9 Days in Guatemala
Want to hike volcano? Visit one of the largest Mayan archaeological sites in the world? Wander through Central America's largest indigenous market? Then Guatemala is the place for you. Bordering 4 countries (Mexico, Belize, El Salvador & Honduras), it is easy to access this amazing country and with 37 volcanoes, the views are pretty breathtaking no matter where you look.
We started our journey through Guatemala in Antigua, an hour's drive from the capital, Guatemala City, and a much more appealing option. Antigua is a perfect base for travelling pretty much anywhere else in the country. The city itself is small, colourful, and surrounded by volcanoes. On a clear day, from the main square and a few of the higher locations in the town (such as the short Cerro de la Cruc hike, or the church ruins of Convento Santa Clara) you can watch Volcan de Fuego erupting in plumes of grey smoke.
We started our journey through Guatemala in Antigua, an hour's drive from the capital, Guatemala City, and a much more appealing option. Antigua is a perfect base for travelling pretty much anywhere else in the country. The city itself is small, colourful, and surrounded by volcanoes. On a clear day, from the main square and a few of the higher locations in the town (such as the short Cerro de la Cruc hike, or the church ruins of Convento Santa Clara) you can watch Volcan de Fuego erupting in plumes of grey smoke.
Our next stop was Lake Atitlan, where, using the local ferry boats, we did our own express day tour of the different small towns surrounding the lake: San Pedro, San Marcos and Panajachel. Each town definitely has it's own vibe, with San Pedro know more for the party scene and San Marcos more for the hippie/yoga scene. We opted to stay in Panajachel because it was closest to the north and provided easiest access to Chichicastenango. Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy while we were there so we did not get to take in the full view of the Volcano Atitlan on the other side of the lake, but the sunset still delivered an amazing pink colour.
On Sundays and Thursdays, Chichicastenango is taken over by the largest indigenous market in Central America. You can wander for hours through the stall-lined streets and find everything from clothing, to cooked food, to souvenirs, to fresh vegetables, to live chicks. As a tourist, haggling is required if you want to get a good price but the vendors aren't as pushy as in other markets we have seen.
We head back to Antigua for a night, as it is the starting point for the Acatenango Volcano Hike and also the best point to leave for the more northern towns. We had debated doing the overnight volcano hike but after hearing from several other travellers that it was "the best thing" they had done, we decided we had to do it. We emailed Gilmer Soy and they arranged to pick us up at 8am from our hostel. The hike was hard- there is no sugar coating it. The first hour is up steep, dusty, volcanic soil and it makes you want to give up rather quickly. But once you make it to the top, after about 5 hours of hiking, you are rewarded with the most amazing view of your life. And the show gets better after dark. We sat for hours in the dark (and cold!) and watched Fuego erupting lava in giant booms. The next morning's hike to the summit is also painful, especially at 4am. But again, the view of sunrise over the volcanoes and valley makes you glad you made the effort.
The transportation in Guatemala isn't as easy to use as other countries. The local buses aren't that cheap, so most travellers opt for the shuttles that run between the main towns, as it ends up being almost the same price. The shuttles are packed full and often take a long time. The shuttle from Antigua to Lanquin was especially painful, taking about 10 hours to make the 300km drive. The town itself doesn't have a lot to offer, but it is the gateway to visiting the turquoise pool terraces of Semuc Champey. Although the water is gorgeous, we were warned not to put our heads under the water, as several people had gotten sick after swimming there.
Our final stop was the small island of Flores. Connected to the mainland by a bridge, the island is more like a small neighbourhood made for tourists. You can walk around the island in about 30 minutes, so you are close to everything. The sunset from the western shore wall is incredible, and people gather there with a beer in hand to watch it. We ate most our meals at a small restaurant called Cafeteria Riquisimoo. The burgers are amazing for Central America, and she even makes her own hamburger buns! There are a lot of tour offices, so you can easily book your tour to Tikal or onward bus tickets.
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We booked the 4am shuttle to Tikal so that we would get there early, before the heat of the afternoon and the big tour buses arrived. The site is huge, and not exceptionally well marked, so you can definitely get lost of a random path through the jungle and not know where you will pop out. They recently opened a new viewing platform on top the Gran Pyramid in the "Lost World" area, so make sure you make it over that way. Using laser technology, scientists have also just discovered 60,000 new buildings in the Tikal area, hidden under the jungle canopy. So much has yet to be uncovered- there is still so much to learn about the Mayan civilization.
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Questions about travelling in Guatemala? Email us and we will be happy to help!