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Guatemala General Info
Overview
Guatemala is a country gathering its
wits after thirty-odd years of insane civil war. Budget-challenged
travelers have been drawn to the country throughout this period of
turmoil because it offers Central America in concentrate form: its
volcanoes are the highest and most active, its Mayan ruins the most
impressive, its earthquakes the most devastating and its history of
repression decidedly world-class.
Guatemala is the Mayan heartland of
Central America, though the government has both touted and tortured
the Maya - sticking pictures of them on its tourist brochures while
sticking guns in their faces. Despite this, indigenous Guatemalan
culture is alive and well, in the ancient ruins of Tikal, the
Mayan/Catholic rituals of Chichicastenango and the blazing colors of
everyday Mayan dress. Since the peace treaties were signed, inspiring
even the least-intrepid travellers to venture beyond the Guatemala
City-Antigua corridor, indigenous Guatemala has been rolling out the
red carpet to once-isolated and lovely villages accessible to some of
Central America's wildest natural wonders.
WARNING
A relatively high level of violent
crimes are committed against foreigners in Guatemala, so travelers
should always be alert to potentially dangerous situations. Incidents
of bus- and car-jackings are quite common, and Guatemala's larger
cities can be dangerous after dark. Intercity travel after sunset
should be avoided. Kidnappings, rapes and assaults do occur during
daylight hours and in some cases affect entire groups of travelers.
Travelers should be especially careful in the Biotopo Cerro Cahuí, in
the El Remate area, where there has been a spate of rapes and attacks.
There has been a recent rise in vigilante justice, especially in the
countryside, and outsiders who have attempted to interfere with such
phenomena (public lynchings and the like) have been dealt with harshly
by instigators.
Full country name: Republic of
Guatemala
Area: 109,000 sq km (42,500 sq mi)
Population: 12.6 million (growth rate 2.6%)
Capital city: Guatemala City (pop 2 million)
People: 56% mestizo/latino descent, 44% Mayan descent
Language: Spanish, Garífuna and 21 Mayan languages
Religion: Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Mayan-Catholic fusion
Government: Democratic
President: Alfonso Portillo Cabrera
GDP: US$47.9 billion
GDP per head: US$3,900
Inflation: 6.8%
Major industries: Coffee, sugar, bananas, textiles and
clothing, furniture, chemicals, petroleum, metals, natural rubber,
flowers, cardamom, tourism
Major trading partners: USA, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras,
Germany, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan
Facts for the Traveler
Visas: Visa regulations
changed in 1996 and citizens of most countries no longer need either a
visa or a tourist card. Depending on the country you come from, stays
are limited to 30 or 90 days. Citizens of some countries still need
either a visa or a tourist card, so check with the closest Guatemalan
embassy for up-to-date information.
Health risks: Cholera, dengue fever, malaria, hepatitis,
typhoid, dysentery
Time: GMT/UTC minus 6 hours
Electricity: 115V to 125V, 60Hz
Weights & measures: Metric
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When to Go
The dry season, from November through
May, is the most pleasant time, weather-wise, to be in Guatemala.
Along with summer holidays, however, this is also the busiest time.
Although the rain may restrict some activities during the wet season,
it's still worthwhile planning your trip for this time of year,
particularly as you'll be more likely to pick up accommodation
bargains. If you're planning to be in the area around Easter, try to
be in Guatemala for Semana Santa (Holy Week), the highlight of the
country's festival calendar.
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Events
Semana Santa (Holy Week - the
week before Easter) is Guatemala's biggest festival, featuring
processions and celebrations throughout the country - Antigua's fiesta
is said to be the best. Rabin Ajau, held throughout the
Verapaces, most impressively in Cobán, is a traditional Q'eqchi' (Kekchi)
Maya festival which runs from July 21-26. Independence Day is
celebrated nationwide in September. November features All Saints'
Day, and Chichicastenango commemorates Santo Tomás from
December 13-21.
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Money
& Costs
Currency: quetzal
Meals
- Budget: US$2-5
- Mid-range: US$5-15
- Top-end: US$15 and upwards
Lodging
- Budget: US$5-30
- Mid-range: US$30-60
- Top-end: US$60 and upwards
Prices in Guatemala are very
reasonable. You can pick up a one-plate meal for less than US$2, or
stuff yourself on almost-free fruit and snacks from elaborate markets.
Camping is incredibly cheap, and bus trips cost around US$1 an hour.
Even if you splash out on a few comforts, you should be able to get a
room with a bathroom, plus two or three meals, for US$25 a day.
