Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Totonicapán
POP 56,704 / ELEV 2476M
San Miguel Totonicapán is known for its artisans. Shoemakers, weavers, tinsmiths, pot-
ters, leather workers and carpenters all make and sell their goods here. Market days are
Tuesday and Saturday; it's a locals' market, not a tourist affair, and it winds down by late
morning.
The ride from Cuatro Caminos is along a pine-studded valley. From Totonicapán's bus
station it's a 600m walk up 4a Calle to the twin main plazas. The lower plaza has a statue
of Atanasio Tzul, leader of an indigenous rebellion that started here in 1820, while the up-
per one is home to the large
colonial church
and neoclassical
municipal theater
.
Activities
Aventura Maya K'iche'
( 5630-0554; kiche78@hotmail.com; 8a Av 2-17)
This project introduces visitors to some of the
town's many craftspeople. A one-day program, requiring two weeks' advance booking,
includes visits to various craft workshops (including potters, carvers of ceremonial masks
and musical instruments, and weavers), a bit of sightseeing, a marimba concert and a tra-
ditional lunch in a private home.
Rates are Q475 per person in groups of four, or Q665 including a stay with a local fam-
ily and two meals.
TOUR
Sendero Ecológico El Aprisco
( 5355-0280; admission Q25; 8am-4pm)
Encompassing some 13 hectares of old-growth
forest northeast of Totonicapán, this makes for some delightful hiking. Well-marked trails
traverse the community-run reserve, domain of the endangered
pinabete
tree and 29 en-
demic bird species such as the amethyst-throated hummingbird, ocellated quail and color-
fully plumed
quetzalillo
(mountain trogon). A small museum displays traditional outfits of
the region, and there are adobe cabins with fireplaces, bunk beds and straw bedding. El
Aprisco is 5km up the Santa Cruz del Quiché road from Toto. Pickup trucks head this way
from the east end of 7a Calle. Alternatively, Aventura Maya K'iche' (
Click here
)
can or-
ganize trips to the reserve at Q175 per person.
NATURE RESERVE
