Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Most points of interest are within a few short blocks of the tripartite plaza, usually a hive
of activity. The top square is flanked on its east side by Gobernación (the departmental
government palace), the middle one by the cathedral and
municipalidad
(town hall), and
the bottom one by the big domed events hall, in front of which stands a statue of K'iche'
warrior Tecún Umán in a fierce posture, as if poised for battle against conquistador Pedro
Alvarado. The main market occupies a series of buildings east of the plaza.
K'umarcaaj
(Gumarkaaj | Utatlán; admission Q30; 8am-4:30pm)
The ruins of the ancient K'iche' Maya capital
of K'umarcaaj remain a sacred site for the Maya, and contemporary rituals are customar-
ily enacted there. Archaeologists have identified 100 or so large structures here, but only
limited restoration has been done. The ruins have a fine setting, shaded by tall trees and
surrounded by ravines. Bring a flashlight.
The kingdom of K'iche' was established in late Postclassic times (about the 14th cen-
tury) by a mixture of indigenous people and invaders from the Tabasco-Campeche border
area in Mexico. Around 1400, King Ku'ucumatz founded K'umarcaaj and conquered
many neighboring settlements. During the long reign of his successor Q'uik'ab
(1425-75), the K'iche' kingdom extended its borders to Huehuetenango, Nebaj, Rabinal
and the Pacific Slope. At the same time the Kaqchiquel, a vassal people who once fought
alongside the K'iche', rebelled, establishing an independent capital at Iximché.
When Pedro de Alvarado and his Spanish conquistadors hit Guatemala in 1524, it was
the K'iche', under their king Tecún Umán, who led the resistance against them. In the de-
cisive battle fought near Quetzaltenango on February 12, 1524, Alvarado and Tecún
locked in mortal combat. Alvarado prevailed. The defeated K'iche' invited him to visit
K'umarcaaj. Smelling a rat, Alvarado enlisted the aid of his Mexican auxiliaries and the
anti-K'iche' Kaqchiquel, and together they captured the K'iche' leaders, burnt them alive
in K'umarcaaj's main plaza and then destroyed the city.
The museum at the entrance will help orientate you. The tallest of the structures round
the central plaza, the Templo de Tohil (a sky god), is blackened by smoke and has a niche
where contemporary prayer-men regularly make offerings to Maya gods.
Down the hillside to the right of the plaza is the entrance to a long tunnel known as the
cueva
. Legend has it that the K'iche' dug the tunnel as a refuge for their women and chil-
dren in preparation for Alvarado's coming, and that a K'iche' princess was later buried in
a deep shaft off this tunnel. Revered as the place where the K'iche' kingdom died, the
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