It's a waste of time trying to change
anything other than US dollars - even currencies from neighboring
countries will probably be difficult to exchange. If you do have a
different currency, try the casas de cambio at Flores or
Guatemala City airports. ATMs are springing up around Guatemala City,
and most banks will give you an advance on your Visa card over the
counter. It's worth noting that MasterCard is almost completely
useless in most of Guatemala.
Waiters expect a tip of around 10%,
on top of the 10% IVA (value-added tax). Hotels charge a 10% tourist
tax in addition to the 10%IVA. Most hotels and shops have fixed
prices, but you'll be expected to bargain at markets - remember to
keep your sense of humor and perspective.
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Places To See
Guatemala City
Guatemala City is the largest urban
agglomeration in Central America - it's far from a pretty site. It
sprawls across a range of flattened, ravine-scored mountains, covering
an entire mountain plain and tumbling into the surrounding valleys.
With its rickety chicken buses and chaotic marketplaces, the city's
Latin character is over the top to the point of cliché. Like all
Guatemalan towns, a strict grid system has been imposed on the city's
layout: avenidas run north-south; calles run east-west.
The huge city has been divided into 15 zones, each with its own
version of this grid system.
Few colonial buildings grace the
city, and it is visited more for its role as the nation's
administrative and transport hub than as a must-see tourist site. In
Zona 1, Plaza Mayor is a classic example of the standard
Spanish colonial town-planning scheme, and is the city's ceremonial
center, with the retail district nearby. It's best visited on a
Sunday, when it's thronged with thousands of locals who come to
stroll, eat ice cream, smooch on a bench, listen to boom-box salsa
music and ignore the hundreds of trinket vendors. The square is lined
by the imposing Palacio Nacional, currently being restored to
house a national history museum, and the twin-towered Catedral
Metropolitana. An earthquake destroyed the original market
building adjacent to the square in 1976, and today the hugely chaotic
Mercado Central specializes in tourist-oriented crafts.
North of Zona 1 is the shady and
restful Parque Minerva, featuring a quirky relief map of the
country. Several important museums can be found in Zona 10, including
the Museo Popol Vuh, which is a superb private collection of
Mayan and Spanish colonial art, and the Museo Ixchel, which
displays the rich traditional arts and costumes of Guatemala's
highland towns. Zona 13 houses the Museo Nacional de Arqueología y
Etnología, with its prized collection of Mayan artifacts, and the
Museo Nacional de Arte Moderno, which has a superb collection
of 20th-century Guatemalan art. Several km west of the center lie the
extensive ruins of Kaminaljuyú, an important Late
Pre-classic/Early Classic Maya site. Unfortunately, the ruins have
been largely covered by urban expansion. Most of the city's
cheap and middle-range hotels are in Zona 1, while posh hotels are
clustered in Zona 10. Zona Viva is the place to go to eat expensively
and dance the night away.
Antigua Guatemala
Antigua was the nation's capital from
1543 until 1776 (following the devastating earthquake), when the
capital was moved 45km (28mi) to the east to the present site of
Guatemala City. Antigua is among the oldest and most beautiful cities
in the Americas. Set amid three magnificent volcanoes - Agua, Fuego
and Acatenango - its superb yet sturdy colonial buildings have
weathered 16 earthquakes and numerous floods and fires. Antigua is
especially beautiful during Semana Santa, when the streets are
carpeted with elaborate decorations of colored sawdust and flower
petals.
The city's churches have lost much of
their Baroque splendor, the post-earthquake repair and restoration
leaving them denuded of embellishment and elegance. However, many
remain impressive, in particular La Merced, the Iglesia de
San Francisco and the Las Capuchinas (now a museum).
Casa K'ojom is a fascinating museum of Mayan music and ceremonies
and related artifacts. On Sundays, visitors and locals alike gather to
assess the goods for sale at the bustling market held in Parque
Central.
Chichicastenango
At 2030m (6658ft), the magical and
misty highlands town of Chichi is surrounded by valleys and
overshadowed by looming mountains. Though isolated, it's always been
an important market town. The Sunday market is the one to catch, as
the cofradías (religious brotherhoods) often hold processions
on that day. The locals have combined traditional Mayan religious
rites with Catholicism; the best places to witness these old rites are
around the church of Santo Tomás and the shrine of Pascual
Abaj, which honors the Mayan earth god. Incense, food and drink
are offered to ancestors and to ensure the continued fertility of the
earth. The town's Museo Regional contains ancient clay pots and
figurines, flint and obsidian spearheads, maize grindstones and an
impressive jade collection.
