you visit the well-preserved archaeological sites that belong to the Mayan classical period in Aquateca near the Pasion River.  To get there, you will have to take a boat and walk in the water if the waterway becomes impassable.

Move on to Antiqua and you will think that you are living 300 years ago, in one of the best conserved Spanish settlements in the New World, with streets covered with cobblestones, and colonial era monasteries, convents and cathedrals, all under the shadows of three volcanoes.  Join in the largest celebrations of Lent and Easter in the Western Hemisphere and admire the beautiful alfombras (sawdust carpets) along the route of the processions.  Another town with a Spanish flavour is Quetzaltenango, settled by the Conquistadores, among mist-covered mountains and volcanoes.  Immerse yourself in the beautiful surroundings or in hot springs around town.

Visit the Pacific coast where there are excellent beaches in Monterrico for swimming, people-watching and water-sports.  If you want a slower pace, just relax and enjoy the fresh seafoods on offer.