THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS - Guatemala - page 255

to the north and west. Should you need to stay or eat here, the best options are located just
opposite the town's central square.
There is one daily bus and several pickups heading east to Playa Grande via a rough
road. The government announced plans to construct a transversal highway stretching east
towestfromIzabaldepartmentthroughAltaVerapazandQuichéallthewaytoHuehueten-
ango's Mexican border. It broke ground in November 2009.
WEST TO MEXICO
La Mesilla
Heading northwest from Huehuetenango, the Pan-American Highway leads to La Mesilla
borderand,beyondthat,Mexico.Borderformalitieshereareprettystraightforward,though
the Mexican border crossing lies four kilometers away on the other side at Ciudad
Cuauhtémoc, for which you'll need to take a collective taxi ($0.50) if you're not in your
own car. There are basic services here, including banks, a post office, police station, and
ubiquitous money changers. If you get stuck here, head to Hotel Mily's (500 meters uphill
from the border, $15 d), with fan-cooled rooms, cable TV, and private hot-water bathroom.
Another alternative is Hotel y Restaurante Maricruz (about 200 meters from the border,
tel. [phone], $10 d), also with private bathrooms.
Nentón to Gracias a Dios
A few kilometers east of La Mesilla along the Pan-American Highway, a turnoff branches
northdownanewlypavedroadtothetownofNentónandcontinuestoanewbordercross-
ing at Gracias a Dios. Border formalities at Gracias a Dios are fairly straightforward and
the friendly immigration agents might grant you a day pass to cross into Mexico to see the
spectacular Lagunas de Montebello, a national park with pristine emerald lagoons sur-
rounded by luxuriant forests.
Along the road from Nentón to Gracias a Dios, you could stop to admire El Cimarrón,
a cavernous, 300-meter-deep limestone sinkhole harboring a forest at its base that has only
recentlybeendescendedandexplored.Fromthemainroadaboutthreekilometersfromthe
village of La Trinidad, 35 kilometers north of Nentón, a network of trails leads through
surrounding farmland and cattle pastures to the sinkhole. It's about a 30-minute walk from
the road.
From La Trinidad, a dirt road leads east to the village of Yalambojoch, where you can
grab a pickup heading east to San Mateo Ixtatán. It also serves as the transit point for visits
to the wonderful Laguna Yolnabaj, also known as Laguna Brava, five kilometers north of
here. There are many returned refugees from Mexico living in these parts and you should