Parque CentralCity/Region: Antigua Guatemala
For centuries the park served as a focal point for the colonial city, bustling with activity, the gathering place for public floggings, parades and bullfights. Today it is a shady, peaceful place during the week, lined with villagers selling their handicrafts, but it comes alive every Sunday for the busy market day. It is surrounded by imposing structures, including the Cathedral, whose façade is all that remains of the original structure after numerous earthquakes. The Palace of the Captains General and the Ayuntamiento
(City Hall) face each other across the square.
Las CapuchinasCity/Region: Antigua Guatemala
The ruins of the biggest and most remarkable of the city's convents,
Las Capuchinas, are the best preserved and most beautiful in the city. The convent was founded in 1736 by Spanish nuns and is now a museum dedicated to religious life in colonial times. The nuns who lived here were not allowed any contact with the outside world. Their tiny cells can be found in the walls of the round tower, which has good views from the top. There are also fountains, gardens and several lovely courtyards within the compound.
Address: Corner of 2 Caille Oriente and 2 Av Norte
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 9am to 4pm
Admission: Q30
TikalCity/Region: Antigua Guatemala
Set deep in the jungle of Parque Nacional
Tikal lies the most magnificent of all Mayan ruins, the Mayan ceremonial center of Tikal (City of Voices). First occupied around 800 BC and mysteriously abandoned about 1,000 years later, its most striking features are the steep sided towering temples rising up to heights of 192ft (60m) into the green canopy of the rainforest. Scattered around the area are countless other structures, many still partially buried in the ground or having nearly succumbed to the overwhelming grasp of jungle greenery. The central area, or Great Plaza, with its five main temples, was the heart of the ancient city and the center for religious and ceremonial activity. It is the most impressive section, especially the two massive pyramid-shaped structures with steep steps leading up to the roofed enclosures at the top. Temple I, the Temple of the Grand Jaguar, is the main landmark of Tikal and was built to house the magnificent tomb of
King Hasaw Chan K'awil. Temple II, opposite, has two grotesque, eroded masks on either side of the stairway and there are fantastic views from the top. The jungle around the ruins is alive with the sounds of bird and animal life, particularly the fearsome roars of howler monkeys, which have conjured up images of jaguars in many a frightened traveller's mind. Walking from ruined temple to temple, surrounded by the sounds and smells of the jungle, is an experience not offered at any other major Mayan site. This combination of archaeological remains and natural environment of the jungle makes it the only place in the world to be declared both a Cultural and Natural Heritage to Humanity
UNESCO Site. Visitors to Tikal are overwhelmed by the atmosphere and sheer scale of the place. There are two museums, one inside the Visitors' Center, containing copies of some of the elaborate sculptures, bas-reliefs and stelae from the ruins, a map showing Tikal as it was in 800 BC, and items recovered from the excavations, including the burial goods of King Hasaw Chan K'awil.
Transport: 50-minute flight from
Guatemala City, which is a one hour bus journey from Antigua
Hours: Daily 6am to 6pm; extensions to 8pm can be obtained. The museums are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, and Saturday and Sunday 9am to 4pm
Admission: Q50
ChichicastenangoCity/Region: Lake Atitlán
Resort Name: Panajachel
Chichi, as it is called, is renowned mainly for its Sunday and Thursday markets, Sunday being the busiest. A quaint traditional hill village with cobbled streets and red tiled roofs, it has been one of the largest centers of Mayan trade since pre-Hispanic times and thousands of people gather in a spectacle of color and festivity every week. The market attracts tourists, commercial traders and Mayan weavers from all over the highland area. It is also an important center of culture and religion, and the locals have combined traditional Mayan religious rites with Catholicism. This is particularly evident around the Church of St Thomas where traders spread their goods on the steps, burn incense, offer food to the Mayan earth god, and pray to the
Virgin Mary. Like its market, Chichi is famous for its outstanding handicrafts rich in color, design and workmanship. Tourist-orientated stalls blend into the frenzied trading of local necessities like fruit and vegetables, balls of wax, lumps of chalk, macaroni, sewing items, soap, baskets and spices.
Phone Number: 756 1015 (Inguat tourist information office in the town)
Transport: On market days there are direct buses from Panajachel as well as special tourist shuttles. Chichi is a one and a half hour journey from Panajachel
