Guatemala, meaning land of trees, is a heavily forested and mountainous nation—and the most populous in Central America.

Guatemala Trip

Feb 2008

We flew into Guatemala City, the capital of Guatemala, via El Salvador on Taca Airlines. titlehough we spent little time here, we did visit the National Palace and Museum and the unique ornate Yurrita Church.

We continued on to Antigua, touring this charming, walkable colonial city. One of the highlights not to miss is Casa Santo Domingo…which houses Antigua's two best museums: Classic Maya art and Spanish Colonial art. This complex also contains Antigua's largest hotel, and is part of the ruins of the Spanish Colonial Monastery of Santo Domingo.

Many colonial buildings still remain, in spite of the 1773 earthquake that destroyed much of the architecture. The city is simply charming! Walk up and down the streets, into the plaza and the marketplace. You will find very reasonable handicrafts made by the locals.

Take a day trip/boat tour to Lake Atitlan and Mayan Villages. This is the deepest lake in Central American and is surrounded by towering volcanoes. The lake (formed by a volcanic eruption) is in the center of the Mayan world. The boat tour provides visits to the small villages along the shore.

Fly from Guatemala City to Flores to spend time at Tikal, a most remarkable Mayan city that emerged from the jungle over 1000 years ago. It is here in this national park that from 300-900AD, this incredible Mayan civilization was supreme. Its population of approximately 100,000 Maya was a most powerful metropolis of its era. And then, around 900AD it was abandoned. The reason for its collapse remains a mystery, titlehough speculation includes food shortage, barbarian invasion, plague, drought, etc.

Guatemala Photo Gallery

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