Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
dens, a swimming pool, and large, clean rooms with fan, hot-water bathroom, and cable
TV. There are also rooms with air-conditioning. The restaurant serves decent food.
Other options for food include
Pollo Campero,
on the corner of 7a Avenida and 4a
Calle, serving the fried chicken so beloved by Guatemalans in an air-conditioned environ-
ment. A fancier option is
Restaurante Chiquimulja
(3a Calle 6-51 Zona 1), part of its
namesake hotel, serving pasta dishes, grilled meats, and other international fare ($5-8) in
an attractive two-story palm-roofed building. It overlooks the central plaza. Guatemala's
best-known supermarket chain,
Paiz
(recently acquired by Wal-Mart), is next door on the
corner of 7a Avenida and 3a Calle.
Services
Amongtheservicesyou'llfindhereareabank,BancoG&TContinental(halfablocksouth
of the plaza at 7a Avenida 4-75 Zona 1). The post office is on 10a Avenida between 1a and
2a Calle. For phone calls, Telgua is on 3a Calle east of the central plaza. Internet is avail-
able at Email Center (6a Avenida 4-51, 9 A.M.-9 P.M. daily).
Getting There
The town bus terminal is midway between the plaza and the highway on 1a Calle between
10a and 11a Avenidas. There are hourly buses to Guatemala City (3.5 hours) and Puerto
Barrios (four hours), half-hourly minibuses to Esquipulas (one hour), hourly buses and
minibuses to Ipala (one hour) and the Salvadoran border at Anguiatú (one hour). Buses to
the El Florido border (1.5 hours, for Copán, Honduras) leave from a separate terminal one
block north every 45 minutes until 4:30 P.M.
Ipala Volcano and Crater Lake
It's a pleasant drive southwest of Chiquimulato to the wonderful crater lake of the
1,650-meter-high Ipala Volcano. The summit is most easily accessible from the village of
Agua Blanca (you'll see blue INGUAT signs leading the way), from which a paved road
continues to an area near the top. Once at the crater lake, you'll see a visitors center, where
the park rangers collect a modest park fee of $1.50.
A series of nature trails wind their way around the lagoon. You'll pass a lookout with an
excellent view of the 3.5-kilometer-wide lake as well as the entrance to the
Cueva de la
Leona
(Cave of the Lioness). The volcanic crater and its lake were designated as national
parks in 1998. Water for four local villages continued to be extracted until very recently,
meaning that the lake has lost much of its original water volume. The lake is filled entirely
with rainwater.
