Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Buses to Cobán (four hours, $3.50) leave early at 3 A.M. and 5 A.M. Heading west to
Sacapulas are six daily buses continuing to El Quiché starting at 3 A.M. until about 4 P.M.
North of Sacapulas via a newly paved road is the Ixil Triangle, a name given to the area
comprising the villages of Santa María Nebaj, San Juan Cotzal, and San Gaspar Chajul.
The scenery here is spectacular, as are the weavings made by its Ixil-speaking inhabitants.
Set in the foothills ofthe lush Cuchumatanes, the area was the scene ofheavy fighting dur-
ingthecountry'scivilwar.Itsinhabitantssufferedgreatlyduringtheviolence,undoubtedly
more than any other region in Guatemala. Peace has returned, but the region remains re-
mote, drawing visitors with its colorful traditional Mayan culture, some of the country's
best hiking, and breathtaking scenery.
TheareapopulatedbytheIxil-speakingpeoplesshowssignsofhavingbeeninhabitedsince
the latter part of the Classic period, between the 6th and 9th centuries A.D., including vari-
ous stelae, pyramids, and monuments unearthed in this region. The Ixil didn't come under
Spanish authority until 1530, having managed to successfully repel earlier invasions from
their fortresses in Nebaj and Chajul with help from their neighbors and allies in Uspantán.
When the Spanish did finally conquer the region, they burnt Nebaj to the ground and en-
slaved its people. After Spanish priests felt confident they had secured the souls of the
newly conquered peoples, the region fell into a period of neglect until Dominican friars ar-
rived on the scene in the 19th century seeking to convert the remaining outlying mountain
villages. Guatemala's burgeoning coffee trade and its insatiable need for cheap labor had
become fully established by this time, and the region's inhabitants were soon conscripted
to work on the coastal plantations using debt peonage, among other tactics.
By the mid-20th century several wealthy families had firmly established themselves in
the lower elevations of the Ixil region, owning huge cattle, coffee, cacao, and sugar planta-
tions.Amongthelocallandowningfamilies,theBrolandArenasfamilieswerenotoriously
cruel masters and the subject of eventual retribution during the civil war. The Brols owned
thousands of acres as far as Uspantán, employing as many as 4,000 resident and season-
al workers at their Finca San Francisco in the northern lowlands near Cotzal. Many of its
workers were held captive to debt peonage.
The Ejército Guerrillero de los Pobres, or EGP, moved into the region in 1972, crossing
the border from Mexico and finding in the Ixil a populace willing to cooperate with them
