Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Services
There is a Banrural on the plaza where you can change dollars or cash travelers checks. On
the north end of the plaza, Banco Agrícola Mercantil has an ATM.
Getting There
Minibusesmakethe1.5-hourtriptoCobáneveryhalfhour.Headingnorth,therearehourly
minibuses to Candelaria and Raxrujá.
Parque Ecológico Hun Nal Ye
This eco-amusement park and museum lies along a dirt road turn-off from Km. 259.5
along the road from Chisec to Cobán (RD-09). Hun Nal Ye (tel. 7951-59 21,
www.parquehunnalye.com
,
Wed.-Sun. 8 A.M.-6 P.M., $10 adults, $4 children) is a private
reserve sprawling across 135 hectares of tropical rainforest with an abundance of plant
and animal life and bisected by emerald green rivers and lagoons. Activities include
bird-watching (over 200 species of birds have been recorded), fishing, tubing, kayaking,
snorkeling, and scuba diving. There's a cave, an eight-meter (26-foot) waterfall, a lime-
stone sinkhole
(cenote),
observation towers, a canopy zipline, and trails for horseback rid-
ing, all-terrain vehicles, and mountain bikes. Facilities include a restaurant, archaeology
museum,picnicareas,changingrooms,andaswimmingpool.Youcanstayatthecomfort-
able onsite accommodations consisting of five neocolonial tile-roofed cabins ($25 d) with
privatebath.Afamily-size cabanasleepingeightgoesfor$135anight.Youcancamphere
for $3.50.
LestHunNalYestrikeyouasjustanotherthemepark,youshouldknowthatitlaysclaim
to the very important discovery of an ancient Mayan box engraved with exquisite hiero-
glyphsanddatingtoEarlyClassictimes.Itwasdiscoveredin2005bylandownerLeonidas
Javier and is thought to have once harbored a Maya codex, or book. The box made head-
lineswhenitwasstolenbylootersin2006andreturnedanonymouslyaboutamonthafterit
wasreportedmissingfromthecave.Theitemhadbeenpurchasedontheblackmarketbya
collector who,in an apparent attack ofconscience, shipped the item to the Ministry ofCul-
ture in Guatemala City after realizing the priceless value of his purchase from widespread
publicity of the heist. A replica of the box is housed in the park's museum; the original is
now in Guatemala City's Museo Nacional de Arqueología in Zona 13.
To get to the park, take the dirt road turn-off heading east from RD-09 at Km. 259.5.
From there, it's about six kilometers to the village of Samanzana, where you'll head south
for one kilometer and then continue east another five kilometers to San Vicente Chicatal.
From there, follow the signs another 500 meters to the park entrance. If you don't have a
car,there arebusesandpick-uptrucksheading fromtheCobán-Chisec roadtoSanVicente
Chicatal.