Quetzaltenango
The commercial center of southwestern
Guatemala, Quetzaltenango, more commonly called Xela ('SHAY-lah'), is
an excellent base for excursions to the many nearby villages, noted
for their hot springs and handicrafts. The city prospered during the
19th century as a coffee-brokering and storage center until an
earthquake and volcanic eruption ended the boom. In recent years, Xela
has become well-known for its Spanish-language schools. The town's
major sights are the central square and the buildings which surround
it, a couple of basic though useful markets and the ubiquitous
Parque Minerva - many such monuments were built during the
presidency of Manuel Estrada Cabrera (1898-1920), to honor the
classical goddess of education in the hope of inspiring Guatemalan
youth to new heights of learning. The beautiful volcanic countryside
surrounding Xela features natural steam baths at Los Vahos and
Fuentes Georginas. Also in the vicinity is the picture-postcard
village of Zunil, the garment district of Guatemala, San
Francisco El Alto and the center for wooly woolens, the village of
Momostenango.
Flores
The capital of the jungle-covered
northeastern department of El Petén, Flores is built on an island on
Lago de Petén Itzá, and is connected by a 500m (1640ft)
causeway to the service town of Santa Elena on the lakeshore.
Flores is a dignified capital, with its church and government building
arranged around the main plaza, which crests the hill in the center of
the island. The city was founded by the Itzáes, and at the time of
conquest was perhaps the last still-functioning Mayan ceremonial
center in the country. The pyramids, temples and idols were destroyed
by the God-fearing Spanish solidiers, and the dispersal of the Mayan
citizens into the jungle gave rise to the myth of a 'lost' Mayan city.
Modern sights include boat rides stopping at various lagoon
settlements and a visit to the limestone caves of Actun-Can.
Panajachel
Don't be deterred by this town's
nickname of Gringotenango ('place of the foreigners'), nor by the
town's lack of colonial architecture or colorful market. The
attraction here is the absolutely gorgeous caldera lake (a
water-filled collapsed volcanic cone). Since the hippie-dippie days of
the 1960s, laid-back travelers have flocked here to swim in Lago de
Atitlán and generally chill out. Volcanoes surround the lake, and
the town is the starting point for excursions to the smaller, more
traditional indigenous villages on the western and southern shores of
the lake. The most popular day-trip destination is Santiago Atitlán,
with its colorfully dressed locals and a unique, cigar-smoking
resident deity called Maximón. The market town of Sololá has
been attracting traders for centuries, and the town's main plaza
continues to throb with activity on market days. Village life can be
sampled at Santa Catarina Palopá, while lakeside San Pedro
La Laguna is perhaps more attractive because it is less visited.
Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa
Situated on Guatemala's Pacific
Slope, this is an important site for anyone interested in Mayan art
and culture. The sugar cane fields are dotted with great stone heads
and scenes carved in relief. The artifacts are the remnants of the
Pipils, a non-Mayan Indian culture linked to that of the Nahuatl-speaking
peoples of central Mexico. The mystery is how these people got here
and why these ritual objects? There are three main archaeological
sites in the surrounding sugar cane fincas (ranches or
plantations). Finca Bilbao consists of several ceremonial sites
containing stone sculptures, many of which are hidden among the cane.
Hilltop Finca El Baúl has the additional fascination of being a
still-active place of worship, while Finca Las Ilusiones
contains hundreds of objects which have been collected from the fields
over the centuries.
Tikal
The monumental Mayan ceremonial
center at Tikal lies northwest of Flores in the department of El Petén.
Its jungle location makes it a unique site. Towering pyramids rise
above the jungle's green canopy, while down below howler monkeys swing
nosily through the branches of ancient trees, colorful parrots squawk
and dart, and tree frogs fill in the auditory gaps. The steep-sided
temples rise to heights of over 44m (144ft), and although the
undergrowth around them has been cleared, the dense rainforest canopy
is not far away, making passage within the enigmatic site an
unforgettable experience. The many ruins include plazas, an acropolis,
pyramids, temples and a museum.
Lívingston
The laid-back jungle hideaway of
Lívingston is accessible from the Caribbean port of Puerto Barrios.
