Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
pears in sections, but if you have a car you can drive almost all the away to the top. From
the summit are excellent views of the nearby Ipala and Suchítan volcanoes and the sur-
rounding countryside. Due to the condition of the trail and some security concerns, you
really need a guide to undertake this trek. Ask in the Quetzaltepeque
municipalidad
(Town Hall;
7944-0258; 8am-4pm Mon-Sat)
on the main plaza to be put in touch with a local guide.
You can stay in Quetzaltepeque in the basic but functional
Hotel El Gringo
( 7944-0186; 3a Av
2-25, Zona 2; r per person Q50)
, but you're probably better off in Esquipulas or Chiquimula.
Buses running between Chiquimula and Esquipulas pass through Quetzaltepeque.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Esquipulas
POP 27,400
From Chiquimula, Hwy 10 goes south into the mountains, where it's a bit cooler. After an
hour's ride through pretty country, the highway descends into a valley ringed by moun-
tains, where Esquipulas stands. Halfway down the slope, about 1km from the center of
town, there is a
mirador
(lookout) from which to get a good view. The reason for a trip to
Esquipulas is evident as soon as you catch sight of the place, dominated by the great
Basílica de Esquipulas towering above the town, its whiteness shimmering in the sun. The
view has changed little in over 150 years since explorer John L Stephens saw it and de-
scribed it in his book
Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan
(1841):
Descending, the clouds were lifted, and I looked down upon an almost boundless plain,
running from the foot of the Sierra, and afar off saw, standing alone in the wilderness, the
great church of Esquipulas, like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and the
Caaba in Mecca, the holiest of temples… I had a long and magnificent descent to the foot
of the Sierra.
History
This town may have been a place of pilgrimage before the Spanish conquest. Legend has
it that the town takes its name from a noble Maya lord who ruled this region when the
Spanish arrived, and who received them in peace.
With the arrival of the friars a church was built here, and in 1595 an image that came to
be known as the Cristo Negro (Black Christ) was installed behind the altar. In response to
