Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
be aware that the activities offoreign mining companies here and in other parts ofnorthern
Huehuetenangohavelocalsabitonedge.Exerciseduecaution.Betteryet,gowithaguide.
With help from local outfitter Unicornio Azul, the local community of Chaculá began
hosting visits to the aforementioned attractions in 2009 as part of a community tourism
program. Visitors stay at
Posada Finca Chaculá
(tel. 5205-9328, posadaruralfin-
cachacula@hotmail. com, $40 d), a revamped old farmhouse where there are basic but
clean, comfortable accommodations. The posada runs trips to El Cimarron and other
nearby attractions, including Laguna Yolnabaj and the pristine Río Azul, which is a
dazzlingly exotic hue of blue, as its name implies.
Head southeast from Huehuetenango on the Pan-American Highway, some 80 kilometers
toward Guatemala City, to the highland city of Quetzaltenango. The country's second-
largest city is the main population center of the country's K'iche' Mayans and an increas-
ingly popular destination with language school students and NGO workers. Its original
K'iche' name is Xelajú, still widely in use today, though in its abbreviated form, Xela.
Set in a sprawling valley dominated by the near-perfect cone of 3,772-meter (12,375-foot)
Santa María Volcano and the adjacent (active) Santiaguito, the city has a population of
about 300,000. It sits at a rather high altitude of 2,400 meters (8,000 feet) and can be cor-
respondingly chilly.
Xela is very cosmopolitan and has all the feel of a European highland city. It is consid-
erably safe for a city of its size and has a lively cultural scene peppered by the presence of
an ever-increasing number of foreign visitors. There are also good hotels and restaurants,
along with interesting day trips to neighboring highland Mayan villages that still adhere
strictly to the old ways. Nearby natural attractions include a wonderful crater lake, climbs
to the surrounding volcanoes, and soaking in warm hot springs. If you really start to long
for the warmer climates, the sweltering Pacific Coastal lowlands are just about an hour
away and beaches lie not much farther.