Black Afro-Guatemalans called the Garífuna live on the island,
descendants of Africans brought to the New World as slaves who escaped
or were shipwrecked. Intermarriage with shipwrecked sailors of other
races and the indigenous Maya has created a distinctive culture and
language incorporating African, Mayan and European elements. Tiny
Lívingston is an interesting anomaly, the way of life definitely more
Belizean than Guatemalan, with coconut groves, gaily painted wooden
buildings and a fishing economy. The town is the starting point for
boat rides on the Río Quehueche and Río Cocolí, which
take you through tropical jungle scenery for a swim or a picnic, or
out to the Cayos Sapodillas for snorkeling and fishing.
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Activities
Apart from the many activities with a
Mayan connection, Guatemala offers great hiking and climbing
in the highlands and the volcanoes surrounding Lago de Atitlán and
Antigua. Contact your embassy or consulate in Guatemala City for
information on the current safety of particular areas before setting
out. Keep an eye out for the elusive national bird, the quetzal, when
birdwatching around Tikal National Park or Lago de Atitlán.
Spanish language courses are a popular feature of Antigua and
Quetzaltenango.
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Culture
Guatemala's many Mayan ruins and
colonial buildings are its most impressive architectural attributes.
One of the most intriguing cultural aspects is the infinite and exotic
variety of the handmade, traditional clothing of Guatemala's Maya
population. The design of the women's colorfully embroidered tunics,
capes and skirts dates back to pre colonial days. Certain details of
garment and design identify the wearer's group and village, and can
also have multiple religious or magical meanings. Music and
traditional dance also feature in many Mayan religious festivals.
Spanish is the most commonly spoken
language in Guatemala, and Roman Catholicism is the principal
religion. Evangelical and Pentecostal Christian denominations have
gained wide followings, while the Maya have preserved aspects of their
traditional religions, often blended with Catholicism.
Guatemalan cuisine can't compete with
that of Mexico, although standard Mexican fare such as tortillas and
tacos can be found. Mostly you'll encounter tough grilled or fried
meat, meat and more meat. Beans and rice are often the cheapest and
best alternative, and the country has a surprising number of Chinese
restaurants. Coffee is available everywhere - sometimes spectacularly
good, but the best beans are typically exported. Beer is prevalent, in
light and dark versions, and rum and Quetzalteca are the
nation's favored rocket fuels.
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Environment
Guatemala is Central America's
westernmost country, bordering Mexico to the north and west, Belize to
the northeast and Honduras and El Salvador to the east. Guatemala's
volatile topography is a mountainous and forested jumble of volcanoes
and jungle. The western highlands are home to over 30 volcanoes, which
reach heights of up to 3800m (12,464ft) and cast a red glow at night.
The area experiences frequent earthquake activity. The intensively
cultivated Pacific coastline is a vast expanse of mostly black-sand
beaches, and the tiny Caribbean coastline also lacks beaches but is
culturally rich. The vast jungle lowland of El Petén fills the
interior, characterized by a mix of banana plantations and soils rich
in dinosaur bones.
Guatemala's national bird is the
quetzal - a gorgeous creature which is almost extinct, due to
deforestation and poachers. Puma, jaguar, ocelot, jaguarundi and
margay - and their assorted diet of deer, peccary and tapir - survive,
though are seldom seen.
The Pacific coast is tropically
sweltering, with temperatures often hovering around 38°C (100°F). The
seemingly constant high humidity diminishes a little in the dry
season. The highlands are freezing at night, damp and chilly during
the rainy season and warm and pleasant during their dry season
(October to May), which is somewhat different from the rest of the
country's December-to-April parched period. El Petén's climate varies
only from hot and humid to hot and dry.
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Getting There & Away
Major international airlines fly into
Guatemala City and Flores. Most flights to the country pass through
the North American hub cities of Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles,
Houston, Mexico City or Miami. The departure tax is $30.
To enter the north of the country by
land means entering from Mexico by lengthy bus or train journeys.
Buses from El Salvador travel directly to Guatemala City, while buses
from Honduras and Belize stop at the border. You can also enter the
country by sea, traveling from Punta Gorda in Belize to Puerto Barrios
or Lívingston. There is also a boat from Lívingston to Omoa in
Honduras.
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Getting
Around
Internal flights operate return
flights from Guatemala City to Flores, Huehuetenango, Copán Puerto
Barrios and Quetzaltenango. There's also a service between Puerto
Barrios. Buses link most places cheaply and relatively painlessly,
although roads in El Petén often turn into muddy mires or disappear
altogether during the rainy season. There are minibuses operating
between some of the more popular tourist sites. Some of Guatemala's
national parks are only accessible by boat.
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