Guatemala City was founded in 1776 on the site of the ancient Mayan city of Kaminaljuyu as the capital of the “Kingdom of Guatemala” replacing Antigua as the new seat of power. A series of natural disasters, most notably the 1917–18 earthquakes, have stripped the city of much of its early colonial glory and given…

Situated in the heart of Guatemala where the rugged highlands begin to drop into the steamy Peten, Coban is an historic town founded by the Spanish in 1538, the “Ciudad Imperial” as it is still known today. Surrounded by lush, rolling hills cloaked in coffee and cardamom plantations owing to the arrival of German immigrants…

A Mayan trading centre since the pre-colonial era, Chichicastenango (“Chichi”) is one of the largest and most colourful, indigenous markets in the Americas, a true riot of colours, flavours and regional products. Outside market days, the town is an unassuming, traditional community of some 40,000 inhabitants but each Tuesday and Sunday, the cobbled streets and…

3 hours north of the capital, Lake Atitlan is the jewel in the crown of the Guatemalan highlands – a shimmering expanse of turquoise water framed by rugged hills and soaring volcanoes. For centuries Tz’utujil and Kaqchiquel Mayas have plied its shores and continue to do so today leaving a legacy of indigenous languages, regional…

Framed against the three towering Volcanoes Fuego, Acatenango and Agua, Antigua is among the prettiest colonial cities in the Americas and a crumbling relic of Hispanic glory. Founded in 1543 as Spain’s regional capital, Antigua has done well to survive until present day, the victim of devasting earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that led the capital…