Land at Guatemala City and leave within the hour for Antigua, the base almost everyone uses. From there the highlands open up: Lake Atitlán and its villages, the Chichicastenango market on Thursdays and Sundays, and Quetzaltenango for volcano hikes and Spanish schools. The Petén is a flight away, with Tikal in the rainforest and Flores as the base. The Verapaces hold Semuc Champey, and Lívingston is Garífuna and reached by boat. Come between November and April, in the dry season.
1 Guatemala city guide
Fun fact
The Guatemalan capital has been moved twice by natural disaster. It sat near Ciudad Vieja until a mudslide off the Agua volcano destroyed it in 1541, moved to what is now Antigua, and moved again after the Santa Marta earthquakes of 1773 to the site it occupies today.
Stereotypes, sorted out
The realityIt is the most concentrated country in Central America and the one that rewards staying. Colonial Antigua, a caldera lake, a living Maya market culture and a Classic Maya city in rainforest all sit inside a country you could drive across in a long day if the roads were straighter.
The realityMore than four in ten Guatemalans identified as Indigenous at the 2018 census. The 22 Maya languages the state recognises are spoken at home, the markets are working commerce, and the huipil someone is wearing tells you which town they are from.
The realityTikal is the one everybody books, and Yaxhá, Uaxactún and El Mirador are all in the same forest. Flores is a good town in its own right, and the lake around it is where the Itzá held out against the Spanish until 1697.
The realityThree of them are permanently active and monitored around the clock by INSIVUMEH, the national volcanology institute. Fuego erupts most days, so people camp on Acatenango next door to watch it, and Pacaya and Santiaguito are the other two on the live list.
The realityAntigua is the easiest and most photographed hour of it. Xela is a working highland city with none of the polish, Cobán smells of cardamom, and the Caribbean coast at Lívingston speaks Garífuna and reads like a different country entirely.
Cultural notes that actually help
- Ask before photographing anyone, and expect a no in the highlands. Around Chichicastenango and Santiago Atitlán it is a real boundary, and a camera pointed at a ceremony is the fastest way to be asked to leave.
- Greet before you ask. "Buenos días" comes before the question, the price or the directions, and skipping it reads as rude in a way that nothing else you do will fix.
- Bargain gently in the markets, or not at all. A backstrap-loom huipil is months of work, and the second price is usually the real one.
- The Semana Santa alfombras are made to be destroyed by the procession and by nobody else. Do not step onto one, however finished it looks while people are still kneeling over it.
- Maximón, in Santiago Atitlán, is a living devotion. Go with a local guide, bring a small offering, and ask before the camera comes out.
- Spanish is a second language for many highland Guatemalans. Speak plainly and slowly, never loudly, and expect the answer to come back the same way.
- Cover up in churches and in small towns. Antigua and the lake are used to visitors; a village on market day is not, and dressing for the beach in one is noticed.
Famous Guatemalan faces
Rigoberta Menchú
Miguel Ángel Asturias
Luis von Ahn
Ricardo Arjona
Óscar Isaac
Jayro Bustamante
Regina José Galindo
Érick Barrondo
Kevin Cordón
Juan José Arévalo
Jacobo Árbenz
Gaby Moreno
Carlos Mérida
Augusto Monterroso
Carlos Ruiz
Bernardo Arévalo
Must-try Guatemalan food
Kak’ik
Q’eqchi’ turkey soup from Alta Verapaz, red with achiote and sharp with coriander.
Hilachas
Beef shredded to threads, simmered in tomato with potato and carrot. The name means rags.
Tostadas
Fried tortillas under guacamole, black bean or tomato sauce, from a park stall at dusk.
Fiambre
The All Saints platter of dozens of cold ingredients, eaten in the cemetery on 1 November.
Pepián
National dish: chicken or beef in a brick-red sauce of toasted seeds, chiles and tomato.
Jocón
Chicken in a green sauce of tomatillo, coriander and spring onion. The light one.
Revolcado
Pig’s head and offal in tomato and chile. It separates the curious from the polite.
Chuchitos
Small corn tamales tied in a husk around meat and red sauce. Sold from a basket.
Tamales colorados
The Saturday-night tamal, wrapped in banana leaf, softer and far larger than a chuchito.
Paches
The potato tamal from Quetzaltenango, made and eaten on Thursdays.
Garnachas
Small fried tortillas with mince, hard cheese and pickled onion. Two bites each.
Shucos
The Guatemala City hot dog: grilled meat, guacamole and cabbage in a toasted roll.
Torrejas
Bread soaked in syrup and fried, the Semana Santa dessert stacked in every Antigua bakery.
Ponche
Christmas fruit punch simmered with panela and spices, served hot on cold December nights.
Rellenitos
Mashed plantain wrapped around sweet black bean, fried, and rolled in sugar.
Mole de plátano
Fried plantain in a chocolate and sesame sauce. A dessert built like a main course.
Champurradas
A flat sesame biscuit made for dunking, and the standard companion to a cup of coffee.
Atol de elote
Hot, thick and sweet, made from fresh maize and sold in a cup from a street pot at dawn.
Highland coffee
Antigua, Huehuetenango and Cobán are all named origins. Order it in a specialty café.
